1. COMIC-CON SCAVENGER HUNT TO USE INSTAGRAM: Fox Home Entertainment has launched a scavenger hunt at Comic-Con that will require participants to use Instagram's new video feature. Fox will tweet clues, and players have to film themselves at the locations and use the hashtag #wherethefox. The winner will receive tickets to the FX/Maxim party. Mashable: "With the rise in popularity of social video, we saw this as the right time to try something new," said Mary Daily, chief marketing officer at Fox Home Entertainment. http://on.mash.to/1avjbWL
2. AMAZON FACES BRAND CRISIS OVER DOMAIN NAME: Online retailer Amazon will not be able to use .amazon as an Internet address suffix, according to a preliminary ruling from the international body that oversees domain names. A group of South American countries had objected to its use because of the importance of the Amazon River to their continent. New York Times: "Scores of companies, countries, and organizations have applied to use their names or other terms as global top-level domains, alongside the handful of existing ones like .com and .org. … The group had also objected to another application, from the outdoor clothier Patagonia, to use its name as an address suffix." http://nyti.ms/1awQn04
3. UBER LAUNCHES ICE-CREAM DELIVERY PROMOTION: A global promotion from Uber, the car service mobile app, invites people in 33 cities to request a visit from an ice-cream truck. For $20, customers will receive six ice cream treats, Uber T-shirts, and sunglasses delivered to their door. AdWeek: "What's more, the San Francisco-based company is running the promotion in three markets where it's yet to go live—Miami, Houston, and Portland, Oregon. For people in those sweltering cities, the offer could serve as a fine how-do-you-do as the tech player apparently looks to debut its service in the coming months." http://bit.ly/15PAaSp
INDUSTRY NEWS
The Destination & Travel Foundation has selected the James Beard Foundation as the recipient of the 2014 Spirit of Hospitality Award. The award will be presented February 11 during the 21st annual Destination & Travel Foundation Dinner & Dream Auction in Washington, D.C.
* LOCAL NEWS *
BOSTON: The Urban Raid 5K obstacle course, billed as the first obstacle race held directly on the streets of Boston, will take place at Faneuil Hall Marketplace July 27 and will cover a 3.1-mile route. Charity partners are Camp Sunshine and Family Reach Foundation, and sponsors include Kimpton Hotels, Kind Snacks, Zirco Coconut Water, and more.
CHICAGO: The Pitchfork Music Festival begins today and runs through Sunday. Time Out Chicago has compiled its coverage of top acts to check out (included: Angel Olsen and Solange), interviews with festival acts such as R. Kelly, and even local stores to shop at for fest-friendly gear. http://bit.ly/1av0r9M
DALLAS: Freeman announced that chief sales officer Bob Priest-Heck will succeed John O’Connell as president and chief operating officer once O’Connell retires from the company in 2014.
LAS VEGAS: Las Vegas Weekly has a report on the pop-up dinner experiences spotted all over town: http://bit.ly/13mVvSo
LOS ANGELES: Austin will replace Los Angeles as U.S. host of the global X Games in 2014. Dallas Morning News: http://dallasne.ws/13QVsRO
On August 1, Audi will again present the chef-focused An Evening on the Beach in support of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Times: "The complex topography of film festivals in Los Angeles will have a new wrinkle with the inaugural Next Weekend festival. Running August 8 to 11, the event is being organized by Sundance Institute as an extension of the 4-year-old Next section of its annual film festival in Utah." http://lat.ms/17nZcaK
The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza has named Brian Morris as director of sales and marketing.
Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: Associated Photo & Imaging has new ownership. Diana Herrera, former vice president, is the new owner and president.
NEW YORK: The New York Comedy Festival marks its 10th anniversary November 6-10. The festival will include events like the "Comics to Watch" showcase and the "Stand-Up For Heroes" benefit at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Diffa's Picnic By Design is August 21 at the Scholastic building in SoHo. The rooftop event will include a picnic dinner, cocktails courtesy of Patron, wines from La Crema, and coffee from Starbucks.
Canard Inc. is catering the Longhouse Reserve Summer Benefit "White Night" in East Hampton Saturday for cocktails and dinner. Guests will be dressed in "Shades and Shapes of White" honoring Lisa de Kooning, Richard Meier, and Ai Weiwei.
Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
ORLANDO: Nuclear Cowboyz, a choreographed, freestyle motorcross production, performs at the Amway Center March 8-9. The show will include more than 1,000 freestyle tricks, an indoor pyrotechnics show, and a soundtrack of heavy metal, electronic dubstep, and alternative hip-hop music.
TORONTO: Canada Rocks 2013 is scheduled for August 19 at Uniun Nightclub. WiL and Michael Bernard Fitzgerald will perform, and there will be regional cuisine and a hosted bar.
WASHINGTON: Some facts and figures from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority's just-wrapped 51st national convention at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center: 45,000 chairs were set up in five halls in theater-style sets within eight hours, then three halls changed over to a 16,000 banquet-style set with 1,600 tables within six hours. Staging equipment included 9,000 feet of truss, 350 chain motors, more than 500 scoop lights, 60 digital video screens, 64 projectors, and 40-dimmer racks. Centerplate/NBSE served 49,780 meals over a three-day period, using more than three miles of baking sheet pans and 42 refrigeration trucks for storage. The caterer coordinated more than 3,100 servers and used 139,000 plates, 139,000 forks, 94,500 knives, and 50,000 spoons.
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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Haley Holton, Beth Kormanik, Lauren Matthews, and Anna Sekula in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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