BIZBASH CALL SHEET — #240 — Wednesday, 04.11.12
++ Sponsored by Event Leadership Institute ++
Compiled today by Chad Kaydo in New York.
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* INCOMING *
1. MEETING EXEC PRIORITIES: On Tuesday IMEX America announced the key insights from its first Executive Meeting Forum held in Las Vegas in October: "Capturing R.O.I. and its power to build stakeholder support was a pressing and common thread discussed, supported by a strong desire to find improved ways to measure, package and demonstrate the positive impact of events and S.M.M.P. (Strategic Meetings Management Programs) to the C-suite. There was also an interest in doing more pre- and post-meeting surveys and cost-benefit analysis; securing upfront agreement on goals, objectives and measurements; and undertaking better training and expectation management with key stakeholder business groups—especially finance."
Other needs: "Having more reports that clearly show the true value of professional event planners managing contracts and meetings; developing commonly agreed industry metrics for risk mitigation, contract clauses, force majeure and other complex practices and building more negotiation consistency and power into sourcing strategies." http://bit.ly/HBdyZ8
2. APPLE APPEARANCE: All Things Digital announced yesterday that Apple C.E.O. Tim Cook will be the opening-night speaker at its 10th conference: "It will be Cook’s first appearance at D, as well as his first time being onstage at an event not run by Apple or for investors since he was named C.E.O. last August." Also speaking at the conference May 29-31, in Rancho Palos Verdes, California: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Skype C.E.O. Tony Bates, and Oracle C.E.O. Larry Ellison. http://dthin.gs/HuZX8H
3. CLOONEY’S OBAMA FUND-RAISER: George Clooney will host a major fund-raiser for President Obama. The Hollywood Reporter: "The Oscar-winning actor and longtime Democratic activist will host a 150-seat, $40,000-a-plate fund-raising dinner for the president’s reelection campaign. The event will be held at Clooney’s home and be co-hosted by DreamWorks Animation C.E.O. Jeffrey Katzenberg; the exec was slated to host the party, but his $35 million new home was not finished in time, which led to the search for a new location." http://bit.ly/IxEWWb
4. LOLLAPALOOZA LINEUP: The music festival announced this year’s lineup at midnight. It takes over Grant Park in Chicago August 3-5 with performances from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack White, and Florence and the Machine. http://bit.ly/SiPs
5. MORE MUSIC: Mashable: "Spotify is making it super-simple for music lovers and Web editors to simply embed playlists, songs or albums to a Web site or blog for free. It’s called the Spotify Play Button and it was designed to give users a way to legally share music online." Maybe we’ll see more event sites with playlists? http://on.mash.to/IrX9YC
6. LACOSTE POP-UP AT COACHELLA: WWD has a preview (and rendering) of Lacoste’s activation this weekend. The brand "will operate a pop-up shop out of a mobile container unit at the annual music festival-cum-bacchanal. The metal box unfolds mechanically into a 480-square-foot retail space, replete with retractable awnings. The store will feature an interactive listening station and a cotton candy machine that produces treats color-coordinated to Lacoste polos." http://bit.ly/IBiP12
7. LAWSUIT: San Francisco event planning company Corporate Concepts has sued Icann, saying the nonprofit breached a contract related to its gala at a meeting in March. Domain Name Wire: "Corporate Concepts alleges that it had a contract with ICANN to run the gala, for which it was to receive a $40,000 event management fee." http://bit.ly/Iny66p
8. TITANIC BACKTRACK: The New York Post: "Passengers sailing aboard a cruise liner that is retracing the Titanic’s fateful voyage are battling seasickness and despair after the ship was forced to turn back toward Ireland in rough, stormy seas yesterday because of a passenger who fell ill." http://nyp.st/Hxue6t
++ A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: EVENT LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE ++
The Event Leadership Institute is proud to provide the most progressive training and education for event planners in the industry, through on-demand video classes, biweekly webinars, white papers as well as interviews with industry leaders. www.eventleadershipinstitute.com
* LOCAL NEWS *
BOSTON: The Catered Affair will prepare a public pasta dinner for 10,000 on Sunday. The premarathon event takes place on City Hall Plaza.
Ballpark Digest: "Fenway Park hits the century mark this month, and the Boston Red Sox are planning a series of events to mark the momentous occasion. … The festivities actually began [Tuesday], when the Harvard University baseball team commemorated an exhibition game between the Red Sox and Harvard on April 9, 1912, by taking batting practice and working out on the field where Harvard students played exactly 100 years ago. … These festivities are preliminaries to the big event: the April 20 game against the New York Yankees." http://bit.ly/HvmRrD
CHICAGO: Mexican actor, singer, and model Christian Carabias will co-host the Chicago Red Dress Party with Ginger Zee from Good Morning America April 21.
Chicago Detours has partnered with Architecture & Design Film Festival and Audi to offer free custom-guided tours to festival attendees April 14-15. The tour takes guests around Lakeview and Uptown in new Audis to stop at architectural landmarks.
LAS VEGAS: New York’s Lucky Rice festival is adding a Las Vegas component. The New York Times: "For the first time, a Las Vegas version featuring the festival’s popular Asian night market, a huge event with food stalls and more than 1,000 attendees, will be held on June 23 at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas." http://nyti.ms/HuYaM3
Rehan Choudhry resigned from his position as director of entertainment and special events at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas after two years to start a brand experience agency called Aurelian Marketing Group. He’ll be its Las Vegas-based C.E.O. and will focus on bringing entertainment and event strategies to brands around the world. We named him one of the most innovative event pros in 2011: http://bit.ly/HxuCSw
The N.B.A. Summer League returns July 13-22 to the Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Review-Journal: "February was a hot month for Las Vegas tourism. Total visitor volume was up 6.4 percent from the same month in 2011, a jump assisted by a slew of conventions that occurred in other months last year or that returned after a hiatus from Vegas." http://bit.ly/IKvMF8
LOS ANGELES: Opinionated About Dining revealed the results of its survey of the best Southern California restaurants. Urasawa tops the list, followed by Saam—The Chef’s Tasting Room, Providence, Spago, and Patina.
Warner Brothers Television Group is hosting a launch party tomorrow at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills for the studio’s new museum exhibit, "Television: Out of the Box."
MIAMI: The Wolfson-Florida International University will host a lecture on "World’s Fair to Contemporary Trade Shows: Design, Progress, and Politics" April 12. David Raizman, art and design historian at Drexel University, will consider how contemporary events such as the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show and other design exhibitions have been influenced by the history of world’s fairs going back to the 19th century.
South Florida Urban Ministries will host its Black Tie & Blue Jeans Benefit April 13 at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa.
NEW YORK: This year the School of Visual Arts will host its Dusty Film and Animation Festival May 6-9. The showcase will conclude with an award ceremony at the S.V.A. Theatre.
Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare tops GQ’s list of the 10 best restaurants in New York: http://gqm.ag/I9V2WT
ORLANDO: Walt Disney World is hosting the "Disney Kids and Nature" celebration this weekend at various locations around the resort. The activities begin Friday morning at Animal Kingdom Park for Disney’s Worldwide Conservation Fund Awards Ceremony, with remarks from Disney C.E.O. Robert Iger and Dr. Jane Goodall. Later the AMC Theatre at Downtown Disney will present the world premiere of Disneynature’s new movie, "Chimpanzee." Saturday Epcot will host the Disney Friends for Change Youth Summit, with more than 100 kids from around the world participating along with Disney Channel stars such as Debby Ryan, Bella Thorne, Zendaya, Ross Lynch, and Laura Marano.
TORONTO: Impeccable Taste Catering recently launched in Toronto. The new catering company is headed by executive chef Rodney Kaufman, who previously worked at Compri Food Services.
WASHINGTON: An effort to open a casino in Prince George’s County stalled this week after the Maryland legislature failed to vote by the close of its session. Lawmakers may take up the matter in a special session, which could pave the way for a casino opening in 2016. Washington Post: http://wapo.st/I0jLOm
BLT Steak downtown has hired chef Jon Mathieson. He most recently worked at Michel in Tysons Corner, Inox, and 2941. Washington Post: http://wapo.st/Hyp5Ki
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 Anna Sekula, Beth Kormanik, and Rose Chevalier in New York.
BizBash Call Sheet is the must-read daily digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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