August 18, 2017: Three Organizations Pull Galas From Trump's Mar-a-Lago, U.S.-North Korea Tensions May Impact NBC Investment in Winter Olympics, Nielsen Wants to Figure Out the Scale of the eSports Industry

1. THREE ORGANIZATIONS PULL GALAS FROM TRUMP'S MAR-A-LAGO: The American Cancer Society, the Cleveland Clinic, and the American Friends of Magen David Adom have all pulled galas from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago private club in Florida. Palm Beach Post: "Also Thursday, a prominent business leader on Palm Beach urged other charitable organizations sticking with Mar-a-Lago to reconsider their commitment to the president’s club. Laurel Baker, executive director of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce, told those groups and their deep-pocket donors to 'have a conscience' and seek another venue for their events. The decisions by the American Cancer Society, Cleveland Clinic and the AFMDA were three of the latest examples of pushback to Trump in the days since the president’s off-the-cuff, combative and controversial news conference on Tuesday at Trump Tower, where he renewed his statements that 'both sides' were at fault in the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., sparked by marches by neo-Nazis and white supremacists last weekend. 'Our values and commitment to diversity are critical as we work to address the impact of cancer in every community,' the American Cancer Society said in announcing it would move two 2018 events, a dinner for sponsors and its 60th anniversary gala, from the president’s Palm Beach estate. 'It has become increasingly clear that the challenge to those values is outweighing other business considerations.' That announcement followed a decision by Cleveland Clinic, a leading research hospital in the United States with a location in West Palm Beach, to move its event, possibly to the Eau Palm Beach Resort and Spa." http://pbpo.st/2vJlJDp

2. U.S.-NORTH KOREA TENSIONS MAY IMPACT NBC INVESTMENT IN WINTER OLYMPICS: Tensions between the United States and North Korea may impact NBC’s investment in next year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Variety: “In six months, the prospects of nuclear brinksmanship will likely still be hanging over an event meant to bring the world together. The 2018 Winter Games are being staged just 40 miles from Korea’s demilitarized zone, the area that separates the north and the south. Olympic officials express concern over what’s transpiring, while NBC, in the midst of a massive investment for the telecast rights to the Games, keeps a watchful eye on the escalating situation. ‘No sports event in the world comes without some security concerns, and we’re paying close attention to this situation,’ said Chris McCloskey, spokesman for NBC Sports Group. ‘As with all Games, we’re in direct contact with numerous security organizations, including the U.S. State Dept., NBCUniversal Global Security, IOC security, the local organizing committee and other government agencies. The safety of our employees is always our No. 1 consideration.’ McCloskey declined to say how many staffers the network is planning to dispatch. For the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, the NBCUniversal team ended up totaling about 2,800 people — roughly 1,500 in production and 1,300 support staff. … A looming international crisis is certainly not unfamiliar territory for the network or the IOC. The ramp-up to the Rio Summer Games last year included the prospect of major disruptions from the outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil. And ahead of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, attention focused on Vladimir Putin and the passage of anti-LGBT laws, as well as terrorist activity in Chechnya.” http://bit.ly/2uUWewg

3. NIELSEN WANTS TO FIGURE OUT THE SCALE OF THE ESPORTS INDUSTRY: It’s no secret that live video gaming is a massive industry that continues to grow, but Nielsen is attempting to figure out just how big it really is. Bloomberg: “The audience-measurement company is launching a new division, Nielsen Esports, to quantify the rapidly growing industry for teams, sponsors, advertisers and publishers. ‘Nielsen knows sports, Nielsen knows games, and we obviously know audience,’ said Nicole Pike, vice president of Nielsen Games, who will co-lead the new division. ‘To us that’s the perfect confluence of expertise to enter esports.’ As more traditional sports owners and advertisers invest in esports, Nielsen will focus on sponsorship valuations, investment strategy and audience measurement -- metrics that it can compare across traditional sports. While there’s been rapid growth in the industry, ‘consistent and high-quality data has been a challenge to measure and define,’ said Craig Levine, chief executive officer of esports event organizer ESL. For example, as evidence of the growth of esports, many people use data from different sources to claim that the annual championship of Riot Games Inc.’s League of Legends is watched by more viewers than the National Basketball Association finals. But TV ratings and digital broadcasts are measured in totally different ways, and when Next Level Media broke the numbers apart, it concluded that at least four times as many people watched an NBA Finals game on average as tuned in for League of Legends finals.” https://bloom.bg/2uUCNDE


* INDUSTRY NEWS *

The Event Industry Council has announced its 2017 Hall of Leaders inductees and Pacesetter awardees. Hall of Leaders inductees include David Peckinpaugh, C.M.P.; Patricia "Patti" Roscoe, C.I.T.E.; and Janet Sperstad, C.M.P. The Pacesetter for Innovation will go to Dan Berger, C.E.O. of Social Tables; the Pacesetter for Sustainability will go to Guy Bigwood, group sustainability director for M.C.I. Group; and the Pacesetter for Young Professional will go to Mac Campbell, deputy director of the Baltimore Convention Center. The awards—which will take place during IMEX America in Las Vegas—will be presented on October 10 at Jewel Nightclub at the Aria Resort and Casino. 

* LOCAL NEWS *

CHICAGO:  The Advertising Research Foundation Young Pros Chicago group met Thursday at Nielsen’s Chicago offices. The event featured case studies from David Czechowski of Choose Chicago and Rob Paral, a demographic and public policy consultant known as the Chicago Data Guy. 

The Robey Chicago hotel has announced expansion plans with the upcoming opening of its sister property the Robey Hall. Originally opened as the Hollander in late 2016, the hotel extension is undergoing renovations that will upgrade its 20 hostel-style rooms to multi-bed, loft-style rooms. The hotel will also have a lobby café and bar called H! Bar. 

DALLAS/FORT WORTH:  Exhibition and events partner the Expo Group has appointed Toby Purdy chief sales officer. 

LAS VEGAS:  The Salvation Army and students from the UNLV School of Medicine have partnered for a water drive to benefit the homeless this weekend. Groups and individuals can drop off cases of water at 1001 Shadow Lane today and Saturday. 

The Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival will feature the world's first solar-powered art mural. The piece has 267 linear feet of neon powered by six solar panels that will produce enough electricity to light the mural year-round without having to pull from the city’s energy grid. Life is Beautiful runs from September 22-24 in downtown Las Vegas. 

LOS ANGELES:  Christopher Street West, the foundation behind the annual L.A. Pride Festival and Parade, has started recruitment efforts for its board of directors. The nonprofit hopes to attract thought leaders and influencers from the fields of marketing, finance, legal, fund-raising, corporate sponsorship, event management, operations, programming, and more. Applications are being accepted at lapride.org

The Main Museum in Downtown Los Angeles has announced that it will begin to present museum tours, online materials, and programming in both English and Spanish. The bilingual offerings will launch in September.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  Lenny Kravitz will headline the 23rd annual InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball on November 4. Actress and filmmaker Gabrielle Anwar will return as celebrity emcee of the event for the seventh consecutive year. The event is is chaired by philanthropist Shareef Malni, and the theme of this year’s ball is Mystical Music Box, inspired by enchantment, fantasy, and art.

NEW YORK:  Goop has partnered with Cadillac to host Road to Table, two daylong events on September 8 and September 10 that will invite guests to drive 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In cars to Amber Waves Farm in the Hamptons, where guests will then harvest vegetables with host Lauren Bush Lauren and chef Christopher Kostow. Guests will then be able to enjoy a dinner prepared by Kostow using the day’s produce. A portion of ticket proceeds will go to Feed Supper, Feed’s campaign to fight hunger in the United States.   

The ninth edition of the Architecture & Design Film Festival will take place November 1-5 at Cinépolis Chelsea. The event will screen more than 30 feature-length and short films curated by festival director Kyle Bergman. 

The National Basketball Players Association will reveal the 2017 Players Voice Awards on social media today beginning at 11 a.m. EST. 

Shuttered dance club Pacha will be replaced with a new nightclub and cultural museum. Page Six: http://pge.sx/2x8YQHq

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

SAN FRANCISCO:  Global hospitality company Benchmark has named Connie Hagston director of sales and marketing for Chaminade Resort & Spa in Santa Cruz.  

SEATTLE:  American Express will bring back “American Express Dinner on the 50” to CenturyLink Field on August 29. The seated card-member dinner will kick off the company’s 2017 All for the 12s partnership with the Seattle Seahawks. 

TORONTO:  The Toronto Cider Festival will take place August 26 at Sherbourne Common. Honoring Canada’s 150th anniversary, the event will offer samples of more than 60 different ciders. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  The Milken Institute plans to add a rooftop reception space to 730 15th St. NW, a 100,672-square-foot, 10-story office building around the corner from the White House. It’s part of an overall upgrade of the 87-year old building.

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With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, Rayna Katz, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

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