BIZBASH CALL SHEET — #217 — Friday, 03.09.12
Compiled today by Jana Schiowitz and Anna Sekula in New York
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TODAY'S CALENDAR: SXSW begins today in Austin, Texas; the Miami International Film Festival continues
* INCOMING *
1. GAINING GROUND AT SXSW: According to the city of Austin’s music program manager Don Pitts, South by Southwest is expanding in a big way, with an increased number of applications filed for outdoor sound permits and more large-scale promotions planned for the festival that begins in the Texas city today. CultureMap Austin: “As evidence, Pitts pointed to several domes being erected for parties, or a 52-foot-tall stage on Red River near Fifth Street that was proposed by planners to have attendees careening down a 70-foot slide. 'They wanted a 72-foot [tall] structure with people getting down from the stage on this giant slide, but we brought them back to reality on that one because we don’t want patrons sliding from up that high,' Pitts said Monday. 'You’re seeing a little more elaborate setups on these events, and we’re trying to make things as safe and manageable as possible.'"
http://bit.ly/AyjJpC
2. TWITTER'S BRAND PAGE CHANGES: The social networking service plans on following Facebook's lead on brand pages, adding contests, experiences, and e-commerce. Ad Age: "The product will allow app developers to build experiences on Twitter, much the way they do on Facebook. The features will be contained within the brand's tweet timeline, a departure from the 140-character limit of a tweet or images and videos that can now displayed. While no date has been set for the release of the product, Twitter has been telling clients to expect it this year."
http://bit.ly/wuRh2l
3. PUBLIC ACCESS AT THE OLYMPICS: The London Olympics organizing committee is being criticized for its refusal to give local politicians a breakdown of ticket pricing. Concerns raised by the London Assembly’s Economy, Culture, and Sport Committee include the lack of publicly available tickets for showpiece events at the summer games. The Independent: “John Biggs, the Labour Assembly member for City and East, expressed disappointment that the stadium had been built in such a way as to so significantly limit the number of seats available, and that tickets for the ‘blazerati’ or via ‘a Cadburys Crème egg competition’ should not be considered tickets for the general public. ‘There is a feeling among the public that it is a closed games,’ he said. ‘People will be steaming past them in these games lanes to go to events that they don’t have tickets to.’
http://ind.pn/yVkSLd
4. LADIES ONLY: The latest trend in hospitality has seen a number of hotels create women-only floors, which is helping the properties draw female business travelers. Michelle Williams, event coordinator with Ernst & Young: '"Unlike other hotels, it seemed like someone actually thought about what women wanted. And there are so many women in my type of role traveling around the globe—hotels need to wake up to that a bit."' CNN:
http://bit.ly/xbMBj9
5. PERILS OF TRENDING: Although the focus of yesterday’s workshop from Procter & Gamble was to showcase innovative ideas in digital marketing, the Signal P&G event in Cincinnati unintentionally highlighted the pitfalls of marketing through social media. Ad Age: “By two hours into the event, the #SignalPG hashtag had become a trending topic on Twitter. That lured enough spammers that [organizer] Federated took down the live Twitter search feed until Twitter C.E.O. Dick Costolo, a speaker at the event, helped get the spam canned.”
http://bit.ly/yi4LPj
* THE WEEK IN EVENTS *
Here's a look at 10 highlights from our event coverage this week, including the visuals from the TED Conference and TEDActive in California, Caesars Entertainment's simultaneous four-city concert, the 175th birthday party for the city of Chicago, and the same-sex wedding to promote the second season of "Happily Divorced."
http://bizba.sh/z3V67Q
* LOCAL NEWS *
BOSTON: The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau elected David R. Giblin as the 2012 Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Saphire Event Group announced the completion of its newly renovated and redesigned wedding and event venue, Saphire Estate. The ballroom now accommodates 270 guests, and offers an additional 1,000 square feet of event space.
http://bit.ly/deMBBC
CHICAGO: On May 6, the Joffrey Ballet Women's Board will host its 10th anniversary celebration gala. The event will begin with a performance at the Auditorium Theatre and culminate with a cocktail reception, dinner, and new after-party at the Palmer House Hilton.
Ladies Night Chicago, 220 Communications, and Cutting Edge Events will host "Lap of Luxury" at Grossinger Autoplex April 4. The event will offer services from some 40 beauty, spa, health, and lifestyle vendors along with wine and cocktails from Aged to Perfection and a chocolate bar from Fanny May.
http://bit.ly/wU8z6Z
LAS VEGAS: Eight months after its well-established Nightclub & Bar Convention and Trade Show, Nightclub & Bar Media Group will debut the new entertainment and beverage festival known as On the Rocks Las Vegas. Producing the event scheduled for November 9-11 will be Jon Taffer, who is the group's president as well as the star and co-executive producer of Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue.”
Now in its third year, the V.I.B.E. (Very Important Beverage Executives) Conference will run March 13-14. The event brings together owners, operators, beverage directors, marketing vice presidents, and food and beverage executives from recognized restaurant companies, hotel chains, cruise lines, and casino businesses across the country.
The Academy of Country Music announced Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, and Tim McGraw will be among the scheduled performers at the 47th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, co-hosted by Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton. The ceremony will be produced for television by Dick Clark Productions and will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 1.
LOS ANGELES: Christina Chu is leaving Syndicate Media Group for a new role as an account executive at Feed Company, a video seeding agency with clients like Activision, Levi Strauss, Ford Motor Company, and Gillette. She starts March 19.
Invest West Financial Corporation and Pacifica Hotel Company announced the acquisition of the Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach from Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants. The Belamar joins Pacifica's existing portfolio of 24 hotel properties.
Tomorrow night, the Architecture & Design Museum's annual fund-raiser will have a runway event with live models displaying wearable artworks, which will be available at auction and for sale. Catering will come from Scott Roeb, and L.A. Artist Collective will project content onto the interior and exterior walls of the museum.
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: Forbes: "While Miami’s housing market limps through the downturn, its hotel inventory continues to expand, with several new luxury projects slated to open this year and the announcement last week of The Trump Organization’s acquisition of the iconic Doral Hotel & Country Club. Long a favorite tropical location for quick getaways, Miami is poised to host increased numbers of business travelers and visitors who want more than sandy beaches and splashy nightclubs."
http://onforb.es/x9V3Kk
Philippe by Philippe Chow is celebrating the court case win with complimentary chicken satay and an open bar tonight.
Miami New Times provides a preview of some of Ultra Music Festival's after-parties:
http://bit.ly/wOKlqY
Magic Under the Mangroves was held last night at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Windows Catering Company provided food for the fund-raiser.
NEW YORK: The Center for Exhibition Industry Research will host its second annual Predict conference on September 13 at 10 on the Park at the Time Warner Center. The meeting for about 140 C level executives will focus on projected event growth, merger and acquisition strategies, and planned launches. ExhibitorOnline.com:
http://bit.ly/xVuav5
Westchester County developer filed a lawsuit to stop plans for a $600 million Catskill Resort, contending that Entertainment Properties and the racetrack company controlled by Kien Huat are blocking his plans for the development of a competing racetrack and casino at the same site. The New York Times:
http://nyti.ms/zwHYj8
The Grand Hyatt New York reopened after a $130 million renovation. City-of-hotels.com:
http://bit.ly/zqhbiS
Zach Eichman has joined Tommy Hilfiger as vice president of corporate communications. Previously Eichman was vice president of global marketing and communications at IMG.
Chef Jennifer Cole-Ruiz has joined Dish Food & Events as executive chef. Previously, Cole-Ruiz worked at Taberna as the Upper West Side restaurant's executive chef.
ORLANDO: The Orlando World Center Marriott is offering a package of savings for meetings booked by June 30 and held prior to December 30, 2013. The "Sweet Meetings" package is named in honor of the resort's senior pastry chef, Ramon Ramos, who recently competed in the Concours International Mixte de Haute-Pâtisserie in Paris. The offer includes up to a five percent rebate on the master bill on rooms revenue, 20 percent off audiovisual services, and complimentary dessert at a reception or dinner.
Mary Hutchcraft is the new director of sales and marketing at Reunion Resort.
TORONTO: More than 30,000 investors, mining executives, and prospectors attended the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention, which ran from March 4-7 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
http://bit.ly/9vZ9As
WASHINGTON: Kara Franz joined GEP Washington as an account manager.
YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected].
With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, Carla Warrilow in Toronto, and Amy Leibrock, Jana Schiowitz, and Anna Sekula in New York.
BizBash Call Sheet is the must-read daily digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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