Time Out New York Magazine Celebrates 10th Anniversary With 7 Month Street Marketing Campaign

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of one of New York's most notable weekly magazines, TIME OUT NEW YORK came to Empire Entertainment to coordinate a 7 month series of street marketing stunts in partnership with their advertising client, city specific American Express card IN:NYC. The concept was simple. On every tenth day of the month, TONY and IN:NYC would surprise New Yorkers by giving them a birthday present at some of New York's more frequented venues. Each month's location and stunt would relate to a different element of TONY's editorial content such as music, film, etc. To develop and execute this 7 month series of events, Empire worked closely with TONY's marketing department and IN:NYC's agency - Momentum Worldwide to craft, coordinate and manage all logistics of each promotion and help bring visibility to both brands.Every promotion involved a street team of six actors/models, who served as brand ambassadors and who were nicknamed 'Team TONY.' Empire cast, contracted, and attired the ethnically diverse team in specially styled TONY and IN:NYC-branded clothing.

We trained the team so that they would be well-versed about the product in order to introduce guests to the newly born IN:NYC card and rewards program and create buzz and awareness surrounding TONY's 10th Birthday. Team TONY interacted with members of the public and handed out custom made TONY birthday cards which offered opportunities to win a free subscription to the magazine.The seven months of promotions began in June 2005, where free single-pass subway Metrocards were given to commuters entering subway stations in three neighborhoods. In July, TONY and a team of stylists gave free manicure / color changes at Hudson River Park. In August, TONY and IN:NYC surprised guests at 9 IN:NYC participating restaurant & bar hot spots with free Grey Goose Vodka "MAR-TONY'S". These restaurants included Brasserio: Caviar and Banana, Kitchen 22, 66, Underbar in the W Hotel, Callo Ocho, Ono in the Hotel Gansevoort, Django, Kitchen 82, and NY favorite, SushiSamba 7. In September, guests were given a free night at the movies - with free movie passes, free popcorn and soda. In October, TONY and the IN:NYC Card gave jazz fans free $10 iTunes certificates at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in honor of TONY's 10 years as New York's go to guide for the best music and music happenings across the city.

In November, free "MAR-TONYS" were given to those attending one of the many great Off Broadway shows at Dodger Stages. To celebrate the last birthday event, TONY and IN:NYC gave free coffee at 3 Upper east side and 3 Upper West side locations to morning pedestrian commuters.Empire also coordinated the logistics for an onsite IN:NYC acquisition team who informed guests about the cards benefits and provided an opportunity to sign up those who were interested in the IN:NYC rewards program. Those who did sign up received a gift bag with multiple gifts particular to each promotion, such as gift certificates to various IN:NYC restaurants, IN:NYC branded martini glasses, gift certificates to J&R Music and Oasis Day Spa, as well as Godiva hot chocolate, and a free night at the movies to name a few.At every promotion, Team TONY managed to surprise New Yorkers and build good will and brand awareness for both TONY and IN:NYC. On the whole, thousands of birthday cards were distributed leading to strong subscriptions and far more people than had been expected signed up for the IN:NYC card.

Empire is a leading producer of attention-getting and results-achieving street marketing and brand awareness events.