1. BRANDS SHOW SUPPORT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE RULING: Brands including Procter & Gamble, YouTube, Target, Starbucks, and Whole Foods celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage across the nation with social media campaigns that thoughtfully incorporated rainbows or other images and symbols, many using the hashtag #LoveWins. See a collection of the ads here: IJRreview: http://bit.ly/1JfoSdb
2. NASCAR PROMISES TO BAN CONFEDERATE FLAG FROM EVENTS: Nascar is joining the chorus of opponents to the confederate flag, with chairman Brian France saying the sport will work to eliminate it from its racing events. Associated Press: “But banning it on race track property is a much larger task for Nascar, which began as a Southern sport and many of its fans still embrace the flag. It flies atop campers and at camp sites at many races as fans spend entire weekends in either the infield or surrounding areas of track property. The size of the crowd, and Nascar's own acknowledgment that fans have a right to freedom of expression, would make it difficult to police the presence of the flag. But France insisted Nascar is exploring its options.” http://bit.ly/1HrSczs
3. BUDGET FIGHT THREATENS CHICAGO’S CONVENTION AND TOURISM BUREAU: Choose Chicago, the city’s convention and tourism bureau, is rallying supporters to stave off $7.2 million in state budget cuts—which represents 40 percent of its annual operating budget. The agency already has suspended its current tourism campaign, dubbed “Chicago Epic.” Chicago Tribune: “The Chicago Epic campaign, launched in April, included a 30-second commercial on DirecTV promoting Chicago as a tourism destination to distant markets such as San Francisco and Denver, the city's first foray beyond regional advertising. Choose Chicago had budgeted $2.2 million toward the summer campaign. While the national TV schedule was set to end on June 30, the agency has curtailed a planned digital campaign through August, saving $260,000.” http://trib.in/1KiYG4o
4. ‘SHARK WEEK’ GETS THE LIVE-STREAM TREATMENT: The Discovery Channel will work with Meerkat to add a live-stream component to its popular “Shark Week” programming and embed the content on its website. Variety: “The Discovery Channel is still finalizing its Meerkat streaming lineup, but Byrne said that the network plans to host two to three live streams every day during the week, including a live shark feeding at the National Aquarium in Baltimore as well as Meerkats from shark experts and filmmakers to deliver a behind-the-scenes look at their work for the event. And with a little bit of luck, there will also be a live stream of the July 4 fireworks from San Francisco’s Pier 39 before the official “Shark Week” on Discovery Channel even starts.” http://bit.ly/1C1aqFT
* INDUSTRY NEWS *
WPP has acquired a majority stake in SET, a brand experience agency based in Portland, Oregon. SET’s clients include Nike, BMW, Red Bull, and Victoria’s Secret Pink.
* LOCAL NEWS *
ATLANTA: Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Celebrity Chef Art Smith toasted about 40 couples who came to exchange or renew at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead Sunday, two days after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling legalizing gay marriage in all 50 states. … Sunday’s event was the third '101 Gay Weddings' event Smith has hosted, and planning took a few months. He could never have known the event would take place two days after the historic ruling.” http://on-ajc.com/1IFSIo9
BOSTON: The Boston Park Plaza Hotel has unveiled the first two parts of a three-part, $100 million renovation. The third phase will wrap up in June 2016.
CHICAGO: The Chicago Craft Beer Festival will take place in Lincoln Park July 18-19.
LAS VEGAS: More than 200 travel agent members attended the first-ever "FirstNight" V.I.P. event, which was hosted by Outside Sales Support Network and CCRA Travel Commerce Network on June 21 at the Venetian Hotel. Travel Agent Central: http://bit.ly/1Kg9VJb
LOS ANGELES: South Bay Girls Day Out, planned for July 25 at the MBS Media Campus in Manhattan Beach, will include pampering stations, pop-up boutiques, a cupcake bar, and more. The event benefits Village Care International.
Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: La Moderna, a restaurant concept from Rome, has opened a location in Sunset Harbour Shops in Miami Beach. Italian architect Roberto Liorni designed the space as a contemporary interpretation of a mechanical workshop.
PHILADELPHIA: Philadelphia Runner, which is putting on the Philly 10K for a second year on August 30, aims to make the race an event for the entire city. Philly.com: http://bit.ly/1HkxLoe
NEW YORK: The Legacy of Hope Foundation, which supports the building of the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, will host a benefit concert on July 15 at the Barclays Center. Robin Thicke and Common are among the artists scheduled to perform at the event, which will be streamed live on the organization's website.
The Independent art fair has found a new home at the Spring Studios in TriBeCa. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1eMs1XN
Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA: Snaptrends, which provides location-based social intelligence, announced it will participate in the National Sports Safety and Security Conference July 6-9 at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort.
SAN FRANCISCO: Speakers and moderators at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit will include Mark Zuckerberg, Elizabeth Holmes, Lee Daniels, and Katie Couric. The second annual event will take place October 5-7 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
TORONTO: Though they were initially lagging, ticket sales for the Pan Am and Parapan AM games have recently picked up. Organizers have sold 650,000 tickets to the Pan Am games alone; 1.4 million tickets are reserved for both games in total. http://bit.ly/1NlGHIZ
WASHINGTON, D.C.: See what’s in store for the city’s first cat café, Crumbs & Whiskers, located in Georgetown. Washingtonian: http://bit.ly/1NjCXa9
YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected].
JOB BOARD: Post a job or find a job: http://jobs.bizbash.com
With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, Anna Sekula, and Ian Zelaya in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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