Corporate Sponsors Take Subtle Approach: Sponsorships are still present at major events, but some companies are going to extreme lengths to ensure people don't notice. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley, for example, all had a presence at the 2009 U.S. Open golf tournament, but instead of branding tables, shirts, and tents with their logos, each of the banks slipped by under the radar. The banks paid $750,000 between them just on tables at a hospitality center off the 18th green, but declined any sort of signage. Many professionals suggest that this is indicative of the new importance of perception over actual spending. [NYT]
Victoria's Secret Show Heads Back East: After three years in other markets, the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show will return to New York this fall. No official date or venue have been selected, but the event is typically held in November and its most recent New York show was at the 69th Regiment Armory. The event will once again be broadcast several weeks later on CBS. [NYM]
Twitter-Free Parties on the Rise: In an effort to not have every moment of life documented by photos, social networking, or self-publishing, some event hosts are ensuring that guests don't turn any of their experiences at parties into online content by banning tweets, photos, and blog posts. Most of these embargoes are limited to more intimate parties, but some venues are taking a similar approach to give guests a sense of privacy. Bouncers at one Manhattan nightclub forbid guests from taking photos with others in them, and managers contact people who post images taken inside the club on Facebook, demanding they remove them. [NYT]
