Blender Creates House of Brand

Fans of Blender magazine can now experience the brand in 3-D. On April 26, the publication hosted the grand opening of the Blender Theater at Gramercy, a permanent music venue and lounge on 23rd Street in Manhattan that was once an art-house cinema. The magazine celebrated with a concert by Grammy-winning act Wolfmother and a guest DJ set by New York Dolls’ David Johansen. Six hundred music fans and industry types were on hand for the standing room only show. Guests snacked on appetizers inspired by the riders of artists such as Beyoncé (chicken kabobs), Guns N’ Roses (chicken pizzette), and Tom Petty (sliders). The venue, which Blender created in cooperation with Live Nation, will hold 260 shows a year, with acts Rufus Wainwright, Macy Gray, and Jedi Mind Tricks among the first to take the stage.Downstairs from the concert space, the publication created the Blender Lounge, decorated in rich reds and gold, and accessorized with photos from the magazine and screens airing Blender music events and specials. The magazine’s marketing director, William Gasperoni, sees the theater as a natural extension of the brand, where readers and music fans can have a Blender experience: “It’s a marketer’s dream. I always say, ‘You can’t hear the music in the magazine.’ To have this accessory piece is great.”

—Mimi O’Connor

Photos: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage (theater exterior, models, napkins, merchandise, food), BizBash (all others)