Country Superstar Wynonna Judd for American Express & American Airlines
At the 2003 National Business Travel Association convention, Empire Entertainment was again asked for the 6th year in a row by co-sponsors American Express and American Airlines to secure headline entertainment that would meet a variety of criteria. The chosen talent would have to reflect the values of the sponsoring companies, work in the acoustically 'live' Union Station hall and be appropriate for the Dallas, TX setting for the event.
Empire worked with both clients to manage a selection process that ultimately yeilded all-American artist Wynonna Judd who agreed to perform in an acoustic configuration with the backing of bass, 2 guitars and 3 vocalists. Wynonna's performance was a thrilling highlight to the evening as she alternately seranaded and belted songs that spanned her celebrated career. From country & blues to all-American anthems and spiritual songs, Wynonna managed to bring the audience to their feet several times for standing ovations, sing-alongs and a roaring good time. Wynonna also agreed to a meet and greet with up to 30 of the sponsor's VIP guests and she was exceedlingly gracious and poised, taking time to speak with each guest before posing for individual photos. The timing of the booking coincided perfectly with the release of her newest album, and her performance at this event occured on the night before her new album debuted at #1 on the country charts.
Empire met many challenges in bringing this show about including budget constraints of the challenged corporate travel industry, the need to maximize audience capacity in a finite room space to cope with the overwhelming response to the Wynonna invitation, and the need to maintain the highest quality sound in a tall, stone room that reflected even the smallest sounds. Empire was able to overcome all of these challenges to present a truly spectactular evening that won our clients rave reviews from their customers and was, in a word. 'Awesome!'
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
