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$4.95 WINTER 2010–11 BIZBASH.COM

BEST OF

2010The Year’s Trends, Event Launches, Smart Makeovers,

Ambitious Campaigns & Ideas to Steal

PLUS: Sponsor Integrations, Holiday Party Bites, Stylish Stages, Twitter Skepticism, 26 New Venues, Planners’ Favourite Trends & More

bizbash.com winter 2010–11 3

TORONTO Volume 6, Issue 3Winter 2010-11 © 2010 BizBash Media

FROM THE EDITORS 4 Tracking the year’s trends

READERS’ FORUM 11 What was the best idea you saw

in 2010?

THE SCOUT 15 Wintry curtains made of ice 16 Passed bites for holiday

gatherings 17 Festive glasses and small plates

for rent 18 A Canadian aerial-dance cirque

company 20 Innovative ideas for stage design 21 What are clever ways to integrate

trade show sponsors? 22 11 ideas and products to have on

your radar

VENUES 24 Five new Toronto venues

EVENT REPORTS 28 Toronto International Film

Festival’s party circuit 30 Fashion Television’s 25th

anniversary bash 31 From New York: Park Avenue

Armory’s carnival-themed gala 32 Coast to Coast: HBO’s vintage

Atlantic City-inspired Boardwalk Empire launch parties

34 Rethink Breast Cancer’s disco-themed Boobyball

35 From Los Angeles: Discovery’s experiential Hub network launch event

36 Scotiabank Nuit Blanche’s all-night art celebration

37 From Washington: Glenn Beck’s 300,000-person Restoring Honor rally

38 From Chicago: Subway post-conference gala’s three fresh pavilions

39 Sun Life Financial’s fi ve-city fi reworks show

40 Design Exchange’s seventh annual Black & White gala

41 From Miami: Thrillist’s branded hotel and weekend getaway

42 Canadian Opera Company’s Cinderella-themed benefi t

47 Best of 2010 The top trends, ideas, designs, and

events that shaped this year

THE DIRECTORY 63 New venues

TED KRUCKEL 64 The limits of social media

On the Cover Clockwise from top left: A touch screen game at Samsung’s Vancouver Olympics pavilion, photo by Grant Harder for BizBash; a fl ying machine at Red Bull’s 2010 Flugtag tour kickoff in Miami, photo courtesy of Red Bull; cellophane chandeliers at the Chicago Botanic Garden’s summer dance, photo by Tay Kaune; digital grafi tti at the re-opening of Chanel’s SoHo New York store, photo courtesy of Tangible Interaction; a white neon installation at the opening party for the Hermès men’s store in New York, photo by Clint Spaulding/Patrick McMullan; an artistic interpretation of Lexus’s new hybrid car at the company’s Dark Side of Green environmental debate in Miami, photo by Red Eye Productions

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At the inaugural Paws for the Cause fund-raiser—a benefi t for the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals—the event team, led by founder Laura Serra, called on 10 Canadian fashion designers to dress 10 local personalities and 10 dogs. About 250 people attended the runway show and cocktail party at Red Bull 381 Projects on October 28. A nine-image photo series, presented by sponsor Olympus, featured stylish Torontonians with their pets; it was used for event marketing and decor. DJs Greg Ipp and Ian Worang spun tunes from a Red Bull-branded Grill Chef barbecue-turned-DJ booth. Designers Cailliane and Samantha Beckerman, dressed in their own label, walked the runway with their dog Cubby. More photos and details are on BizBash.com.

ON BIZBASH.COMComprehensive local venue and supplier directories

The latest industry news

Local sites for Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami/South Florida, New York, Orlando, Toronto, and Washington

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I hate the word trendy. It’s one of those terms that can say more about the person using it than the thing it’s supposed to describe. For some people, what’s trendy is what’s already too popular; for others, it’s the new thing they don’t quite understand yet. For many, trendy suggests something is inauthentic—people always seem to pronounce the word with a note of condescension.

It’s like when someone says, “You’re so hip!” They think they sound self-deprecating (“I can’t keep up with fashion/music/whatever!”), but often it’s a backhanded compli-ment (“I don’t have time for such silly things, but it’s cute that you do!”).

The fact is, what you consider trendy often depends on where you are on the coolhunting/early-adopter scale. (My apologies if you fi nd those terms equally ob-noxious.) As connotation-ridden as trendy is, often its meaning is too hard to pin down. So the word is banned from these pages. (See also: party planner, fashionista.)

But you’re likely to fi nd its root, trend, here a lot. We—the editors and you readers, too, not to mention your guests—are obsessed with trends. We want to know what’s current, what’s new, what we need to move on from before everyone else is doing it, what we need to move on to. The nature of the event business requires you to stay on top of what’s happening in food, design, entertainment, technology, art, theatre, and pop culture, so you can create experiences that feel current and ahead of the curve.

Identifying trends was our prime directive in putting together our Best of 2010 package. In ad-dition to showcasing some of the cleverest ideas

we saw, we wanted to tell the story of this year for the industry. What were the obsessions, co-incidences, and innova-tions that characterized

events in this particular moment? How did the top minds adapt to the new products, cultural infl uences, and economic constraints of the day?

We hope the 15 pages of photos, case studies, and comments from industry folks—and the stories in the rest of the issue—tell that story, from food trucks to social media to event makeovers, and give you some ideas for 2011 as well.

There’s also value in questioning some trends, as Ted Kruckel does in his column on the unproven marketing value of promotional Twitter messages.

One trend we should all be happy to see is a growing sense of optimism for the event busi-ness. In a survey of readers we conducted online in September, 77 percent chose bullish responses when asked to describe the economic state of the industry. Meanwhile, spending appears to be rising: 41 percent of readers said their September 2010 budgets were up from September 2009 lev-els, 28 percent said their budgets were fl at, and 31 percent reported reduced spending.

For another take on ’10, we asked our bu-reau chiefs to describe 10 highlights in their markets—the groundbreaking local venues, new events, and innovative ideas that kept them excited about covering this industry at this time. You’ll fi nd their commentary on BizBash.com in December. —Chad Kaydo

ON BIZBASH.COM

10 highlights of 2010 from each of our local markets

From the Editors

In the Trend TrenchesHow do you sum up a year?

You could call the Ace Hotel trendy, but I call its restaurant, the Breslin, my favourite current lunch spot.

Thrillist’s party during the New York City Wine & Food Festival had a beer-and-bourbon theme. I’m a fan of both, but we’ve all seen enough bacon on event menus for a while, no?

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BY

EDITOR IN CHIEF Chad KaydoNEWS EDITOR Courtney ThompsonSTYLE EDITOR Lisa CericolaASSOCIATE EDITOR Anna SekulaCHICAGOEDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF Jenny BergLOS ANGELESEDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF Alesandra DubinMIAMIEDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF D. Channing MullerORLANDOEDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF Mitra SorrellsTORONTOEDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF Susan O’NeillWASHINGTONEDITOR/BUREAU CHIEF T.J. WalterART ART DIRECTOR Joey BouchardASSISTANT ART/PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Carolyn CurtisPHOTOPHOTO EDITOR Jeeyun LeeASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Amber KnowlesCOPY & RESEARCHASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR Claire HoffmanEDITORIAL INTERN Jessica FloresCONTRIBUTORSEDITOR AT LARGE Ted KruckelWRITER AT LARGE, LOS ANGELES Irene LacherCONTRIBUTING EDITORS Michael O’Connell, Mimi O’Connor, Brendan Spiegel, Erin Souza, Ellen Sturm NizCONTRIBUTING WRITERS Meryl Rothstein, Andi Teran LOS ANGELES:

Rosalba Curiel, Shilpa Gopinath TORONTO: Amy Lazar, Erin Letson WASHINGTON: Adele Chapin, Walter NichollsCOPY EDITORS Libby Estell, Josh WimmerCONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Vincent Dillio, Roger Dong, Nick Ferrari, Emily Gilbert, Dan Hallman, John Minchillo, Alice and Chris Ross, Keith Sirchio BOSTON: Aviran Levy, Patrick Piasecki CHICAGO: Mireya Acierto, Tyllie Barbosa, Barry Brecheisen, Eric Craig, Jeremy Lawson, Eddie Quinones LOS ANGELES: Matt Armendariz, BEImages, Jessica Boone, Nadine Froger, Line 8 Photography, Zen Sekizawa, Dale Wilcox MIAMI: Joseph Cancellare & Associates, Matthew Horton, Moris Moreno, Elizabeth Renfrow, Mitchell Zachs TORONTO: Gary Beechey, Jill Kitchener, Henry Lin, Emma McIntyre, Nicki Leigh McKean, George Pimentel WASHINGTON: Tony Brown/Imijination Photo, Stephen Elliot, FotoBriceno, Powers and CreweEDITORIAL OFFICES21 West 38th St., 13th Floor, New York, NY 10018phone: 646.638.3600, fax: 646.638.3601CHICAGO BUREAU312.436.2525LOS ANGELES BUREAU310.659.9510MIAMI BUREAU1450 NE 123 St., North Miami, FL 33161305.808.3535TORONTO BUREAU2453 Yonge St., Suite 101, Toronto, ON M4P 2E8 416.425.6380CONTACT USEditorial Feedback and Ideas: [email protected] Invitations, Press Releases: [email protected] Listings: [email protected] Inquiries: 646.839.6835, [email protected] Subscriptions: bizbash.com/subscribeSubscription Renewals: bizbash.com/renewReprints: Dani Rose, The YGS Group 800.494.9051 ext. 125, [email protected] MASTERPLANNERCHAIRMAN Elisabeth FamilianNEW YORK EDITOR Alexandra AnzaLOS ANGELES EDITOR Leslee KomaikoBIZBASH MEDIAC.E.O. AND FOUNDER David Adler PRESIDENT Richard AaronBOARD OF DIRECTORS Jonathan Adler (CHAIRMAN), Richard Aaron, David Adler, Beverly Chell, Martin Maleska, Todd Pietri

BIZBASHUNIQUE. CONTEMPORARY. VERSATILE.torontopubliclibrary.ca/salonrentals 416.393.7148

T O R O N T O P U B L I C L I B R A R Y

A vibrant new literary and cultural commons in the heart of the city

www.events-registration.com 877.552.3401 [email protected]

RegistrationWeb Development

Online EvitesLead Retrieval

e11even is passionate about food, wine and exceptional service. Whether enjoying

cocktails in the vibrant living room, or dinner in the elegant dining room, e11even

infuses modern design with classic dishes, intimate conversation with downtown

energy and is the perfect destination for all of your special event needs.

MAPLE LEAF SQUARE ° 15 YORK STREET ° OUTSIDE AIR CANADA CENTRE

e11even.ca ° 416.815.1111

BIZBASHSENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES & MARKETING Robert FitzgeraldCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER David Micciulla

MARKETINGMARKETING MANAGER Aram FischerMARKETING ASSISTANT Michael Marvin

PRODUCTION & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENTDIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Rebecca Pappas AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER William O’DriscollONLINE PRODUCTION MANAGER Matthew MolnarCUSTOMER SERVICE/AD TRAFFIC COORDINATOR Anne Kiefer

EVENTSSENIOR EVENTS MANAGER Sheryl Olaskowitz

OPERATIONSVICE PRESIDENT, CONTROLLER David LevineSTAFF ACCOUNTANT Shahla NasSENIOR DEVELOPER Wei ZhengASSISTANT TO THE C.E.O. Missy Goldberg

BIZBASH NEW YORK646.638.3600, fax: 646.638.3601PUBLISHER Jacqueline GouldADVERTISING DIRECTOR Lauren StonecipherACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Erica Fand, Kristie Hudson

BIZBASH BOSTON617.340.3914ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Andrew Carlin

BIZBASH CHICAGO312.436.2525PUBLISHER Susan BabinACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Julia Kearney

BIZBASH FLORIDA305.808.3531PUBLISHER Ann Keusch

BIZBASH LAS VEGAS702.425.8513ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jane Yoo

BIZBASH LOS ANGELES310.659.9510PUBLISHER Hofi te HuddlestonSENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Mandana Valiyee

BIZBASH TORONTOASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Michael Braun ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Joshua Harris

BIZBASH WASHINGTON202.684.8743PUBLISHER Shelley Golinsky

TORONTO ADVISORY BOARDDionne Bishop, MARKETING COORDINATOR, DIRECT ENERGY

CENTRE/ALLSTREAM CENTRE; Samantha Brickman, PRESIDENT,

MAS COMMUNICATIONS; Rob Dittmer, PRESIDENT, EV3NTS; Rachel Gilmour-Mangal, NATIONAL EVENT MANAGER, STRATEGY INSTITUTE;

Cameron Hawkins, C.O.O., VISION CO.; Julie Holmen, DIRECTOR,

CORPORATE SALES, TOURISM TORONTO; Marsha Jones, PRESIDENT,

THE SPOT INC. SITE SELECTION SERVICES; Patricia Lakin, DIRECTOR OF

NATIONAL EVENTS, BELL CANADA; Joann Lim, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

TO PLAY INTERNATIONAL; Jacqueline Lovell-Santos, DIRECTOR,

CATERING SERVICES, METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE; Lara McCulloch-Carter, CUSTOMER ATTRACTION SPECIALIST, READY2SPARK;

Dennis Mills, VICE CHAIRMAN, MAGNA ENTERTAINMENT; Kim Neil,

MANAGER, STEWARDSHIP & EVENTS, TORONTO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA;

Mary Pallattella, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, LIVE EVENTS, CAPITAL C; Rita Plaskett, PRESIDENT, AGENDUM INC.; Karen Poppell, DIRECTOR, SALES

& MARKETING, WINDSOR ARMS HOTEL; Jeff Roick, DIRECTOR, MCNABB

ROICK-EVENT DESIGN & MANAGEMENT; Robert Rosset, DIRECTOR

OF SALES & CATERING, LIBERTY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP; Don Saytar,

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, CORNERSTONE ENTERTAINMENT CONCEPTS INC.;

Stanton Singh, MARKETING MANAGER, SHERATON CENTRE TORONTO

HOTEL; Robyn Small, COMMUNICATIONS, CONTEMPORARY FURNITURE

RENTALS; Francine Socket, PRINCIPAL, FRANCINE SOCKET & ASSOCIATES,

EVENT ARCHITECTS; Dana Zita, PRESIDENT, AND LOGISTIX INC.

Marketing and Advertising Programs: [email protected]

®2010 BIZBASH IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF BIZBASH MEDIA INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

at the new Art Gallery of OntarioBaillie Court

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Corporate Receptions | DinnersProduct LaunchesSeminars | MeetingsSpecial OccasionsWeddings

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dining @ the ROM

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For a truly memorable dining experience, book your upcoming celebrations with c5.

c5 restaurant // lounge is the award - winning venue atop the Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum, where Chef Ted Corrado and the c5 culinary team create exquisite menus, fusing the city’s ethnic flavours with market fresh ingredients.


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Readers’ Forum “Dessert inside a balloon. Guests are

given a pin to pop and eat.”Bryan Rafanelli, owner, Rafanelli Events, Boston

“I’ve seen many events make use of the service staff to tie elements into the branding or theme. At Ubisoft’s launch event, [staffers wore] Revenge of the Nerds costumes with taped rimmed glasses, ‘Hello My Name Is NERD’ nametags, and bow ties. The servers have a lot of interaction with the guests and almost act as live, moving decor.”

Alison Slight, managing director, Candice & Alison Luxury Event Management, Toronto

“Crashers making their way into the White House, because it brought security and event- professional responsibilities into the spotlight.”Alison Bossert, senior vice president, special events, Columbia Tristar Marketing Group, Los Angeles

“One of my favourites ideas is the cheesecake ‘ice cream’ cone, where there is a soft centre of whipped fl avoured cheesecake inside a miniature sugar cone. It eliminates the intense labor of scooping out ice cream during an event, and you don’t have to worry about melting. Guests also love the surprise of biting into cheesecake instead of ice cream.”

Pasquale Ingenito, executive chef, Windows Catering Company, Washington

“Virtual events. I love the Virtualis Convention Center in Second Life. It is a virtual environment for trade shows, meetings, and even virtual banquets, dances, concerts, etc.”

Patti Shock, professor and director of distance learning, Harrah College of Hotel Administration, University of Nevada

“PDA marketing. More than ever, the event industry has taken to the PDA airwaves to promote and update events, meetings, and trade shows. Within seconds, text message updates can get to attendees. You also gain a database to market next year’s event.”

Dargan Watts, director, Birchmore Group Inc., Orlando

“I loved the Leukemia Ball’s use of handheld wireless devices. They were given to

bidders, enabling them to track their bids as the evening progressed.”Ron Bracco, creative director, events, Hargrove Inc., Washington

Compiled by Claire Hoffman

What was the best idea you saw in 2010?“Throughout the Remarkable Indonesia gala’s seated dinner, the event touched on different aspects of Indonesian culture. The fi nale of the evening was when every guest was brought an angklung—an instrument made of bamboo tubes—that played a single note. A music director on stage directed us in a performance. As we were playing, we realized it was an Abba song! The angklung was also a gift to take home.”

Barbara Blauhut, director of special events, WETA Public Television & Radio, Washington

“Showtime’s Nurse Jackie RX Games event concept. From the event title to the tournament activities to the idea of engaging and rewarding real nurses for the second-season launch, it was brilliant and certainly targeted to a deserving audience.”

Jenny Powers, vice president of special events, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Southern New York Chapter

SURVEY SAYSWe asked readers for their take on this moment in the event business. Here are some highlights.

Methodology: The survey was conducted online from September 13 to 23 via a link shared with BizBash email newsletter subscribers and Twitter followers. The data here represents responses from 1,023 people who identifi ed themselves as event planners (who work in-house, on their own, or at fi rms) or owners or employees of venues or industry vendors.

ON BIZBASH.COMMore survey results regarding budgets, holiday parties, and industry staffi ng levels

How would you describe the current economic state of the event industry?

Are you haggling over prices more or less now (September 2010) than you were a year ago (September 2009)?

How would you describe your feelings about your long-term job prospects in the event industry?

We’re fully recovered and back to normal.

We’re through the worst of it, and we have settled into a new normal.

We’re just starting to recover.

We’re still in the thick of the downturn.

4%3%

32%

41%

20%

It’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Haggling more

Haggling about the same as a year ago

35%

10%

55%

Haggling less

I’m cautiously optimistic.

27%17%

2%

54%

I’m terrifi ed.

I’m a little worried.

I’m very optimistic.

FIND JOBS / POST JOBS / GET BACK TO WORK

The Best Job Board in the Business

There’s A Better Waybizbash.com/jobboard

416. 487. 3841 ◆ www.estatesofsunnybrook.com ◆ 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto M4N 3M5

e x c lu s i v e ◆ p e r s o n a l ◆ e X c e p t i o n a lS O C I A L ◆ c o r p o r at e

Exclusive Event Venues

15 bizbash.com winter 2010–2011

The Scout


To add a wintry look to end-of-the-year gatherings, Ice Bulb (877.423.2852, icebulb.com) offers decorative curtains made of frozen water. A machine cuts ice into gemlike cubes, which the company

hand-strings onto cables suspended from trussing. Curtains can be made in any length and height. If used indoors, the pieces last about fi ve hours; a con-

tainer below collects drips. Ice Bulb is based in Southern California, but works nationwide and in Canada. While pricing depends on the size of each piece, strands typically cost $140 to $180 U.S. each, plus more for assembly and delivery. —Lisa Cericola

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holiday party ideas

16

New on the Menu

Seasons’ EatingHere are fi ve passed bites for holiday gatherings of all types. By LISA CERICOLA

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Tourtière strudel with mustard pickle from Jamie Kennedy Event Catering (416.362.1957, jamiekennedy.ca) in Toronto

Cranberry maple salmon with pink peppercorn sauce in toast cups from Good Gracious! Events (323.954.2277, goodgraciousevents.com) in Los Angeles

Chocolate sorbet popsicles on a bed of crushed peppermints from Limelight Catering (773.883.3080, limelightcatering.com) in Chicago

holiday party ideas

Basil-breaded smoked turkey “fi ngers” with honey orange marmalade and pomegranate seeds from Great Performances (212.727.2424, greatperformances.com) in New York

Goat cheese lollipop truffl es rolled in crushed pistachios, sun-dried tomatoes, and other toppings from Windows Catering Company (703.519.3500, catering.com) in Washington


holiday party ideas

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Toasting glasses, 85 cents U.S., available in Southern California from Town & Country Event Rentals (800.899.2620, townandcountryeventrentals.com)

Ruby Braid glass,

pricing varies, avail-

able nationwide from Classic Party Rentals (310.764.0373 ext. 316, classicpartyrentals.com)

Paloma fl ute, pricing upon

request, available in New York from Party Rental Ltd. (201.727.4700, partyrentalltd.com)

Spiegelau champagne

coupe, $3 Cdn., available in Toronto from Chair-Man Mills (416.391.0400, chairmanmills.com)

For Rent

SERVE IN STYLEMake end-of-year gatherings feel festive with these glasses and tasting vessels. By LISA CERICOLA

Bella gold champagne

fl ute, $1.95 U.S., available

in New York from Something

Different Party Rental (973.742.1779, somethingdifferentparty.

com)

Mini fry basket, $2 Cdn., available in Toronto from Exclusive

Affair Rentals (416.759.2611, exclusiveaffair.com)

Voss clear plate, pric-ing upon request, avail-

able in New York

from Party Rental Ltd.

Teardrop spoon, $1.75 Cdn.,

available in Toronto from Chair-Man Mills

Mini leaf plate, 55 cents U.S., available throughout South Florida from Atlas Party Rental (561.547.6565, atlaspartyrental.com)

Seven-inch oyster plate, pricing varies, available nationwide from

Classic Party Rentals

White oval tasting spoon, $1 U.S., available in New York from

Something Different Party Rental

Small Plates

Champagne Flutes


From an early age, sisters Julie, Samantha, and Elisa DeAngelis had a fl air for dance—and an interest in circus arts, thanks to a birthday party they attended as youngsters. “We were all competitive dancers as kids,” says Elisa. “When our neighbour had a circus party, we asked our parents if we could start taking circus lessons.”

So they did. The three studied at the Etobicoke School of the Arts during their high school years. Upon graduation, Elisa moved to Montreal to enrol in École Nationale de Cirque (and worked with Cirque du Soleil). Both Julie and Samantha trained with various Canadian and American circus companies and became certi-fi ed dance instructors under Dance Masters of America, an international organization of dance educators.

In October 2008, the sisters launched an aerial-dance cirque company called A2D2 (416.255.4140, a2d2.ca), which stands for Aerial Artists and Dance Divas but is more commonly referred to as “A-squared D-squared.” In addi-tion to performing, the sisters also design and produce routines for events. “The company [grew] from

the passion we have as performers,” Elisa says.

Having grown up in the entertain-ment industry—their parents run DeAngelis Entertainment Inc.—the sisters can see an event from a producer’s prospec-tive. “If it weren’t for our parents’ company, I don’t think we would have the aptitude we have,” says Julie. “Our clients are dealing with the same person throughout the entire planning process and on the day of the event. If we are using another performer, one of us is always on site.”

The program and choreography chosen for an event often depend on the venue. “What we do has to be conducive to the space. If there is no rigging or the ceilings are too low, we don’t do aerial. We have to go through the logistics fi rst, and then the fun stuff comes into play,” says Elisa.

For safety reasons, A2D2 only uses its own equipment or specially commissioned pieces. “A unique feature of our company is our ability to provide cirque entertainment in spaces which do not have the capa-bility to accommodate proper aerial rigging. Our one-of-a-kind appa-ratus, Cirque-u-l’air, and our newest apparatus, Circus-sphere, are just two examples of our innovation,” Julie says.

The women have also made it a personal mission to give back to the community by hosting annual fund-

raisers designed to raise awareness about spinal health. In 2009, A2D2 produced an event called “Cirque-tacular and the Seven Deadly Sins” in support of the Canadian Spinal Research Organization. This past summer they produced another event called Cirque Tea Party, with all proceeds going to the Canadian Paraplegic Association.

In September, Maverick Public Relations hired A2D2 to execute an impromptu performance including ground acrobatics and a fl ash mob at a client’s annual general meeting. They provided the entertainment as guests entered and exited meet-ings. “They were very detailed with the proposal we asked them to put together, and they gave us several options,” said consultant Candi Jeronimo. “They were very profes-sional and on top of things, and they understood what we needed.”

Says Elisa, “People are really excited by cirque. It’s really enchanting, especially with the makeup and the costumes.” —Susan O’Neill

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Fresh Faces

SISTER ACTThe DeAngelis siblings direct and perform original aerial cirque routines designed for corporate functions and gala events.

A New Source for On-Site MakeoversInspire Cosmetics (inspirecosmetics.ca), a new makeup line developed by Ford model and makeup artist Wendy Crystal and business partner Tanya Andrade, can design workshops for corporate groups where attendees learn skin-care tips and

tricks for applying makeup. Crystal can also provide makeup touch-ups

at client and staff appreciation events.

Attendees receive makeovers and a complimentary lip gloss. Rates start at $50 Cdn. per hour for a group of fi ve; a minimum three-hour booking is required. For larger groups, fees are based on a rate of $20 Cdn. per person. —S.O.

ACTIVITY

FASHION-FORWARD FOODCreative director Craig Gruzd and the team at Designing Trendz have joined forces with Domenic Chiaromonte (long-

time executive chef at Match Restaurant) to launch Catering Trendz (416.665.6794,

cateringtrendz.com), a full-service catering company with a focus on fashion-forward contemporary Canadian cuisine. Desserts include items like candy sushi made with Rice Krispies and cupcakes designed to look like mini hamburgers. —S.O.

CATERI NG

Catering Trendz’s hamburger cupcakes

The sisters perform and design routines.

Samantha, Elisa, and Julie DeAngelis


Idea File

PROGRESSIVE STAGESHere’s a look at innovative designs from concerts, fashion shows, and other events. By LISA CERICOLA

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The MTV Movie Awards in June had a dynamic set with layered projection screens designed by Consortium Studios and lit by Triphoton City.

For a June fund-raiser benefi ting Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, Chicago’s Kehoe Designs created a platform with a giant, illuminated wall that framed a video screen.

At Marc Jacobs’s spring 2011 show, a lamp-shade-shaped bronze structure acted as the entrance to the catwalk.

For the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s annual awards in June, scenic designer Scott Pask made a backdrop shaped like Richard Serra’s sculpture “Torqued Ellipse IV.” Producers projected video onto a central cylinder and two wing walls.

For this summer’s National Scout Jamboree in Virginia, celebrating the Boy Scouts of America’s 100th anniversary, CorporateMagic Inc. created a 395-foot-long stage with three massive LED screens and eight fl aming cauldrons.


A New Way to Fill SeatsCharityHappenings (charityhappenings.org), an online calendar of fund-raisers, now allows nonprofi ts to promote events and

sell tickets. Planners create a customized ticket-ing Web page with details about the event, plus

other information such as auction items or the organization’s mission. While the service itself is free, CharityHappenings charges 99 cents plus a 3 percent fee per attendee (up to $7.49) at the point of sale. For the time being, tickets can be purchased in American dollars, but the com-pany says a Canadian version is coming soon. —Lisa Cericola

From making unexpected use of celebrity spokespeople to employ-ing superhero statues, here are a few clever ways to increase sponsor vis-ibility at trade shows.

At America’s Beauty Show in Chicago, producers ensure that spon-sors’ presence extends beyond the show fl oor. “We work with major ex-hibitors to offer an overall program to incorporate within their trade show strategy,” says Paul Dykstra, C.E.O. of Cosmetologists Chicago and America’s Beauty Show. Besides their booths, sponsoring manufac-turers who exhibit are invited to brand key cards for hotels associated with the event. Sponsors can place products such as shampoos, conditioners, and face washes in attendees’ rooms at these properties.

Sponsors are also invited to host press lounges that surround the show fl oor, where they can speak directly to beauty editors who come

to the show. Key exhibitors are also able to sponsor so-called V.I.P. “clos-ing lounges,” or meeting rooms off the fl oor. In the rooms, companies can serve snacks or cocktails, show videos, and brand the space with decor of their choosing. Some com-panies have also opted to provide services, such as manicures or hair-styling, within the rooms.

In August, the BlogHer confer-ence drew about 2,500 bloggers to the Hilton New York, where the three-day event had a traditional trade show setup. “We really tried to fi nd creative ways to integrate our

sponsors, so they weren’t just a booth on the fl oor,”

says San Francisco-based director of events Lori Luna.

In addition to branding promi-nent signage, some BlogHer spon-sors used celebrities to engage the crowd, both on and off the fl oor. Sara Lee called on Top Chef star Padma Lakshmi to judge a sandwich-

making contest. Tropicana hosted a breakfast and enlisted spokesper-son Bruce Jenner—former Olympic athlete and currently on Keeping Up With the Kardashians—to pour its newest fl avours at a juice bar. “When they saw the reality TV stars, people went nuts, especially on Twit-ter,” says Luna. “We knew we’d get attention on blogs, but we also had 100,000 mentions on Twitter on the fi rst day alone.”

As director of strategic accounts at Reed Exhibitions, Lawrence Set-tembrini works with the sponsors of New York Comic Con, which takes place at the Jacob K. Javits Center. “It’s a fairly young show in a large building, and we initially had

concerns about fans fi nding their way through the [venue],” says Set-tembrini. “Our solution was to sell a sponsorship to a company that builds scale statues of superheroes.”

Producers placed the statues at key locations throughout the building, and referred to them in directions. “For example, we provide instructions to our conference and panel areas as such: ‘Head to the Superman statue in the north concourse, then take the escalators down to the fi rst fl oor,’” says Set-tembrini. “It’s a pretty simple concept that resulted in sponsorship revenue, helped our attendees navigate the building, and provided a photo op-portunity.” —Jenny Berg

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At the BlogHer conference, celebrities like Padma Lakshmi participated in events.

What are clever ways to integrate trade show sponsors?

New from rental company FWR Rental Haus (877.637.3744, fwrental.com), the paillette bar adds a shiny touch to events. The piece, which comes in aqua and

silver, can be confi gured as a 12- by 10-foot four-sided rectangular bar, or a 12- or 8-foot single-sided bar. For an additional charge,

the paillettes can be used to spell out the name of a company or event. The bar is available nationwide, and pricing starts at $750 U.S. —L.C.

RENTAL

A SPARKLING BAR

ON BIZBASH.COMMore new products and services


Forecast

The AppLounge at the 2010 London Design Festival featured a curated selection of ebooks, MP3s, and online services. The sleek pop-up is a stylish example of how to showcase digital products.

1.

For the Hotel Plaza Athénée Paris’s (plaza-athenee-paris.com) new winter menu, head pastry chef Christophe Michalak created “Chestnut,” a rum baba with vanilla chantilly cream, spiky points of meringue, and chestnut Bavarian cream.

2. Ideal for events without bartenders, Vino Solo combines a 187-milliliter bottle of wine with a plastic drinking fl ute. It’s available through Philadelphia-based KDM Global Partners (215.509.7500, kdmglobalpartners.com). Custom labels can be made with a company’s logo.

6. Central Florida-based paper goods company Rifl e Paper Co. has a charming blog (rifl emade.squarespace.com) where owner Anna Bond shares her latest projects and design obsessions, from vintage book covers to retro interiors.

Whether in shades of tangerine, pumpkin, or—as Pantone calls it—“coral rose,” orange was one of the hottest colour trends during the spring 2011 shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

4. Available November 16, the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Cookbook from Clarkson Potter commem-orates 10 years of the festival

with chef interviews, recipes, and other behind-the-scenes tidbits from director Lee Brian Schrager.

10.Three feeds worth following on Twitter:

The Design Observer Group (@designobserver) delivers newsy updates on worldwide “design, culture, change.”

For cultural, political, and just plain inspirational tweets, Yoko Ono (@yokoono) fi ts the bill.

Zappos C.E.O. Tony Hsieh (@zappos) mixes thoughts on marketing and business with daily (often funny) musings.

7. The long-gestating Broadway show Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com), directed by Julie Taymor—known for her groundbreaking spec-tacles—with music by Bono and the Edge from U2, debuts November 14 at Foxwoods Theatre in New York.

8. 9.

On My Radar“The chic fashion line Leroy and Perry (leroyand perry.com) has delighted me in spades with its

inventive reuse of soda cans this fall. The fi ne sprays of sequins that give a little sparkle to a new line of shift dresses are, in fact, fashioned from recycled pop cans. Super cool, right?” David Stark, president and creative director, David Stark Design and Production, New York

11.

Ideas, products, and just plain cool stuff to have on your radar. By LISA CERICOLA

The Lacoste Show

3. Ideal for meetings and presentations, the Edifi er Soundbar USB ($49.99 U.S., available at store.apple.com in December) is a 10-inch speaker that connects to a laptop through a USB port and emits stereo-quality sound.

5. Running from November 17 to May 15, 2011, at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design (212.299.7777, mad

museum.org), the “Global Africa Project” is an ex-tensive exhibit of contemporary Af-rican art, design, and craft, as well as an exploration

of the socioeco-nomic impact of

art-making in local communities.

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VenuesDowntown DealsNext to Maple Leaf Gardens, the Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre is set to open in February following an $18 million renovation. The property, which formerly oper-ated as the Days Inn Carlton, has 514 rooms and more than 9,000 square feet of meet-ing space spread over nine function rooms, the largest of which holds as many as 130. Meeting spaces, including three dedicated boardrooms, are equipped with ergonomic seating, audiovisual equip-ment, and Wi-Fi. The hotel also has a spa, a coffee shop, and two options for dining: the Carlton Restaurant, which serves bistro-style cuisine, and Thirty Bar & Lounge. (30 Carl-ton St., 416.977.6655)

Following a $30 million renovation and restoration project, the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts reopened on October 1—50 years to the date from the building’s fi rst opening night. The venue has a refur-bished 3,000-seat proscenium theatre and several multifunction spaces for events and corporate meetings, including a reconfi gured lobby and a new balcony bar. Five private lounges can each accommodate groups of as many as 24 for meetings, and the lower lobby lounge and main lobby can each hold as many as 250. (1 Front St. East, 416.393.7466)

Nestled in a secluded setting on Bayview Avenue, the newly renovated Estates of Sunnybrook offer a choice of meeting and breakout rooms in three separate buildings—the coach house, McLean House, and Vaughan Estate. The property has a total of 17 meeting rooms and can accommodate groups of as small as six or as many as 150. Meeting spaces have natural lighting and are furnished in a residential style. Some rooms have private patios. Audiovisual equipment is available, and wireless Internet access is complimentary. Free parking is available on site. Venue partner Summit Training & Development also offers a range of teambuilding programs on the grounds. (2075 Bayview Ave., 416.487.3841)

Pre-Show Meetings

Relaxing Retreats

Hôtel Le Germain Maple Leaf Square, Groupe Germain’s second Toronto property, opened in November just steps from the Air Canada Centre. The 167-room hotel has 4,600 square feet of sports-themed meeting and event space that can accommodate groups of 15 to 125. The Defensive and Offensive Zones hold as many as 60 and are equipped with retractable screens and projectors. The Neutral Zone, which holds 15, has an LCD TV; the Penalty Box, suitable for groups of as many as 40, offers views overlooking the main entrance to the ACC; and the 1,020-square-foot Hall of Fame holds as many as 125 and has portable acoustic panels. Suites and apartments, which hold as many as 20, are also available. (75 Bremner Blvd., 416.649.7575)

Pre-Game Workshops

ON BIZBASH.COM

Our comprehensive venue directory

Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel & Suites, located near Pearson International Airport, unveiled the property’s newly renovated meeting rooms—19 in all—in August, marking the third and fi nal phase of a two-year, $15-million renovation pro-gram. Toronto-based interior design fi rm Cecconi Simone created the concept for the ultra-modern redesign, which included updates to the hotel’s 268 guest rooms, 151 guest suites, hotel lobby, lobby lounge, Bliss Restaurant and Lounge, cor-ridors, event space, and fi tness centre. The hotel offers 23,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a 10,000-square-foot pillarless ballroom with 18-foot ceilings. Function rooms can accommodate groups from 30 to 900. (5875 Airport Road, Mississauga, 905.677.9900)

Contemporary Conferences

While you may see it as one of Toronto’s top attractions, you may not know that the CN Tower is also one of the city’s most unique corporate venues. With state-of-the-art meeting rooms, inspired hospitality services and unsurpassed views, it’s easy to see why. If you haven’t considered the CN Tower for your next event, it’s time to take a closer look.

See all that you’ve been missing at cntower.ca/lookcloser or call 416-601-4718.

CORPORATE EVENTS | FUNDRAISERS | CONFERENCES | WEDDINGS1 866 921 9801 | MAIN + 1 416 214 3647 | [email protected] OM | POPHASAWEBSITE.C OM

THIS IS AN AD FOR POP. WE DIDN’T INTEND TO INSULT YOUR INTELLIGENCE.

YOU PROBABLY MANAGED TO FIGURE OUT THAT THIS INDEED IS AN AD, AND THAT IT’S ALSO AN AD FOR SOMETHING

CALLED POP. WHAT YOU PROBABLY WEREN’T ABLE TO SURMISE WAS, WHAT POP IS. HERE’S A HINT; IT HAS NOTHING

TO DO WITH CARBONATED BEVERAGES OR KATY PERRY. IT DOES HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH KEN KRISTOFFERSEN, CSEP,

INTERNATIONAL, AWARD-WINNING, EVENT PROFESSIONAL. AND YES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THERE IT IS,

THE WORD THAT SHOULD PUT IT ALL TOGETHER FOR YOU – EVENT. POP IS AN EVENT COMPANY, BUT AN EVENT COMPANY

THAT’LL MAKE YOUR CORPORATE EVENT FEEL ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LIKE A CORPORATE EVENT, UNLESS THAT’S WHAT

YOU’RE GOING FOR, IN WHICH CASE YOUR CORPORATE EVENT CAN FEEL VERY CORPORATE. ALTHOUGH WE DON’T RECOMMEND IT.

27

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EVENT REPORTS

At the fi fth annual Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Philip Beesley hung layers of cables with microprocessor-driven lights in the atrium at the Royal Conservatory of Music for an installation called “Aurora.” More about the event is on page 36.

Art After Dark


Party CircuitIn addition to showcasing more than 300 fi lms, the 35th Toronto International Film Festival—which ran

from September 9 to 19—featured a host of offi cial (and unoffi cial) parties hosted by magazines like In Style and Hello! Canada, charitable organizations like Amfar, and brands like Absolut Vodka.

By SUSAN O’NEILL

TORONTO

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Absolut Party

Inspired by the opening night fi lm, Score: A Hockey Musical, event producer Barbara Hershenhorn of Party Barbara Co. worked with McWood Studios and National Sign to design a dance fl oor that replicated an ice rink for the 3,000-guest opening night gala at the Liberty Grand.

The ice table, designed by Iceculture, took 80 hours to create and 20 man hours to set up on site in the Governor’s Room at the Liberty Grand.

Up-and-coming Canadian designer Breeyn McCarney used fl orals to pay tribute to festival sponsor Perrier-Jouët by creating a living dress inspired by the brand’s Belle Epoque bottle.

Absolut Vodka created a pop-up party—dubbed Absolut St. Art—on the rooftop of a downtown parking garage. The event transformed the space into a large-scale art exhibit and concert hall.

An installation from visual artist Beside Herself included a series of stacked boxes with the phrase “Make it one last time forever.”

One installation included a display of Absolut bottles bearing the phrase “I wouldn’t make this up.”

As many as 600 people attended the event, planned by VisionCo. and inspired by the slogan “In an Absolut World Doing Things Differently Leads to Something Exceptional.”


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The Carlu played host to the second annual Cinema Against AIDS Toronto event, held in support of Amfar and Dignitas International. The event drew a sold-out crowd, with more than 500 guests attending, up from 380 in 2009.

Ace of Base and the Thompson Egbo-Egbo Trio performed at the event. The gala, co-chaired by Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, raised more than $1 million for Amfar and Dignitas International.

Hello! Canada moved its annual TIFF party, held at the Birks store on Bloor Street for the past two years, to the Royal Conservatory of Music. The event adopted a “Hello! Hollywood” theme this year, with red and black decor—a nod to the magazine’s branding.

A collage of images of Hollywood stars like Audrey Hepburn, Julia Roberts, and Shirley MacLaine topped cocktail tables throughout the party.

In Style and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association hosted their 11th annual TIFF party at the Windsor Arms Hotel on September 14.

Organizers used Douglas fi r trees and manzanita branches to dress the Courtyard Café.

Amfar Party

Hello! Canada Party

In Style Party

30 bizbash.com july/august 2010

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Fashion FrenzyFor Fashion Television’s 25th anniver-sary, images of models and retro fashions fi lled the CTV headquarters.

To celebrate 25 years of Fashion Television and launch a commemo-

rative magazine chronicling defi ning moments of the series created by Jay Levine and hosted by Jeanne Beker, CTV invited 900 guests to a cocktail party at the network’s downtown headquarters at Queen and John Streets on September 7. Ma-falda Caruso, CTV’s executive director of special events, planned the anniversary bash, held in a space that’s normally used as an offi ce.

“Anybody that’s had anything to do with Fashion Television in the past 25 years was in-vited,” said Caruso, who called on Rob Dittmer of Three Event Planning & Design to turn the offi ce into a party space and showcase black-and-white images of supermodels like Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington—all pulled from the pages of the magazine’s commemorative issue. Unit 11 Custom Staging created a black runway (bearing the FT logo) for a fashion presentation of vintage looks from the past 25 years, selected by stylist Cherie Federau of Shrimpton Couture.

After walking a black carpet on Queen Street, guests entered the second fl oor through a hall-way with a photo tribute to designers like John Galliano and Karl Lagerfeld. Black-and-white images of the designers, printed on sheer fabric panels, accented a wall of white draping in the hallway, which also included an all-white studio set designed to look like a backdrop used in a fashion shoot.

Inside the main space, servers from Core Event Staff passed hors d’oeuvres from Daniel et Daniel Event Creation and Catering. A food sta-tion included herbed gnocchi in a tomato basil sauce and duck confi t cupcakes topped with roasted beet mash icing and maple-bourbon demi-glace. Cocktails included the FT25 Royale, made with Mumm Napa Brut Prestige.

Caruso used black-and-white furnishings from Furnishings by Corey to create seating areas for guests, and hung an oversize makeup mirror—complete with a red lip imprint from Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha—behind the main bar. DJ Amalia Leandro spun tunes in a round booth posi-tioned at the top of the runway.

Rocha, pictured on the cover of the commemorative issue, was on the guest list but a scheduling confl ict in New York prevented the supermodel from attending. An image of Rocha’s cover hung near the entrance to the main party space, and guests received copies of the magazine in the gift bags. —Susan O’Neill

Fashion Television’s 25th Anniversary PartyAudiovisual Production Westbury National Show Systems

Catering Daniel et Daniel Event Creation & Catering

Decor Three Event Planning & Design Inc.

Flowers EarthworkFurniture Rentals Furnishings by Corey

Models Elmer OlsenPrinting National Sign & Design Group Inc.

Rentals Exclusive Affair Rentals Inc.

Security Primary Response Inc.

Staffi ng Core Event StaffStaging Unit 11 Custom Staging Ltd.

TORONTO

Guests entered the second fl oor event space through a hallway that included an installation resembling the set of a fashion shoot.

Cherie Federau of Shrimpton Couture styled models for a runway presentation that showcased fashions from the past 25 years.

Around 900 guests fi lled CTV’s Queen Street West headquarters for the anniversary party.

A curved DJ booth sat at the head of a black-and-white runway designed to look like the FT logo.

A poster-size image of Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha hung at the entrance to the main party space.

30

Circus ActThe Park Avenue Armory’s fi rst gala brought a 50-foot Ferris wheel indoors.

For years, the Park Avenue Armory has been the site of large art exhi-

bitions and fairs, galas and launch events, and even Fashion Week shows, but this December the Upper East Side landmark will be home to the fi rst full season of artistic programming from the nonprofi t that took over the venue from the state in 2006. As a prelude to this, the cultural organization (which is also called the Park Avenue Armory) held its fi rst gala on October 7, and collected $1.2 million to support the re-vitalization of the 130-year-old building as a space for the arts.

A four-day exhibition followed the gala, paying homage to the original 1879 fair held at the armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall (held to raise funds for the interior design of the venue). Dubbed “Carnival,” the event included a 50-foot-tall Ferris wheel, vintage midway rides and games, and performers from the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus. “We’re all about doing fantastic things in this space, so doing a carnival in here seemed like a really great idea and a way to invite New Yorkers to

come and see the armory,” explained Rebecca Robertson, president of the Park Avenue Armory.

To design the exhibition and the opening night gala, Robert-son tapped event design company Hickey Shields, which had the task of not only creating a cohesive look for the 55,000-square-foot hall, but also arranging the components to allow for a 532-guest dinner at the preview event the night before.

“Just working on that scale in general is challenging, and we grew to call it the ‘drill hall effect.’ The

[Wade Thompson Drill Hall] has a very, very strange, almost illogical effect on scale, where certain things look fi ne and other things look very, very small,” said Josh Hickey, co-owner of Hickey Shields. The gala gave guests a chance to partake in the rides and games before the dinner, while stiltwalkers, con-tortionists, magicians, and other circus acts from the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus roamed the fl oor. —Anna Sekula

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Park Avenue Armory’s “Carnival” Exhibition Opening Night GalaArt Direction, Design, Fabrication Hickey Shields

Carnival Games Ace Tent & Amusements

Catering Great Performances

Draping Drape KingsEvent Management MF ProductionsPR Resnicow Schroeder Associates

Rentals Party Rental Ltd.Technical Direction Raise PlowTenting Starr TentsVenue Park Avenue Armory

NEW YORK

For the dinner, tables replaced rides at the foot of the 50-foot-tall Ferris wheel.

The gala’s guests had no qualms about winning toys at the water pistol range.

ON BIZBASH.COMA video report from the gala


Triple PlayHBO staged three premieres for its new drama Boardwalk Empire: On the West

Coast, the gathering for 350 was designed as a national sales incentive for HBO’s internal digital network distribution team. The New York fete entertained an industry crowd of 1,000, while the Atlantic City affair was a consumer-targeted promotion for 500.

By ALESANDRA DUBIN & ANNA SEKULA

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The Peterson Automotive Museum supplied vintage vehicles from the 1920’s.

Guests tried their luck at casino games for a buy-in of $500 in play money.

Caravents produced the September 16 soiree on the Santa Monica Pier, with carnival lights, supper club-style lounges, and gaming tables.

Carnival-style entertainers greeted guests at the entrance.

Signage evoked Prohibition-era posters.

Los Angeles

bizbash.com winter 2010–11 33 33

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A large sign of the show’s name marked the entrance to the New York premiere party, which was produced by Invision Events at Rockefeller Center on September 15.

Atlantic City

New YorkAs a playful nod to Boardwalk Empire’s central character, Nucky Thompson, a cigarette girl handed out red carnation boutonnieres to arriving guests.

The 40-foot-long bar was resurfaced with vintage posters from 1920s Atlantic City.

To reference the seaside town, the buffet included lobster tail, steamed mussels, and king crab legs.

The 1,000-person bash was spread across Rink Bar, Sea Grill, and Rock Center Café.

The study at One Atlantic was turned into a gambling den with a live cigar roller.

HBO’s marketing team worked with Civic Entertainment Group and venue One Atlantic to produce the 500-person bash on September 16. Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks Orchestra performed for the crowd.

ON BIZBASH.COMMore photos and ideas from these events


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Groove ThingThe Boobyball adopted a disco theme with Studio 54 images and Warhol-inspired art.

In a nod to Andy Warhol and Studio 54, organizers of the ninth annual

Boobyball fund-raiser for Rethink Breast Cancer—dubbed “Boobyball 9: Flash”—showcased iconic images from the ’70s alongside displays of Brillo boxes and stacks of Campbell’s Soup tins at the Kool Haus on October 16. “Every year we try to come up with a great theme that is a lot of fun and super creative,” said Ainsley Kerr, Rethink’s event specialist. “This year we went with the idea of Studio 54 and the artistic infl uence. We had fi ve great photographers in the city recreate iconic Studio 54 images [for the event decor] and our auction.”

Kerr and Rethink’s event manager, Lindsay Grange, worked with event co-chairs Aliya-Jasmine Sovani (of MTV), Natasha Penzo (of ASC PR), and Jacquelyn West (of Hermann & Audrey) to plan the event. The team called on Jennifer Ferreira of Ferreira Design to handle the decor.

A V.I.P. lounge, fi lled with black and gold furnishings from Contem-porary Furniture Rentals, sat in the middle of the room, and a series of activations from sponsors like Mavea and Guess by Marciano lined the walls. “It keeps the party going,”

Grange said of the activations. Guests could dress up in Guess by Marciano clothing for a photo shoot, sample various coffee beverages at a Tas-simo station, or try a glass of Yellow Tail Bubbles Rosé at the Bubble Bar (where a model posed in a yellow bathtub fi lled with clear balloons).

When it came to choosing a venue, Grange said the decision came down to capacity. “We had 1,200 guests. Trying to fi nd a space in Toronto that holds that many people was a challenge,” she said. The event has been held in raw spaces (with no existing amenities like built-in bars) in the past, and the fact that the Kool Haus is an es-tablished venue was appealing, Grange said. “We liked the idea that the space is completely open and you can do a lot with it,” Kerr said.

10tation Event Catering set up two food stations, where guests could try mini sirloin burg-

ers served with root chips and noodles stir fried with bok choy, peppers, mushrooms, bean sprouts, snow peas, and fresh ginger.

In an effort to attract a young crowd, organizers priced tickets at $80, with a limited number available for $40 (aimed at guests between the ages of 19 to 25). “We wanted to gear it toward everyone. We wanted our ticket price to be accessible,” Kerr said, noting that the event sold out in just over one week. Proceeds from the benefi t supported Rethink’s Booby Innovation Grant (designed to assist young women diagnosed with the disease), as well as the organization’s existing program-ming. —Susan O’Neill

Boobyball 9: FlashAudiovisual Production Magen Boys Entertainment

Catering 10tation Event Catering

Computer Terminals Endo Networks Inc.

Decor Ferreira DesignDesign, Invitations, Signage, Web Site Design Diablito Design Group

DJ DJ VaneskaFurniture Rentals Contemporary Furniture Rentals Inc.

Lighting, Security INKLinens Chair-man MillsPrinting, Signage Icon Digital Productions Inc.

Staffi ng The Butler Did ItVenue Guvernment & Kool Haus Entertainment Complex

TORONTO

Endo Networks set up computer terminals in the lobby, where guests obtained passes for a gift bag at the end of the evening.

Pink disco ball signs bearing the phrase “On the Rocks” directed guests to the bar.

In a nod to Andy Warhol, stacks of faux boxes of Brillo soap pads fl anked the stage.

Guests could fi ll bags with candies like chocolate pearls, toffee bonbons, coconut mushrooms, and wine gums.

M.J. DeCoteau, executive director of Rethink Breast Cancer, addressed the crowd during the V.I.P. reception.

A giant Twister board, with coloured disco balls as the game markings, sat in front of the stage.

Oh, Chute!Guests entered the Discovery kids network launch on a giant slide.

Discovery Communications and Hasbro launched a new

children’s network, known as the Hub, with a party on October 10 that showcased the playfulness and fun the channel promises to bring with its programming. The interactive offerings began with an entrance to the party space by way of a giant slide. Discovery Communications vice president of global events Jeff Kaplan oversaw the event from the company’s headquarters in Maryland, where a team of about 10 serves as an in-house event agency for the group of networks. Connecticut-based Blue Flame worked with Discovery Global Events on the execution.

The Hub’s partners and execu-tives, plus celebrities and other invited guests of all ages—about 550 people in all—showed up at the Lot. “We did it at the Lot because we wanted for guests to really experience what the Hub was,” said Kaplan, whose group worked with the local, Burbank-based Hub marketing and communications department. “That was the genesis of the slide. As you arrived, you were invited to fi nd your inner kid.”

Activities and entertainment included a Transformers photo opportunity, an interactive strawberry shortcake bar from caterer Global Cui-sine by Gary Arabia, a ball pit, a caricature station, and a custom button-making station. Some of the games from the Family Game Night program-

ming appeared at the party on a giant scale, including a huge Con-nect 4 board and a version of Oper-ation that allowed guests to move game pieces with giant tongs. A Hub passport allowed guests to collect stickers at various stations and redeem them for a prize.

Large HD video projections showed a sizzle reel looping net-work footage on the inside and outside walls. —Alesandra DubinPH

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Discovery Communications and Hasbro’s Hub LaunchCatering Global Cuisine by Gary Arabia

Design, Fabrication Blue Flame Events

Furniture Rentals Lounge22 Powered by Cort

Lighting Delicate Productions Inc.

Venue The Lot

LOS ANGELES

A giant slide served as the party’s entryway.

A Transformers replica served as towering decor.

A ball pit made for a colorful, interactive spectacle.


Night LightsNuit Blanche marked its fi fth anniver-sary, as Scotiabank announced multi-year funding for the all-night party.

Thousands of Torontonians took to the streets on October 2 for the

fi fth annual Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, an all-night celebration of contemporary art presented by the City of Toronto, which has announced a further four-year funding commitment from lead sponsor Scotiabank. “Toronto is never so alive as it is during Scotiabank Nuit Blanche. The event has transformed Toronto—in the way we engage with contemporary art, with each other, and with our city,” said Rita Davies, the city’s executive director of culture. “With four more years to look forward to, I can only imag-ine the continued magic that will unfold.”

The fi fth edition of the free event featured more than 130 commissioned and indepen-dent exhibitions created by nearly 500 artists and displayed in three zones across the city, including a massive multimedia installation designed by musician Daniel Lanois. Dubbed “Later That Night at the Drive-In,” Lanois’s instal-lation fi lled Nathan Phillips Square with live music and original scored video projections.

Other highlights included Philip Beesley’s “Aurora,” a light installation in the atrium at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Telus Centre for Performance and Learning, and “Dune,” an interactive new media installation designed by Rotterdam-based artist Daan Roosegaarde and set up in the Lower Bay Station.

Participants could take advantage of two interactive tools, including the Night Navigator iPhone/Blackberry app and My Night itinerary (both of which debuted last year), to plan their evening. Organizers also launched Share Your Night, a new platform for streaming comments, texts, tweets, and photos shared by eventgoers on screens at Scotiabank information centres throughout the night. —Susan O’Neill

TORONTO

At the “Way-Station (North Migration)” performance art exhibit, which highlighted the effects of climate change, participants visited an impromptu shrine honouring members of a nomadic tribe.

Sensors within the “Aurora” installation tracked viewers walking through the atrium at the Royal Conservancy and created a rippling pattern refl ected in the lighting.

British artist Ryan Gander set up a wood burning campfi re at Yonge-Dundas Square for an exhibit called “Just Because You Can Feel It Doesn’t Mean It’s There.”

Kim Adams of Toronto lit up a rotating 1996 Dodge Ram van for an installation called “Auto Lamp.”

Daan Roosegaarde’s “Dune” transformed the Lower Bay Station with an interactive new media exhibit meant to investigate nature in relation to urban space.

Patriot ActGlenn Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally drew more than 300,000 to theLincoln Memorial.

Glenn Beck may wear his politics on his sleeve during his

primetime talk show and his many other appear-ances, but on August 28 he put politics aside for his Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial. Purportedly designed to honour our armed forces and celebrate American values, the event drew more than 300,000 people from across the coun-try. During its peak, the crowd stretched from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, fi lling the area around the Refl ecting Pool as well as adjacent fi elds.

To help oversee and plan the rally, Beck and his team tapped CSI—Capitol Services’ senior op-erations manager Kelley Gillespie. A veteran plan-ner with several large-scale events on the Mall under her belt, the Restoring Honor rally marked the largest event she has produced. Gillespie and her team of 30 planners worked for near-ly a year to plan the four-hour rally, which required more than 40 pages of permits, a production crew of 150, a six-day setup, and the assistance of 11 police and government agencies.

With temp-eratures reaching into the 90s and a tense political atmosphere due to Beck’s and guest speaker Sarah Pa-lin’s political views, health and security were the biggest concerns for plan-ners. Although security concerns never became a factor and the speakers stayed true to their no-politics mandate, the nine medical stations saw plenty of action from heat-related issues. In an at-tempt to control any widespread heat issues, the producers handed out more than 75,000 bottles of water and set up nine cooling stations to keep the crowd cool and hydrated.

Another challenge was fi nding a way to keep the massive crowd organized. Working with the Na-tional Park Service and Park Police, organizers divided the area into eight safety zones. The space in between the zones allowed for lim-ited mobility and secured space for each of the nine LED walls provided by Video Walltronics. —T.J. WalterPH

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Restoring Honor RallyCatering Design Cuisine Caterers

Event Management CSI—Capitol Services Inc.

Production National Events L.L.C.

Rentals DC RentalTenting Capital Party Rentals

WASHINGTON

The stage was set at the base of the Lincoln Memorial, which provided a picturesque background for the more than 300,000 attendees.

Glenn Beck offered the opening and closing remarks.


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Subway SeriesThe sandwich company’s post-conference gala featured models, break dancers, and rollerskating butterfl ies.

“Eat Fresh” is Subway’s well-known tagline. So when the sandwich com-

pany hosted a gala on the last night of its annual convention in July, planners went for a “fresh buzz” vibe. Joel Whitten, the Connecticut-based meetings and event manager at Subway Fran-chise World Headquarters, tapped destination management company In the Loop-Chicago to produce the happening, which drew some 3,500 guests to the Skyline Ballroom at McCormick Place.

How does one bring a fresh, energizing atmosphere to a conven-tion center ballroom? In the Loop built three thematic pavilions—the Clubway, the Parkway, and Subway Stadium—to evoke, respectively, an energetic dance party, a whimsical park, and a sports stadium. Then,

producers called in the cheerleaders, break danc-ers, ballerinas, and—oh, yes—human pinwheels and butterfl ies on roller blades.

Throughout the evening, activities and enter-tainment took place in all three pavilions. In the Clubway, fake paparazzi snapped photos of guests and the ballerina and the break dancer went head-to-head in a staged dance-off.

Runway fashion shows, called “Project Subway,” showcased models in garb made out of the company’s packaging materials. An M.C. provided tongue-in-cheek commentary. “This next

creation,” he said, “uses all recycled material and is inspired by the foot-long chicken breast sandwich, on wheat, with extra Southwest sauce. Very spicy.”

In the Parkway, mimes, jug-glers, and a rollerskating butterfl y circulated while a cellist played classical music and three chalk artists drew colourful patterns on a fake sidewalk. Meanwhile, outside the Subway Stadium, cheerleaders chanted “Go subs, go.” Inside the sporty space, which was stocked with foosball tables and arcade games, acrobats and double-dutch jump ropers performed. —Jenny Berg

Subway’s “Celebrate Subway” ConventionAudiovisual Production, Lighting, Sound InVNT

Catering Chicago Restaurant Partners

Decor Ivan Carlson & Associates

DJ DJ Dave AlvarezEntertainment Chicago Boyz Acrobatic Team, Collaboraction, Custom Comedy Capers, Right On Band

Event Management In the Loop-Chicago

Game Rentals Amusement Masters

Photography Kardas Photography

CHICAGO

At the centre of the Parkway, a skirted platform held a gazebo area with hanging fl owers and candles, ivy, copper pots, and a fountain.

Eight models participated in the fashion show.

Right On Band performed ’70s hits in the Clubway.

Decor in the Clubway included yellow, green, and orange glow spheres atop fabric-skirted platforms. The colour scheme nodded to the hues of the Subway logo.

Ten-foot-tall glowing pillars surrounded the area known as the “Clubway.”

Light ShowSun Life launched its new mutual fund company with freworks and simultaneous events in fi ve cities.

In a nod to the corporate taglines for Sun Life Financial’s new mutual

fund company—phrases like “Illu-minating Your Path” and “Illuminat-ing a Brighter Future”—the fi rm lit up the sky over fi ve Canadian cities on October 13 with fi reworks displays (one of which took place on the roof of the Kool Haus) designed to mark the launch of the new brand, Sun Life Global Investments.

Liz Campbell, Sun Life’s director of marketing, called on Real Com-munications Inc. to plan simulta-neous launch events in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. The events drew a total of 750 guests and culminated in a one-hour simulcast showcasing musical performances and live foot-age of the fi reworks from Halifax, Montreal, and Toronto.

In addition to the pyrotechnics, organizers refl ected the illumina-tion theme in the decor (yellow

and white), the lighting, and the gift bags, which included items like a laser-pointer pen, an illumi-nated mouse, a book light, and a self-charging fl ashlight. “We felt it was a natural fi t for the launch party,” Campbell said of the theme. “Visually it speaks, and it’s got great legs.”

Attendees in each city in-cluded fi nancial advisors, plan

consultants, senior employees, media, and market analysts. “The idea was to entertain guests and punctuate it with corporate messaging,” Campbell said of the event, which was hosted by veteran sports broadcaster Dick Irvin. Entertainment included performances by singer Matt Dusk, who took the stage at the Kool Haus; Pascale Lavoie (in Montreal); and Jay Sparrow (in Calgary).

“We had fi ve satellite broadcast trucks, 4,000 separate explosions, 35 pyrotechnic experts, and 47 tech-nicians on the ground. We also had three teleconference bridges going on, so all of our event staff could speak to one another,” said Camp-bell. “It was a massive undertaking.” —Susan O’Neill

Sun Life Global Investments LaunchAudiovisual Production, Lighting, Production, Staging Granite Point Productions Inc.

Catering Kindred Spirits Catering & Event Coordination

Decor, Draping, Flowers, Lighting, Linens Heartz Event Creation

Design, Event Management, Invitations, Production, Signage Real Communications Inc.

Entertainment Matt DuskFurniture Rentals Contemporary Furniture Rentals Inc.

Printing Envelope Express, Resource Integrated Ltd.

Staffi ng Exposure TNTVenue Guvernment & Kool Haus Entertainment Complex

TORONTO

More than 300 guests, including senior employees, market analysts, and fi nancial advisors, attended the Toronto launch.

Tall vases fi lled with lemons and calla lilies topped bars and food stations.

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Size MattersThe DX Gala honoured Bruce Mau’s “Big Thinking” with massive ice crystals and oversize balloons.

For the Design Exchange’s seventh annual Black & White gala, held

October 23 at the Bay Street venue, organizers paid tribute to this year’s honouree—Bruce Mau, chairman and founder of Bruce Mau Design—with an evening inspired by his career, including works like his “Massive Change” exhibit and his “Incomplete Manifesto for Growth.”

“The whole theme was ‘big,’ based on Bruce Mau and his success as a big thinker in the world,” said Gillian Hoff, vice president of special events at the Design Exchange. “Everything was oversize, from the ice crystals [above the bar on the trading fl oor] to the giant vases [in the recep-tion space], to the catering and Daniel et Daniel’s giant scallop shells.”

To set the stage for the V.I.P. dinner, which drew 220 guests and took place in the venue’s exhibit hall, Hoff created decor elements that played off the theme of experimentation. “I was inspired by a line from his Web site that says Mau continues to pursue life’s big question, ‘Now that we can do anything, what will we do?’” said Hoff.

Hoff displayed large vinyl cutouts of words from Mau’s “Incomplete Manifesto” on the walls and worked with students from the event design and management program at Seneca College to create four-foot square frames to hang candles and fl owers above the dining tables.

An additional 800 guests attended the main party, held on the venue’s main level and trad-ing fl oor. For the reception area, Hoff created a Moroccan lounge with metal cocktail tables from Furnishings by Corey, Moroccan-style cushions, belly dancers, and live snakes. “The idea was to use diverse cultural ideas and face your fears by

using snake charm-ers,” Hoff said.

In addition to a massive ice chan-delier, Iceculture installed four ice crystals, supported by wood frames built into the white Plexiglas bar, to top each corner of the bar. CCR Solutions lit each of the sculp-tures from above with yellow and purple beams to cre-ate a prism effect.

Event sponsors included TD Bank Financial Group, Toronto Life, and NUVO. —Susan O’Neill

The Design Exchange’s Black & White GalaAudiovisual Production, Lighting, Sound, Staging CCR Solutions

Catering Daniel et Daniel Event Creation & Catering, Eatertainment Special Events & Catering, En Ville Event Design and Catering, Marigolds & Onions, Presidential Gourmet Fine Catering, 10tation Event Catering

Entertainment DLM Dance & Entertainment

Flowers Forget Me Not Flowers

Furniture Rentals Furnishings by Corey

Ice Sculpture Iceculture Inc.Live Animals ReptiliaProps Balloon TrixRentals Exclusive Affair Rentals Inc.

Venue Design Exchange

TORONTO

Dancers performed during a set by fusion jazz band the Kandinsky Effect.

More than 800 guests fi lled the trading fl oor.

Performers posed on platforms adorned with the word “spectacle” (inspired by Mau’s book S, M, L, XL) in the gift bag room.

Organizers projected the faces of big thinkers on to the surface of 14 oversize white balloons hung on either side of the trading fl oor.

Iceculture designed a seven-piece chandelier for the centre of the main bar.

WeekenderThrillist staged a branded hotel in Miami Beach with three days of parties.

Thrillist is no stranger to trip giveaways. In October the email newsletter staged

its Jet Mystery event, which fl ew 158 guests on JetBlue to a surprise location, Jamaica, for three days of activities. In an effort to create a more grounded presence in one of its 16 markets, the New York-based company created the inaugural Hotel Thrillist in Miami Beach June 4 to 6.

“Thrillist recommends the best restaurants and nightclubs [in Miami], and our mission [with this initiative] was to showcase just that to a national audience,” said the company’s event manager, Ben Hindman. “We wanted people to be able to experience the brand as a local entity and not just an email.”

Thrillist ran national and local online sweepstakes for readers to win a hotel room at the Fontaine-bleau, which Thrillist rebranded with signage and designated activi-ty areas, and access to its sponsored events. About 200 people from around the country, plus 100 locals and national media, attended.

The festivities began on Friday night with a welcome reception

and dinner party in a hotel ballroom—moved from the back lawn when torrential rains and fl ooding that afternoon forced the party inside—with the hotel’s restaurants Scarpetta, Hakkasan, Gotham Steak, and Solo providing food stations for dinner and dessert. Singer Angela Laino and band Suénalo performed during the cocktail re-ception and dinner, respectively.

Saturday’s planned activities kicked off early with morning yoga on the beach led by Equinox Fitness Club instructors and a light breakfast at poolside eatery La Cote. Presenting sponsors Bac-ardi and Corona supplied poolside liquid libations throughout the day.

Other afternoon activities included music-spinning lessons from Scratch DJ Academy, ca-

poeira lessons from Miami Capoeira Project, tours and animal encoun-ters at Jungle Island exotic zoo, and mini massages from Equinox. DJ Elle spun for the majority of the day, and R&B singer Kat Deluna gave a special 30-minute concert complete with dancers on the pool deck.

That night Thrillist transported everyone to the South of Fifth neighborhood for a dinner party at Red’s rooftop event space. DJ Señor Stereo from event company Over-throw, fi re dancers, and the Miami Heat dancers entertained through-out the night.

The company held a farewell breakfast at Gotham Steak on Sunday morning before attendees checked out. —D. Channing MullerPH

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Hotel ThrillistCatering, Rentals, Venue Fontainebleau Hotel

Catering, Venue Red, the Steakhouse

Catering Gotham Steak, Hakkasan, Scarpetta, Solo at the Fontainebleau

Costumes, DJ, Entertainment, Makeup, Staffi ng Overthrow

DJs DJ Elle, Scratch DJ Academy

Entertainment, Venue Jungle Island

Entertainment Miami Capoeira Project, Suénalo, The Gurkha Cigars

Sound Southern Audio Visual

Transportation Coastal Car Worldwide

Equinox Fitness Club conducted morning yoga sessions on the beach behind the hotel.

Red, the Steakhouse and Gotham Steak chefs participated in a barbecue competition on Saturday afternoon.

Guests who signed up for the Jungle Island tour Saturday morning had hands-on experiences with the zoo’s residents.


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Pumpkin BashThe Canadian Opera Company’s benefi t chaneled Cinderella with a carriage and pumpkins.

The Canadian Opera Company paid tribute to Cinderella and Rossini’s La

Cenerentola with silver pumpkins, chocolate mice, and Glass Slipper cocktails at the Operanation benefi t on October 29 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. “We always theme the event around one of the season’s operas, and this theme is so much fun to play with,” said special events manager Tracy Briggs. (The company pres-ents La Cenerentola from April 23 to May 25.)

Briggs, who planned the event in conjunction with an executive committee co-chaired by Fayaz Dossa and Claire Kennedy, explained that organizers called the evening “Operanation VII, Cinderella: Rock the Ball” to bring an indie-rock ele-ment to the familiar story. “We had a great lineup in terms of our en-tertainment. Clara Venice acted as the Cinderella of the evening,” said Briggs, who scheduled that perfor-mance—described as a combination of electro-pop-meets-cabaret—for midnight. “Instead of turning into a pumpkin, we are going to ‘rock the ball.’”

The evening began with a V.I.P. dinner for 136 guests in the venue’s Henry N.R. Jackman Lounge, followed by a party at 9 p.m. About 1,100 guests attended in all. Broken Social Scene took the stage at 10:30 p.m. for a mash-up performance with company ensemble stars Wallis Giunta and Ambur Braid. Additional entertainment included three drag queens who mingled with guests while playing the parts of Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters.

To further play up the theme, event organizers placed a white carriage outside the entrance to the venue and dressed bars and catering stations with silver-painted pumpkins and sparkling stilet-to heels. Davids provided a collection of designer shoes, from the likes of Kate Spade and Christian Louboutin, for a display in the main lobby.

Catering provided by Rose Reisman Catering also had a fairy-tale feel, with a Baron of Beef sta-tion in the main lobby, a cheese and chocolate sta-tion on the second fl oor, and a dessert station—

with mini pumpkin cheesecake lollipops—on the third fl oor.

Guests could visit Murale makeup stations for touch-ups throughout the evening, and brand ambassadors from Calvin Klein of-fered hand massages and samples of the new fragrance, Beauty, at two displays. Attendees could also pose for photos at a photo booth sponsored by Hello! Canada. An af-ter-party took place on the rooftop of the Thompson Toronto following the event. —Susan O’Neill

Canadian Opera Company’s Operanation Benefi tCatering Rose Reisman Catering

Flowers Forget Me Not Flowers

PR Best PR BoutiquePrinting C.J. Graphics Inc. Printers and Lithographers

Rentals Chair-man MillsStaffi ng The Butler Did ItVenue Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

TORONTO

To play up the Cinderella theme, organizers placed a white carriage outside the entrance.

More than 1,100 guests attended the event, held over three fl oors of the Four Seasons Centre.

Davids provided a collection of designer shoes for a display in the main lobby.

Bartenders mixed a signature cocktail called the Glass Slipper.

Guests could visit Murale makeup stations for touch-ups throughout the night.

Dessert stations included pink-and-white ball gown cupcakes.

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2010 bizbash national venue guide 151

New York

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Although economic turbulence has tempered the intended fl urry of venue openings and renovations in New York this year, it didn’t bring the city to a halt. In fact, some of the bigger projects—two new baseball stadiums, the park on the High Line, and Lincoln Center’s massive overhaul—debuted in 2009, while chefs spawned more casual eateries to match the change in diner preferences. However, the biggest change will come in 2010, when the city’s only convention center unveils an expansion and renovates its existing space. By ANNA SEKULA

The High Life Straddling the High Line, André Balazs’s Standard New York drew attention before it was even complete. Designed by Polshek Partnership, this 337-room property offi cially opened in September. For events, there’s the High Line Room and Terrace on the third fl oor, which has views of the Hudson River and holds 250 for receptions. The hotel also offers the 285-seat Standard Grill with an adjacent garden room for events, as well as the 18th-fl oor bar dubbed Bon Bon. (848 Washington St., 212.645.4646, standardhotels.com)

ON BIZBASH.COM/NEWYORKThe latest venue news, reports from recent events, and a comprehensive directory of local suppliers and venues

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Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Cruise Ships & Golf Courses


The event industry can be defi ned as much by the

fi nancial (a shaky economic recovery) as the frivolous

(fancy cocktails! food trucks!). Summarizing this year

means looking at how those different forces collid-

ed. In addition to identifying the biggest trends, we

also spoke to a couple of planners who persevered

in the face of a challenging year: They launched

new projects. They remade existing endeavors

to adapt to the current climate. And they put

on ambitious projects that proved the ongoing

power of events as marketing tools.

Target staged a fashion and light show on the facade of the Standard hotel in New York as part of its roster of dramatic event initiatives. More on the retailer’s strategy is on page 58.

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BEST OF

2010ON BIZBASH.COMMore photos and details from the events featured here, plus 10 local highlights from nine markets

48

House PartiesWhether to add a sense of comfort or exclusivity, private residences were a popular venue choice.

Toronto’s Best PR Boutique hosted a media preview event in a 4,500-square-foot suite inside a private home in August.

In August, Toronto’s Bridle Bash Foundation held its annual fund-raiser in the backyard of a residential home, drawing 1,500 guests.

In April, New Balance held a media launch for its toning sneaker line in a fi ve-storey mansion in New York.

Private Residence, a new event space in Miami, is the former home of its owner, local entrepreneur Debbie Ohanian, and has been redesigned to accommodate private parties.

In March, World Festival—a fund-raiser benefi ting chef Art Smith’s Chicago-based Common Threads charity—offered tasting stations from 70 chefs, including Rick Bayless and television personality Nigella Lawson.

Following a Katy Perry concert, chef Mario Batali did a cooking demo in Times Square at the June launch of the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta.

FAVOURITE TREND OF 2010: “The use of dining options other than a 72-inch round and banquet chairs. We’ve seen people use a captain’s table, create booth seating with sofas and ottomans, and opt for a square or trianglar table. Many are using club chairs for table ends and linenless options.” Lindsay Cosimi, account executive, Room Service Furniture & Rentals, Orlando

BEST OF 2010

The South Beach Wine & Food Festival had a long roster of chef appearances and demos this winter—including one by Michael Symon in one of KitchenAid’s two tents at the Grand Tasting Village.

THE STAR CHEF FACTOR As the ranks of food celebrities continued to grow, they headlined tasting events, crowded attendee lists on press releases, and gave their names to menus—whether or not they actually prepared any food.

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Lexus created a 9- by 9-foot video wall of iPads and iTouch screens to present interactive information about its new hybrid vehicle for its Dark Side of Green Tour, held across the U.S. this summer.

At AOL’s partner summit in New York in April, staffers used iPads to check in attendees.

In August, Lexus unveiled its new hybrid vehicle in Toronto with an event produced by AMCI and Attention Span. Custom iPad applications gave guests details about the car and let them map out a downtown route.

On Heineken’s nationwide Inspire Tour this summer, Relevent Group brought in computer stations, where brand ambassadors with iPads invited attendees to share what inspired them. The messages were then posted to screens.

Guerrilla Marketing

To tout the show Covert Affairs in July, USA Network dispatched 40 models masquerading as the show’s lead character, C.I.A. agent Annie Walker. The troop paraded past high-traffi c public areas to silently spread the message.

For the 2010 Upfronts in New York in May, NBC promoted its slogan “More Colorful” with a group of brightly hued cabs that drove around Midtown before stopping in front of the Hilton for the network’s presentation.

In January, consumer reporting agency TransUnion staged large-scale public yoga classes in New York and Chicago.

Cheddar cheese maker Tillamook converted a VW vehicle into the Tillamook Loaf Love bus, which handed out samples throughout the western United States this spring.

THE YEAR OF THE IPAD Apple’s latest gadget was put to good use at events.

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Venues Get Cooking New event spaces added kitchens to showcase food prep and facilitate group cooking activities.

Also in Chicago, kitchen-equipped Logan Square Kitchen opened in September 2009.

Chicago’s Room 1520 opened in May with two commercial-style kitchens, a fi eldstone fi replace, and a lounge with plush seating.

In New York, the Andaz 5th Avenue offers a meeting and event space with an open, communal kitchen as the central gathering point.

Manhattan Cocktail Classic For the fi rst local festival exclusively dedicated to libations and the people who make them, Manhattan Cocktail Classic founder Lesley Townsend avoided juggling too much and limited her overhead by allowing the in-house market-ing and event departments of large spirits companies to take creative control of their setups at various events. Townsend took a crowdsourcing approach, which gave independent producers and companies the license to conceive events and pitch the ideas to brands. The Cocktail Classic saw more than 4,000 attendees at 70-plus events over a four-day run.

Amfar’s Inspiration Gala Series As a way to extend its footprint around the globe and boost its fund-raising efforts, the HIV and AIDS nonprofi t launched a new event series in 2010, a concept dubbed the Inspiration Gala that traveled to New York, Paris, and Los Angeles in its inaugural year. With men’s style as the inspirational focus, each city’s event was hosted

by Kylie Minogue, held at iconic locations, and tweaked to the local audience. New York’s 400-person gala at the New York Public Library on June 3 included a 52-model runway show and raised more than $400,000, while the more intimate 150-guest dinner at Maxim’s de Paris in Paris on June 25 involved a perfor-mance by famed chanteuse Arielle Dombasle and brought in $175,000.

Pepsi’s Idea Seminar Tour and Refresh Project Marketing Initiative In February, Pepsi un-expectedly opted to forgo a Super Bowl commercial, choosing to al-locate funds to the Refresh Project, a marketing platform to boost its commitment to sustainable growth. This experimental consumer pro-gram awards more than $20 million in grants to consumers with ideas about how to improve their com-munities and the world. To generate awareness of the online program, Pepsi hosted a six-city seminar tour for students between February and April. Pepsi succeeded in mobilizing thousands of customers through

social media and the offl ine gather-ings: As of September 1, 42 million votes had been cast online for more than 7,500 ideas, and the 256 ideas that received the grant are esti-mated to have infl uenced more than 200,000 people across the U.S.

Life Is Good Festival Boston-based apparel company Life Is Good joined forces with Superfl y Presents, the minds behind the Bonnaroo and Outside Lands, to introduce a new family-focused music festival in September. The two-day event brought 30,000 people—including

5,000 kids—to Canton’s Prowse Farm and raised $600,000 for the Life Is Good Kids Foundation. The roster of performers included kid-

centric artists such as Dan Zanes & Friends, as well as headliners Ben Harper, Guster, Corinne Bailey Ray, and Jason Mraz. “In the past we always tailored our [smaller] festi-

vals to be family-friendly, and this year was no different, but we also targeted young, single music fans,” said Bert Jacobs, Life Is Good’s chief executive optimist. “Many people in the music industry told us we wouldn’t be able to mix tattoos with toddlers. But we did just that, and there were no problems.”

Taste of Beverly Hills The date on September 2 of this year matched Beverly Hills’ famous ZIP code—as in 9-02-10—and this inaugural epicu-rean festival capitalized on the extra attention, as well as the long Labor Day weekend. The Taste of Beverly Hills offered samples from a broad array of the region’s top restaurants, cooking demonstrations from local and widely known chefs, wine tast-ings from more than 80 California vintners, and live music. The event took place on a three-plus-acre site with two 100- by 140-foot tasting pavilions. A 60- by 80-foot cooking demo tent had fully functional LG appliances. Best Events produced the programming, which drew an estimated 10,000 visitors, who scooped up an estimated 500,000 tastes. In a far-reaching marketing approach, organizers implemented a multimedia campaign that strategi-cally aligned traditional media with targeted online partners and social media outlets, and worked with participating restaurants to develop

FIRST TIME’S A CHARMLaunching new events in an uncertain economy can be risky. These gambles paid off.

BEST OF 2010

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custom incentive programs each could use to promote the festival.

Hispanic Leadership Summit The Southern California-based Center for Hispanic Leadership hosted its inaugural summit in September in the Junior Achievement Finance Park Mike Curb Center for Free Enterprise. More than 200 corporate leaders and brands participated—beating organizers’ goal of 120. With big-name sponsors such as IBM, Xerox, Toyota, State Farm, and AOL on board, the summit doubled its spon-sorship goal. Attendees came from organizations like Pepsi, American Express, Coke, Aetna, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Ernest & Young, with more than 20 corporations each sending more than fi ve repre-sentatives from all over the country. A social media campaign was a driv-ing force behind the turnout.

NokiaTalk Taking note of re-search that says more than half of Facebook activity is conducted via mobile phones, Nokia hosted its fi rst social media conference May 24 to 26 in Miami’s design district. The company brought 100 bloggers, Web developers, and industry specialists from 12 countries in Latin America to the city for interactive speaker pan-els and collaborative sessions, which had attendees working together to create new industry standards and

documents such as “The 10 Rules of Social Media.” “We didn’t want it to just be one-way commu-nication, so we made it interac-tive by inviting a

lot of the bloggers to be speakers as well,” said Nokia social media com-munications manager Saulo Passos, who organized the event along with local event planning fi rm Siinc Agency. “It’s not just us telling them what to do; we are really engaging with them to tell us what to do.”

Bandwagon Roadshow After nearly 18 months of planning, this combined live music festival and car show debuted September 4 at Festival Field at the Orlando Citrus Bowl. Created by Jimi Beach, ex-ecutive producer at entertainment company Top Speed Adventures and a former producer on the Vans

Warped Tour, the event attracted an audience of 5,500 to its launch before being fi ne-tuned and starting an eight-city cross-country tour in April. “Some of the largest single-day events in the world are classic-car gatherings, but they don’t have much entertainment, so we decided to create a new touring property that brings out top headliners with top cars,” Beach said. Snoop Dogg headlined the kickoff.

Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo The Reed Exhibitions Pop Culture Group launched the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo in April. Held at McCormick Place, the three-day affair boasted 200 exhibitors, 175 panels and screen-ings, and appearances from industry heavyweights such as Neil Gaiman. Producer Lance Fensterman said that although Chicago has a strong community of comic-book enthu-siasts, it was challenging to build market awareness for the unprec-edented event. Reed’s strategy, he said, was to begin promotional efforts two years in advance in order to “motivate the hard-core fans to come interact with us,” by advertis-ing the event “through the channels where the fans live and breathe,” in-cluding blogs, podcasts, comic books, and movie theatres. The event ultimately drew 27,500 attendees, which Fensterman said was about

“5 percent short of a very aggressive goal. This is the second-best per-forming launch we’ve ever had.”

Patrón Tequila Epicurean Express After sending all of its executives to New Orleans to volunteer with the St. Bernard Project, a nonprofi t organization dedicated to rebuild-ing homes and providing mental health support for people affected by Hurricane Katrina and the recent oil spill, Patrón teamed up with the project for a fi ve-city, cocktail- and food-focused fund-raising tour. With Patrón’s 1927 antique railcar serving as the backdrop, each of the two-night stops was held on the tracks and featured New Orleans-based chefs serving hors d’oeuvres paired with Patrón cocktails. The tour at-tracted more than 700 people in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, and raised $125,000 for the project.

Held in Chicago in May, the Butterfl y Ball had centrepieces of lilac trees and fl owers from local nurseries, which were replanted after the event.

Sneaky EcoGreen decor that doesn’t look like it was a rising trend.

Lexus’s booth at the New York International Auto Show in April was made of recycled and repurposed materials.

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NOT SO INDIE ANYMOREAs marketers look for new places to engage their target audiences, some events that started scruffy are incorporating slicker, business-minded elements.

At the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, grown-up brands such as American Express and Microsoft sponsored tents with air-conditioning, charging stations, and plenty of product placement.

Held in Los Angeles in March, the Independent Spirit Awards moved from an intimate beachside tent to a larger downtown venue with six sponsor tents, including an Elle magazine greenroom.

BEFORE THE EVENTTo promote a July catalog preview in New York, Ikea reached out to fans through Facebook, the Brooklyn store’s Twitter page, and IkeaFans.com, an independently run Web site with an audience of more than 150,000.

After deciding to relocate the Vans Warped Tour 10 days before the event, organizers used social media to spread the word to attendees, resulting in the same attendance as last year.

In July, Armani Exchange pro-moted its new fall line from a retro ice cream truck that made stops throughout Los Angeles. The store’s Twitter page alerted followers to the truck’s location and giveaways.

DURING THE EVENTThe 2010 Sundance Film Festival had

its own Tweethouse, which hosted panel discussions about social me-dia’s role in the fi lm industry during the day and parties in the evening, including a celebrity “tweet-up” to raise money for Haitian relief.

AFTER THE EVENTIn June, Yves Saint Laurent Beauté held a party in New York for its Belle d’Opium fragrance. The brand cre-ated a dedicated Web site to publicly document everything, from the on-site build-out to the Twitter posts from the night of the event.

Marc Ecko Cut & Sew’s fall/winter 2010 campaign featured multime-dia ads starring Lindsay Lohan that combined augmented reality and photography. At the August launch party in New York, attendees played with the technology on computers and then uploaded videos to social media sites.

BEST OF 2010

Social Lives Social media gave marketers new ways to woo attendees, get feedback, and extend the impact of events long after they ended.

Sundance’s Tweethouse

Marc Ecko’s campaign launch

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WORST TREND OF 2010: “One ingredient too many—I’m getting sick of caterers feeling they need to show off and throwing every ingredient under the sun into each dish. Simpler fare done to perfection is the way to go.” Janet Abbazia, vice president of event marketing, Turner Broadcasting, New York

One of last year’s major new hotels in Washington, the W Washington D.C. has an 11th-fl oor rooftop bar overlooking the White House called the POV Roof Terrace.

Designer Michael McKinnon created a Gaga-inspired table, including napkins topped with sunglasses, for the New York Botanical Garden’s Orchid Dinner in February.

Going Gaga Lady Gaga delivered her always surprising performances at many events, while also serving as a muse for designers.

In February, Todd Event Design Creative Services gave Amfar’s New York gala a clean, modern look that matched Gaga’s all-white outfi t.

For the New York Dining by Design gala in March, Tug Studio’s “Call to Action” table recalled the singer’s “Telephone” music video.

Up on the RoofHotel rooftops—home to pools, bars, and city views—are popping up in cities beyond New York and Las Vegas.

The Thompson Toronto, which opened in June, has an infi nity pool on the 16th fl oor.

Boston’s Splash Ultra Lounge, which opened in late 2009, has a roof deck with private cabanas, a decorative fountain, a DJ area, and a full bar.

53

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Target’s Multifaceted Marketing Platforms Target is known for over-the-top spectacles, and 2010 saw the retailer pull off a massive publicity stunt in New York to showcase fall fashions: Dubbed the “Kaleidoscopic Fashion Spectacular,” the production used the entire southern facade of the Standard hotel as an illuminated billboard. Producer Mother New York placed 66 dancers, 156 LED lights, and a warehouse’s worth of fi ber-optic cable in the windows of 155 rooms to create patterns including a bull’s-eye and a 14-storey dancing man. The brand also staged a block party in Harlem for the opening of its fi rst Manhattan store, created a 4,000-person volunteer drive-cum-party during the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, and hosted more than 2,000 guests at a welcome concert and reception to kick off the National Urban League’s conference in Washington.

Red Bull’s Sports Competitions This year Red Bull solidifi ed its place as the host and sponsor of extreme and unusual sports events by bringing a leg of its international fl ying competition to New York’s congested and politically sensitive air space. Staged over the Hudson between Manhattan, Jersey City, and Ellis Island, the Air Race World Championship took more than three years to organize and involved per-mission from 16 government agen-

cies. In 2010, the beverage brand also moved its Manny Mania AM series skateboarding contest from Miami to Orlando and returned its Flugtag air show to the U.S. after a one-year hiatus. Red Bull is also a big player in music, sponsoring bashes at fes-tivals like South by Southwest and hosting its own contests and tours, including a DJ competition and an MC battle.

Amway China Incentives A fi ve-gala series for Amway China span-ned the month of June, with a total budget of $80 million. The program-ming consisted of fi ve events for fi ve different waves of Chinese sales reps who visited Southern California as part of an incentive. Each group experienced the same program of activities and gala evening. Roughly 13,000 attendees participated, with 1,800 to 3,000 at each gala, all held at the Anaheim Convention Center and produced by EventWorks. The

programming included novelty acts like human fountains, walking buf-fets, and stiltwalkers, plus musicians, with 50 live performers in all.

Sprint’s Las Vegas Launches Sprint took to Las Vegas with splashy, tech-heavy events that drew crowds and buzz. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Sprint announced its exclusive deal with Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot by Sierra Wireless at an event where attendees visited demo stations set up as individual vignettes—like a park with trees and concession stands and a dorm room with bunk beds and a cafeteria. And at the International C.T.I.A. Wireless show in March, the brand launched the fi rst 4G phone with a Kabuki drop curtain that disappeared to reveal the party space and a hologram of the new phone to 300 guests. Fresh Wata produced both events.

Audi’s Art of Progress Pavilion Though it took place in 2009, too late for last year’s wrap-up, it’s still impressive: Audi created a 45,000-square-foot temporary structure to celebrate its 100th an-

niversary and to launch its new-est A8 model during Art Basel Miami Beach, from December 3 to 6. On the beach just north

of the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach, the Art of Progress pavilion took structure design company EventStar six weeks to erect and consisted of an arena where the car was displayed, an art exhibi-tion space, and an outdoor lounge that remained open to the public throughout the festival. “We looked at different buildings in Miami, but there were none that suited our needs,” said Anja Kaehny, manager of lifestyle communications and social responsibility for Audi. “So the idea of doing it near the Eden Roc was to create a temporary museum that would have a balcony opening onto the ocean.”

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Grand Opening After more than two years of construction, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter offi -cially opened on June 18 at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park. The park hosted an invite-only party on June 16 with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and several supporting cast members. The event spotlighted the park’s rep-licas of signature venues from the books and movies, like Ollivander’s Wand Shop and Zonko’s Joke Shop. Universal also employed entertain-ment elements from the stories, including the arrival of the Knight Bus and a performance by the Frog Choir in Hogsmeade Village. Late in the evening, Radcliffe led guests in saying “Lumos!” to illuminate the Hogwarts Castle replica, upon which Universal projected images from the movies as a fi reworks display took place overhead, choreographed to music from the fi lms.

Hermès New York and Chicago Store Openings For Hermès’s state-side events in 2010—which included the opening of a New York men’s store in February and a Chicago fl agship in June—no detail went overlooked. For the men’s store, the French fashion house transformed 20,000 square feet of raw space in the Park Avenue Armory into a leisure spot with four vignettes: a travel room, a library, a game room, and a jazz club. Around 25 percent of the event’s furnishings were custom made. Chicago’s store opening lured 700 guests and included stiltwalkers wearing horse heads and custom Hermès suits. A team of 14 assis-tants tied branded ribbons onto hay bales, which were imported from a local farm that morning.

AMBITIOUS UNDERTAKINGSGo big or go home? These brands staged large events as integral parts of their 2010 marketing plans.

Red Bull’s air race over the Hudson River

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Anja Kaehny


Lexus Live For the world debut of the new luxury hybrid vehicle, the Lexus CT 200h, Lexus Canada showcased two early prototypes of the car—and staged a concert series with performances by four Canadian acts—at a three-day event dubbed Lexus Live in Toronto’s Distillery District. Lexus called on Los Angeles-based fi rm AMCI to design and produce the event, which centered on the use of interactive iPad stations that enabled attend-ees to provide feedback. To attract the right audience, Attention Span planned a concert series throughout the weekend, drawing more than 7,000 people. Chad Yee, marketing manager for Lexus Canada, reported that 81 percent of attendees said the hybrid changed their perspective on the brand.

Washington National Opera Ball The Opera Ball is consistently ranked among the most high-profi le events on the Washington social calendar, and the 2010 iteration—which raised $1.5 million—is still being talked about. For the 650 invited guests, the evening began at one of 22 embas-sies for dinner. They spent the rest of the evening at the Embassy of the Russian Federation, experienc-ing fi ve themed rooms created by Sandi Hoffman Special Events that celebrated Russia’s rich history and bright future. An ice room held seven nine-foot ice sculptures that depict-ed great fi gures from Russian history, and a re-creation of St. Petersburg’s Winter Palace had a winter-themed courtyard, complete with falling snow and dancing ballerinas to celebrate the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Institute of Contemporary Art Gala Boston’s ICA revamped its annual spring fund-raiser by adding an after-party—one of the hardest tickets to land this spring. The May evening kicked off with a cocktail party and dinner in the new One Marina Park building in Fan Pier, adjacent to the institute. Afterward, the 430 guests were guided by large arrows, made from white fl uorescent lights, across the boardwalk to the museum to join 300 additional attendees at the after-party. “It was a nice way to let people come and not invest in a ma-jor ticket price,” said Susie Allen, the museum’s director of special events. The evening raised $800,000 for the museum, up from just over $500,000 in 2009.

FAVOURITE TREND OF 2010: “Advanced contemporary colour combinations. As clients become savvy about colour through advertising and merchandising, I fi nd them more willing to explore new combi-nations, like ochre and steel gray or nude and black.” Jeffrey Foster, director of sales, Event Creative, Chicago

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Child’s PlayLighthearted games and activities kept guests happy and entertained.

Guests blew bubbles, played hopscotch, doodled on chalkboards, and hung out on an indoor swing set at Chicago’s artEdge benefi t in May.

In February, Hermès celebrated its fi rst dedicated men’s store in New York with vintage pinball machines, billiards, and table tennis.

In April, Windfall Clothing Service’s annual Buy Design benefi t had a 1930s theme, with badminton and croquet, a bake sale, and a carnival-style balloon game that guests played for prizes.

On the New York stop of Heineken’s Inspire Tour this summer, partygoers played table tennis, among other games.

Circus, Circus Many producers looked to the big top for inspiration.

In April, Boston’s Room to Dream Foundation held its Carnival of Dreams, complete with jugglers on unicycles, games, three bars, and food from more than a dozen area chefs.

Popcorn company C. Cretors celebrated its 125th anniversary in Chicago in May with a gala that included jugglers.

The Recording Academy’s Grammy Awards after-party in L.A. was a dark, mysterious take on the circus.

For its annual Best of Washington party in July, Washingtonian magazine hosted a “gourmet circus” with tented food stations, games, and a sword swallower.

At the Ontario Science Centre’s Harry Potter-themed Innovator’s Ball in Toronto in May, ouija boards doubled as serving trays.

56

WORST TREND OF 2010: “Trying too hard to sell a ‘green’ event. I’ve seen so much effort—and emails and paperwork—spent to make an event ‘look green.’ Compare the imprint of those resources to the imprint of the original concept. Sometimes thinking effi ciently can make the planning more green than the event.” Richard Summers, creative director, the Launch Group, Orlando

In June, CTV’s party for the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto had colourful decorative tubes throughout the party space—even on catering trays.

COOL CATERING TRAYS

At the Institute of Contemporary Art’s May gala in Boston, servers passed hors d’oeuvres on trays with mini screens that displayed work from the museum’s teen programs.

BEST OF 2010

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To promote its new New York Web site, NBC Local Integrated Media recruited four big-name chefs—including Daniel Boulud—to serve free meals from food trucks in February.

At a June fund-raiser for Miami Gardens mayor and Congressional candidate Shirley Gibson, Feverish Ice Cream served Mexican chocolate-chip popsicles and mango paletas from the back of its truck.

TRUCKS, NO STOP Made popular in New York and Los Angeles, mobile restau-rants are serving casual and upscale cuisine at events.

FAVOURITE TREND OF 2010: “Sustainable corporate gifts. Dual-purpose items with meaning: jump drives, recyclable event/grocery bags, eco-friendly personal items.” Lenny Talarico, director of events, MGM Resorts Events, Las Vegas

At Ecolab’s client appreciation party at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago this summer, the registration desk was made out of the company’s soap dispensers and glass racks from restaurant dishwashers.

During the Super Bowl, Bridgestone stacked its tires to create highboys at the ESPN the Magazine Next Big Weekend party.

At Maxim’s Super Bowl party in Miami in February, sponsor Samsung created a chandelier of fl at-screen TVs, all showing images of real chandeliers.

Products as Decor

Steal These Ideas


IDS 10 The Interior Design Show, presented by Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., returned to its original home at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre after several years at the Direct Energy Centre. “It allows us to be part of the city again,” said show creator Shauna Levy, who credits the move with attracting greater numbers (at-tendance increased from 45,000 to 48,000) and a more astute audi-ence. “We seemed to attract a more sophisticated, urban, design-savvy

visitor; media coverage was up; and our exhibitor re-sign rate was higher that it’s been for many years,” said Levy, who leveraged the show to launch the inaugural Toronto International Design Festival. Presented by Swiss watchmaker Rado and Audi, the citywide festival ran for four days, with 20 events taking place in venues like the Royal Ontario Museum and the Design Exchange.

The Clios After Richard Beckman’s

new company, E5 Media, took own-ership of the Clio Awards from the Nielsen Company, the former presi-dent of Condé Nast Media Group and executive producer of Fashion Rocks brought the advertising in-dustry event back to New York and revamped the 51-year-old ceremony and conference. Consolidated into a two-day convention with two 75-minute award presentations, the 2010 Clio Awards saw a 50 percent increase in attendance, attracted big-name speakers—including

Grammy-winning singer Pharrell Williams and Penny Baldwin, Yahoo’s senior vice president of integrated marketing and brand management—and built its profi le in the media.

Los Angeles Marathon After a move from its traditional timing in March to May in 2009, the mara-thon reversed course to March 21. A new route, dubbed “Stadium to Sea,” was intended to show off the best of the city’s features—to locals as well as participants from around the world—on a sightseeing tour from Dodger Stadium through down-town, Hollywood, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills and on to the Veterans Administration grounds and the fi nish line in Santa Monica. The marathon drew a capacity crowd of 25,000 registrants—the fi rst time in the race’s 25-year his-tory that it sold out and a 45 percent increase over 2009.

Magic Twice a year, fashion industry players descend on Las Vegas for Advanstar’s Magic Marketplace fam-ily of shows. For the February 2010 run, the program launched dual campuses at the Las Vegas and the Mandalay Bay convention centres. Organizers billed it as the most signifi cant format change in the show’s 77-year history, meant to add 50 percent more space and a more effi cient organization for attend-ees and exhibitors. A new layout merchandised exhibitors into three distinct neighborhoods for easy

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SUCCESSFUL MAKEOVERS Tricky times call for rethinking existing formats. These reimagined events boosted results by trying new marketing plans, locations, and formulas.

During the Fox Upfront in New York in May, bartenders served the “So Magical,” a mixture of rum, lime juice, and muddled mint poured over sour-apple cotton candy.

During Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, Patrón Spirits Company set up a “muddle bar” at a GQ pool party, where bartenders taught guests how to make Patrón mojitos.

In August, Hendrick’s Gin sponsored a bartender croquet tournament at Chicago’s Soldier Field, where guests sipped cocktails and fl owery gin punch from teacups and hollowed-out cucumbers.

BEST OF 2010

In the SpiritWith serious bartenders focusing on mixology at cocktail bars across the country, classic cordials and signature drinks are as popular as ever.

59

At Target’s Liberty of London pop-up shop in New York in March, staffers handed out fl owers to shoppers waiting in line.

At a winter charity lunch in Miami benefi ting the Moyer Foundation and the Mario Batali Foundation, each guest’s place setting had a spatula with the Batali Foundation logo.

For the launch of its Very Sexy Now fragrance, Victoria’s Secret gave editors individual cakes by Sylvia Weinstock topped with an edible perfume bottle.

navigation. The Trend Concourse by Fashion Snoops debuted in the Central Hall, with high-fashion man-nequins, fl at-screens, and runway footage. Magic also launched a new footwear show, FN Platform, with more than 500 brands over 60,000 square feet. Feedback from attend-ees and exhibitors was positive, and nonstop shuttle service between venues allowed for a smooth fl ow.

Torchmark Corporation’s Combined Incentive and Award Trip This Fortune 500 company invited employees from four of its fi ve insurance companies for an incentive trip to the Fontainebleau from July 7 to 10. Unlike last year’s incentive cruise, on which each com-pany held separate award ceremo-nies, this time around Torchmark assistant vice president Donita Jacobs paired the companies into two groups to recognize the top pro-ducers and managers. “Torchmark is trying to bring all the companies under our umbrella together, so we thought having them exposed to one another would help in the pro-cess,” said Jacobs, who coordinated the four-day trip. Blooming Designs and Events designed the Rat Pack-themed events, which used the same ballroom decor for ceremonies on consecutive nights.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater Opening Gala Sometimes a simple twist can make a big difference. The Orlando Shakespeare Theater gained nearly 40 percent more

revenue—net-ting more than $110,000—from its 10th season opening gala on September 12 by selling more tickets and expanding its

auction. The theatre company held its fund-raiser on a Sunday instead of Saturday, which helped boost at-tendance to 315 guests, 20 percent more than in 2009. “We took a gamble that Sunday would be bet-ter because it didn’t compete with other nonprofi t and sports events in Central Florida,” said Melissa Mason, the theatre’s director of marketing. The day change also prompted orga-nizers to hold the event earlier; it ran from 5 to 8 p.m., instead of from 6 to 10 p.m., as in years past.

Black Creativity Gala In January, the Black Creativity gala at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry got a new format. Past iterations of the event, which honours African Americans’ scientifi c achievements, included a sit-down dinner and dancing. When it became clear that guests wanted more of the latter— “guests at this gala do not stay in their seats,” said museum manager of community affairs Octavia Hooks—planners replaced the sit-down meal with a strolling buffet and added a new lounge with a DJ and an additional dance fl oor. When guests arrived, chair Peggy A. Montes delivered welcome news:

“Tonight, you do not have to sit”—and the dance party lasted till the wee hours.

New York Fashion Week After 17 years at Bryant Park, IMG Fashion took a risky step—relocating the twice-yearly Fashion Week to the less-central campus at Lincoln Center. But the move enabled producers to revise the look, layout, and technology used for designer shows and set a new standard for the trade’s most important event. In doing so, IMG attracted 87 shows and presentations to its new site, up from the 63 during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week’s fi nal season at the park. Additionally, a partnership with electronic invitation and check-in program FashionGPS signifi cantly reduced costs for designers and made getting into the tents more effi cient for attendees.

Canada Blooms The country’s larg-est fl ower and garden festival relo-cated to the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place after 13 years at the

Metro Toronto Convention Centre. “Sometimes you need to refocus,” said Canada Blooms general man-ager Gerry Ginsberg. The move en-abled landscapers and providers—who invest almost $10 million in the show—to be more creative with their displays, thanks to easier load-in. Organizers also revamped the opening gala, dropping ticket prices from $200 to $75, which contributed to a nearly 200-person spike in at-tendance over 2009. Instead of open bars and entertainment, the party directed more attention to the hor-ticulture industry, with 20 garden-ing personalities opening the show, which saw a 16 percent increase in overall attendance.

Ball on the Mall As one of the few groups allowed to host an evening gala on the National Mall, the Trust for the National Mall’s L’Enfant

Society already has an exclusive sales pitch, along with plenty of guests willing to spend several hundred dollars to party in the shadow of the Washington Monument. Looking to capitalize even further on the second annual event, the society’s planning committee added a two-hour, V.I.P. seated dinner for 350 people prior to the evening reception. It drew a new range of sponsors, helping double the evening’s take from $150,000 in 2009 to $350,000 in 2010.

Gifts, Not BagsFifty-pound goodie bags aren’t as common as they used to be, but small tokens still helped end events on a high note.

WORST TREND OF 2010: “Cupcakes. Unless it is a children’s event, they’ve worn out their welcome. There are so many other creative dessert options.” Jason Wanderer, owner, Precision Event Group, Los Angeles

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Fashion GPS at New York Fashion Week

Melissa Mason

Gerry Ginsberg

60

Feminine Wiles From conferences to benefi ts to public happenings, these events appealed to women with a mix of empowerment and escapism—plus plenty of freebies.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Real Simple magazine held public demos in Chicago’s Union Station in April, where experts offered tips on topics such as hairstyling and table setting.

In February, Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet held a girly ladies lunch with pampering stations, pink champagne, and long-stemmed roses handed out by male staffers.

BEST OF 2010

WORST TREND OF 2010: “White Plexiglass bars! Every event starts to look the same, and there are ways to custom-design these bars to create a much more interesting effect. Create a wallpaper effect out of decals, insert a natural wood element, or mirror the front side to add more interest.” Beth Appleton, director, communications and experimental marketing, Telus, Toronto

In August, Lara Shriftman, partner at public relations and event agency Harrison & Shriftman, held her annual Girl’s Party in Miami, offering guests a day of beauty, shopping, dining, and gifting.

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AUCTIONS GO HIGH-TECHWireless bidding devices replaced paddles at charity auctions and, in many cases, brought in more money.

At the Jacob’s Cure Gala in New York in May, attendees used Bid Pal handhelds during a silent auction and live bidding to win prizes like a walk-on role in an episode of Entourage.

New York’s Robin Hood Foundation used IML audience-response devices to set a new fund-raising record of $87.8 million at its May benefi t. And at the American Cancer Society’s Discovery Ball in Chicago, the devices helped raise more than $2 million.

FAVOURITE TREND OF 2010: “Using an iPad to replace all the paper for event managers and producers, including while checking in guests. No more bulky binders!” Quenten Schumacher, senior meeting planner, Sg2 Health Care Intelligence, Chicago


The Watermill Center’s summer benefi t in the Hamptons had its own signature fragrance inspired by the event and its location. WM Paradiso 2010 was sprayed during the party, and 100 bottles were included in the night’s auction.

At the L.A. premiere of Valentine’s Day in February, organizers created cabanas within the tented party for the movie’s giant cast.

For the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Samsung created a pavilion that had a 3-D theatre, with several large screens constantly broadcasting images uploaded by guests.

At Friends of the High Line’s summer benefi t in New York, Bronson van Wyck used a 600-foot-long strip of hanging foliage to connect several dining rooms and dress up a white space.

In July, Smirnoff threw a comic-book-themed event in Toronto, complete with red carpet illustrations depicting people arriving at a party.

Disney Interactive’s 15,000-square-foot exhibit at this summer’s E3 expo in Los Angeles used askew panels to create a dramatic look.

Guests helped themselves to water-cooler cocktails at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s artEdge benefi t in Chicago this May.

Held in New York this summer, Target’s Party for Good had 4,000 National Conference on Volunteering and Service attendees pack 170,000 meals for charity.

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More Ideas to Steal

To share your success via the BashFlash program, contact your BizBash sales representative or Robert Fitzgerald at 646.839.6840.

Where Event Professionals Announce the Who, What, Where, and Wow of the Events Industry

Apex Sound & Light is pleased to announce that the company has provided the Audiovisual Production for

Three to Be’s Stems of Hope Gala September 25, 2010 in Toronto www.apexsound.com 905.831.2739

Detailz Chair Coutureis pleased to announce that the company has provided the Furniture Rentals for

Scotiabank Giller Prize Gala November 9, 2010 in Toronto www.detailzcouture.com 647.928.7328

IceFXis pleased to announce that the company has provided the Ice Sculpture for

Colgate Canada Product Launch September 27, 2010 in Toronto www.icefx.ca 416.504.6615

Westbury National Show Systemsis pleased to announce that the company has provided the Sound for

Graffigna Media Event November 8, 2010 in Toronto www.westbury.com 416.752.1371

Decor & Moreis pleased to announce that the company has provided the Props for

Three to Be’s Stems of Hope Gala September 25, 2010 in Toronto www.decorandmore.com 905.844.1300

Sassafrazis pleased to announce that the company has provided the Catering, Staffing and Venue for

Colgate Canada Product Launch September 27, 2010 in Toronto www.sassafraz.ca 416.964.2222

Zero Gravity Circusis pleased to announce that the company has provided the Entertainment for

Three to Be’s Stems of Hope Gala September 25, 2010 in Toronto www.zerogravitycircus.com 416.469.1440

Cohn & Wolfeis pleased to announce that the company has provided the Event Management and PR for

Colgate Canada Product Launch September 27, 2010 in Toronto www.cohnwolfe.com 416.924.5700

ART GALLERYTWIST GALLERYArt gallery by day and event space by night, Twist Gallery is a 5,000-square-foot New York-style loft space featuring skylights, French arch windows, and long wooden beams. The second-fl oor space has an open-concept layout with a small seating area at the front, including bar stools at the window ledges. The gallery holds up to 350. (1100 Queen St. West, 416.588.2222)

BARS & LOUNGES FOMOFomo is an intimate champagne lounge in the entertain-ment district. Designed to feel like a fantasy spaceship, Fomo holds up to 50 and is available for private events. The long narrow space has black banquette seating that wraps around the wall, which is lined with cock-tail tables and Victoria Ghost chairs. Fomo is available for buyouts seven days a week. (270 Adelaide St. West, 416.408.3666)STIRLING ROOMDesigned by Prototype Design Lab, the Stirling Room—located in the Distill-ery District—has exposed brick walls, wooden beams, plank fl ooring, and high archways. Burgundy upholstered banquettes provide seating and acid-rusted chandeliers hang from above. A purple baby grand piano serves as the DJ booth. The venue holds 250 and is available for full buyouts. (55 Mill St., Building 36, Suite 100, 416.364.3900)

CONVENTION CENTREOPENING SOON NIAGARA CONVENTION & CIVIC CENTREThe Niagara Convention & Civic Centre is scheduled to open in April. The centre will be about 500 yards from the Canadian Horseshoe Falls in the Fallsview Tourist District. The 288,000-square-foot building will house an 80,000-square-foot free-span exhibition hall, a 17,000-square-foot ballroom, 26,500 square feet of meeting and breakout space, and a 1,000-seat theatre. (6380 Fallsview Blvd., 905.357.6222)

ENTERTAINMENT VENUESONY CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTSFollowing a $30 million renovation and restoration project, the Sony Cen-tre for the Performing Arts reopened on October 1—50 years to the date from the building’s fi rst opening night. The venue has a refurbished 3,000-seat proscenium theatre and several multi-function spaces for events and corpo-rate meetings, including a reconfi gured lobby and a new balcony bar. Five private lounges can each accommodate groups of as many as 24 for meetings, and the lower lobby lounge and main lobby can each hold as many as 250. (1 Front St. East, 416.393.7466)

HISTORIC HOUSEESTATES OF SUNNYBROOKNestled in a secluded setting on Bayview Avenue, the newly renovated Estates of Sunnybrook offer a choice of meeting and breakout rooms in three separate build-ings—the coach house, McLean House, and Vaughan Es-tate. The property has a total of 17 meeting rooms and can accommodate groups of as small as six or as many as 150. Meeting spaces have natural lighting and are furnished in a residential style. Some rooms have private patios. (2075 Bayview Ave., 416.487.3841)

HOTELSOPENING SOON HOLIDAY INN TORONTO DOWNTOWN CENTREThe Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre is set to open in February following an $18 million renovation. The property has 514 rooms and more than 9,000 square feet of meeting space spread over nine function rooms, the largest of which holds as many as 130. Meeting spaces, in-cluding three dedicated boardrooms, are equipped with ergonomic seating, audiovisual equipment, and Wi-Fi. The hotel also has a spa, a coffee shop, and two options for dining: the Carlton Restaurant, which serves bistro-style cuisine, and Thirty Bar & Lounge. (30 Carlton St., 416.977.6655)THOMPSON TORONTONew York-based Thompson Hotels opened its fi rst interna-tional property, Thompson Toronto, on Wellington Street

West in June. The 16-storey luxury ho-tel, designed by Studio Gaia, has 102 guest rooms and 30,000 square feet of dining and event space—including three restaurants, a ballroom, a lobby bar that holds 80, and a rooftop lounge and pool with space for 200. (550 Wel-lington St. West, 416.640.7778)

INDEPENDENT EVENT SPACESBISHA PRESENTATION CENTERDesigned by Munge Leung, the Bisha Presentation Centre—open since August—is a 5,000-square-foot showroom with space available for select events. The venue is intended to showcase Bisha Hotel & Residences, a 41-storey hotel and condominium project expected to open in 2014. The sales centre includes a model suite, a bar area, a presentation room with a model of the property, and a lounge fi lled with custom furnishings. The space holds as many as 400. (56 Blue Jays Way, 416.637.2211)LOFTRAUM @ URBANAMISHLocated in a historic building in Corktown, LoftRaum @ Urban Amish houses two levels of loft-style event space complete with hardwood fl oor-ing, exposed brick walls, original dis-tressed wooden beams from 1880, and 12-foot ceilings. Each level has 4,000 square feet and can accommodate up to 400 people for receptions and 200 for seated functions. (86 Parliament St., 416.646.0840)LVBThe creators of LeVack Block and Res-taurant Paramour opened a private event space on Ossington Avenue in October called LVB. The venue holds 150 and is fi lled with cream and gold decor and designed to feel like a Victo-

rian apartment in Paris. (88 Ossington Ave., 416.916.0571)MALAPARTELocated on the sixth fl oor of TIFF Bell Lightbox, Malaparte is an independent event space operated by Oliver & Bo-nacini Restaurants. The venue, set to open in December, can accommodate 150 for seated dinners and 250 for re-ceptions. The space has direct access to a rooftop terrace with a capacity for 200. ( 330 King St. West, 416.364.1211)WIDEAWAKE LIBERTY STUDIOSWideawake Liberty Studios is a 6,000-square-foot multi-media facility and recording studio in Liberty Village. The studio has a ballroom with 17-foot ceilings, a full service master bathroom, and commercial kitchen. The space is equipped with sound control booths, an automated pro-jector screen, four LCD screens and a surround playback system. The venue is available for buyouts and holds 150. (171 East Liberty St., Suite 310, 416.970.4542)

RESTAURANTSBUCAIn a space that once served as a boiler room, Buca is an Italian restaurant on King Street West with high ceilings, exposed brick walls, dark fl oors, and bare lightbulbs. A wine bar holds 38 and can be booked as a private room. The entire venue holds as many as 102 and is available for buyouts. (604 King St. West, 416.865.1600)EARTHEd Ho, owner of Globe Bistro on the Danforth, opened Earth. Interior designer Ron Nuhn used an earthy palette of dark brown and taupe, along with beams from an 1870s log cabin and recycled aluminum light fi xtures. The main dining room seats 80, and a private room can hold 18. Two seasonal patios hold 50 and 23. Set menus are available for large groups. (1055 Yonge St., 416.551.9890)LE PAPILLION ON THE PARKAfter 35 years as partners in the original Le Papillon on Church Street, Paul and Danielle Bigue—together with son Stephane—have opened Le Papillon on the Park. The restaurant seats 125 and is available for buyouts. A rooftop terrace holds more than 130 in the warmer months. (1001 Eastern Ave., 416.649.1001)LUMALuma is one of two Oliver & Bonacini restaurants located within TIFF Bell Lightbox. The restaurant, designed by KPMB, holds up to 120 in the main dining room and 44 on a patio. A private dining room can accommodate up to 14. ( 330 King St. West, 416.364.1211)ORIGINChef Claudio Aprile opened his second eatery last spring. The corner spot, once home to a fl ower shop, holds 90 and has a wraparound patio for 75. A private room with a terrace holds 20. Aprile, known for his molecular gastron-omy approach to cooking, offers a raw bar and modern global cuisine. (107 King St., 416.603.8009)PARTS & LABOURLocated in Parkdale, Parts & Labour is a collaboration between the owners of The Social, Castor Design, and Oddfellows. The 6,000-square-foot venue houses a 140-seat restaurant, a lower-level live music and event space called The Shop, and a rooftop garden where chef Matty Matheson grows ingredients for use in the restaurant’s dishes. (1566 Queen St. West, 416.588.7750)REAL SPORTS BAR AND GRILLOwned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Real Sports Bar & Grill is a 25,000-square-foot restaurant ad-jacent to the Air Canada Centre. The multilevel venue has 199 televisions, 112 taps with 36 brands of beer on offer, a massive screen (said to the the largest HD screen in North America), and three private suites for group entertaining. (15 York St., Unit A, 416.815.5864)ROOSEVELT ROOMModeled after Hollywood’s Roosevelt Hotel, the Roosevelt Room is decorated in gold, brown, and black and boasts a white granite bar fronted with intricate metal panels and brass foot rails. The entertainment district supper club seats 120 and holds 500 for receptions, but smaller semiprivate events can take place behind metallic sheers. (2 Drummond Place, 416.995.4381)SCARPETTAThompson Toronto’s Scarpetta is an outpost of New York chef Scott Conant’s Italian restaurant. The space seats 100 and a private dining room can hold as many as 18. Com-bined with the adjacent lobby bar, it holds 527. Scarpetta also offers a communal patio table surrounded by a re-fl ecting pool and with a view of Victoria Memorial Park. (550 Wellington St. West, 416.601.3590)

WINE-TASTING SPACETHE WINE ESTABLISHMENT LTD.The Wine Establishment added a new wine cellar de-sign centre its retail space in June. The design centre can be booked in conjunction with the retail showroom for board meetings and food and wine tastings and can ac-commodate groups of 24 for a seated event or as many as 65 for a reception. A courtyard can also be booked. (250 The Esplanade, Courtyard Suite 104, 416.861.1331)

New Venues

Where to...Host a Wine TastingOwned by the De Miguels family—winemakers from Mendoza, Argentina—Vintage One Wines is a 10,000-square-foot nontraditional winery in the city’s west end. Below Cirillo’s Culinary Academy, the winery has two main rooms. The fi rst space features a small lounge with antique furnish-ings from Smash, a reception desk, and rows of Italian stain-less steel fermenting tanks. The second space, dubbed the barrel room, is the main event space. A harvest table sits in the centre of the room, and French, Hungarian, and American oak aging barrels line the walls. The barrel room seats 45 and holds as many as 150 for receptions. The entire venue can accommodate 200. (4896 Dundas St. West, 416.231.6994)

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CORRECTIONOn page 64 of our July/August venue directory, we printed a listing for Verity that was incorrect. The hotel is called Ivy at Verity.


The DirectoryA selection of resources from our comprehensive online directory of event and meeting suppliers and venues

64 bizbash.com january/february 2010

Ted Kruckel

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Super Saturday in the Hamptons has grown tremendously, and this year featured tents with unique shade cutouts. But has the whole thing gotten just a bit too super?

Two revelers at Fashion’s Night Out got their newly “styled” game on for a digital camera at Diane von Furstenberg’s store. Was it Coco Chanel who recommended looking in the mirror and taking one thing off?

This teeming crowd shot from Fashion’s Night Out shows how successful Vogue’s promotion has become—and why I won’t risk attending again.

Where Ted’s Been

Yes, I have a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Both were started in a moment of panic—thinking I was about to be left behind on the barren island of mainstream (or lamestream, as per Sarah Palin) me-dia, watching while the nimble and able sailed off on the cruise ship of the future, Technologica.

But every time I log on, I’m overwhelmed by the unwanted obligation of it all. Friends who want responses, new followers for whom I have nothing to tweet. The most guilt-laden of these spots is Linked-In—people who want recommen-dations, referrals, or career advice, none of whom I respond to. Will they lose a job because I’m too lazy? Who knows. By the time I’ve read the new messages, I’ve lost interest in the whole thing.

While ashamed of my Ludditism, I always took solace in sensing that I wasn’t missing much. There’s Demi Moore, again, posting pictures of herself in bed with Ashton (as if that would throw us off the scent). Or Palin making her political prognos-tications. (She’s one of the few who has no problem getting the bulk of her wisdom across in the allotted 140 characters.) And all those bullies, posting hate speech on each other’s walls. It just seems to me that social media is one whole world of self-promoting jackasses.

And now I’m hearing about tweeting at events. Nick Cannon of-fered to send three sponsor tweets at one of his two 30th birthday par-ties for the princely sum of $25,000. Yikes. Then somebody sent me the deck for Robert Verdi’s Twitter par-ties, which are imaginatively called “Tweet This!” Now, I know and like Robert; he’s been interviewed here before, he has clever entertaining ideas, and, despite his own some-what exaggerated appearance, good taste.

But after spending an entire afternoon researching his new busi-ness model, I have to admit I’m just completely confused. But here’s what I fi gured out.

Robert owns this loft in New York, which he calls Luxe Labora-tory. He rents it out for events, and throws parties promoting his own brands. Approximately once a month he does a themed Twitter gathering. In September there’s Fashion Week (duh!), and holiday gift giving in December (double duh!).

Not all the months are as “luxe” as others. In one video, Robert holds up a soiled glass bowl while talking about toilet cleaning. It’s a “Spring Clean-ing” party sponsored by Scrubbing Bubbles. I was also a little surprised to see a Panasonic electric vibrating chair touted as one of the Fashion Week must-haves. My grandfather

had a magic fi ngers chair. He died 15 years ago.

The events are attended by 30 to 40 “key online editors and infl uencers.” Sponsors’ products are shown on a plasma screen, aired on UChatLive, and simultweeted at robertverditweetthis.blogspot.com.

The idea is that while he demon-strates the products, his infl uencers are tweeting to their followers, and they tweet to friends, and they tweet to friends, and so on and so on just like that shampoo commercial. The incentive for retweeting is a gift bag of all the products featured. To be a sponsor, companies pay between $2,500 and $10,000 for two or three tweets and one TwitPic. Some spon-sorships are given away for free. But the sponsors don’t know who pays what, if anything, according to Ash-ley Mallinson, who runs the program with Robert. There’s all sorts of other bells and whistles you can add on, like a branded Twitter competition and brand-specifi c tracking and met-rics. And the promotional material variously boasts a million followers per event and a cumulative program reach of fi ve million. It’s all very am-bitious and ambiguous.

Ashley explains that they ar-rived at their audience claims using a program called Spredfast. Robert himself has more than 16,000 fol-lowers, and if you add up the total number of followers of every Web site and every tweeter, I suppose it’s possible to get a fi gure in the millions. But how many of these are really being read?

When you go to his actual Twit-ter page, it’s clear that the event attendees are tweeting away like fi ends to get their free goodies.

But as a friend whom I asked to help me evaluate this program wrote me: “Who the hell are these people retweeting ‘Once you try Smartwater you’ll agree it’s the “smartest” choice in bottled water’? Actually, seriously—who the hell are these people?”

Maybe I’m missing something, but despite my respect for Mr. Verdi, to me this all seems to add up to an elaborately staged hill of beans. Just in time, The New Yorker arrived with a Malcolm Gladwell piece, “Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted.” Gladwell debunks the myth that Twitter helped drive the Iran election revolts (all the tweeters that got media coverage were in English, while in Iran most people speak Farsi), and explains that while social media is able to reach large audiences very quickly, those audiences’ level of involvement is extremely low. (“The Facebook page of the Save Darfur Coalition has 1,282,339 members, who have donat-ed an average of nine cents apiece,” he points out.)

In the movie The Social Network, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s character repeatedly asserts that once the site starts accepting adver-tising, it will no longer be cool. I think the idea of paid tweeting for toilet bowl cleaners proves his point.

Which brings me to my point, rather abruptly. Yo! Event people! Take heart. The real social network is still you guys, putting people together in person. Where interest-ing locales, meaningful content, and thought-provoking design can still do magic. And where tweets can only follow.

Twitter OffI’m not buying the magic of social media.


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