January 7, 2015: New York Fashion Week Loses Title Sponsor Mercedes-Benz, Why Marketers Really Attend C.E.S., Coachella Announces Unusual Lineup

1. NEW YORK FASHION WEEK LOSES TITLE SPONSOR MERCEDES-BENZ: After five years, Mercedes-Benz is giving up its title sponsorship of New York Fashion Week, just one of several major changes for the semiannual event. New York Business Journal: “The other half of the equation is that IMG, which produces similar Fashion Week events in other cities around the globe, is planning to acquire downtown rival Made Fashion Week. Made is owned by the co-founder and creative director of Milk Studios, Mazdack Rassi, with partners Jenné Lombardo and Keith Baptista, and it has increasingly been considered more relevant when it comes to cutting-edge fashion designer shows than the tents uptown.” http://bit.ly/140FMMr

2. WHY MARKETERS REALLY ATTEND C.E.S.: International C.E.S. has taken a foothold as a major advertising convention as well as a consumer electronics show. Adweek: “Companies seemingly unrelated to gadgets will be at the Consumer Electronics Show, turning it into the first big advertising conference of the year that many say rivals Austin's SXSW and is even as important as the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France. That's why the major media holding companies like Starcom Mediavest and Omnicom Media Group are taking over Las Vegas hotels to court clients and connect to the latest technology. There will be VIP dinners and celebrity events, and while the main show is on the convention center floor in well-lighted booths, the most important meetings will take place in the background, in the hotel suites, where top executives from the tech and advertising world come together to plan marketing's future.” http://bit.ly/1xAnyNG

3. COACHELLA ANNOUNCES UNUSUAL MIX IN LINEUP: Rockers AC/DC, the rapper Drake, and Detroit’s Jack White are among the headliners at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which once again will stretch over two weekends in April. Los Angeles Times: “Long considered the kickoff to the year's festival circuit, the 2015 Coachella roster is particularly rife with both genre and generational confusion… Coachella made its name by connecting inventive rock, rap and dance music under the same banner—in the process confirming and helping steer pop music's direction. But this year, more than most, genre distinctions and divides seem more apparent. Where once Coachella bore the imprimatur of few excellent curators, 2015's grouping seems more curated-by-committee.” http://lat.ms/1BKIwJk

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  The First Event transgender conference will take place at Westin Waltham Boston January 21-25.

CHICAGO:  The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Grand Chefs Gala is January 30 at the Fairmont Chicago. Organizers expect 750 guests, and the event will offer live music, live and silent auctions, and chef-prepared snacks.

LAS VEGAS:  The 56th-floor Alizé at the top of Palms Casino Resort has debuted “celebration keys,” which unlock boxes containing gifts for diners who are celebrating occasions or milestones.

Downtown Las Vegas Events Center will host the Hawaii Festival, January 10-11, and January 16-17.

LOS ANGELES:  Petrossian will present a caviar bar at the Golden Globes, adjacent to the telecast ballroom.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  Pérez Art Museum Miami will host its annual fund-raiser, the Art of the Party Presented by Louis Vuitton, on January 17. Lee Brian Schrager of Southern Wine & Spirits of America and the founder of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival is producing this year’s event.

The Design Center of the Americas Winter Market is February 4-5 at its headquarters in Dania Beach. The free event includes a number of design discussions and demonstrations as well as a presentation of the Stars of Design and Stars on the Rise Awards.

NEW YORK:  More than 50 restaurants from throughout New York are expected to participate in the Village Voice's eighth annual Choice Eats tasting event on March 13 at Metropolitan Pavilion.

The Kosher Food & Wine Experience is February 9 at a new location, Metropolitan Pavilion.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO:  Gino Marasco has been promoted to director of sales and marketing at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel.

SAN FRANCISCO:  BottleRock Napa Valley announced the lineup for its third annual festival with headliners Imagine Dragons, No Doubt, and Robert Plant. The music, culinary, wine, and beer festival will take place at the Napa Valley Expo May 29-31.

TORONTO:  The Next Stage Theatre Festival, organized by the Toronto Fringe Festival, is taking place at the Factory Studio Theatre until January 18.

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington is sponsoring an Instagram contest for Winter Restaurant Week, January 19-25. Diners who follow the association on Instagram and use the hashtag #DMVWRW will be eligible for prizes, including tickets to the 33rd annual Rammy Awards and Gala in June.

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Anna Sekula in New York.

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