Susan Arons, vice president of public relations for Radio City Entertainment (which handles all entertainment events for Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall for the venues' parent company, Cablevision) managed a team of more than 40 public relations specialists from five different organizations, including PR firm Rogers & Cowan, Grammy giver the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Naras), CBS Television (which will broadcast the event) and the office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. And almost everyone who wasn't a reporter or photographer showed up with a PR person in tow.
The flashy event was an immediate reward for the academy to demonstrate that New York really cared about getting the show back, and it had all the elements of a classic press conference. To give photographers and TV reporters a good visual, the speakers--including academy chief Michael Greene and CBS CEO Leslie Moonves--arrived on stage in a real New York taxi secured from the Taxi and Limousine Commission through the Committee for Taxi Safety. Bloomberg did some cutesy poses with a guitar, and for post-event photo ops, a media room with more than 30 camera crews captured "one-on-ones" in front of backdrops designed by Madison Square Garden and produced quickly by the Photobition Group with all the appropriate logos.
For a few more New York touches, lunch was prepared by Nobu and Tribeca Grill chefs, and the food court was decorated with authentic New York street signs bought just for the occasion from New York City Department of Transportation Sign Sales. The gift bag included incredible blocks of "Grammy Chocolate" from Match Catering and Eventstyles.
