Empire Produces Simultaneous High-Tech Events in New York and Los Angeles!
Competitive video gaming is poised to become the newest sensation in televised professional sports with the launch of DIRECTV's Championship Gaming Series, a video gaming competition that treats games in the same manner as traditional sports and the players as professional athletes. When DIRECTV sought to premiere its new program with simultaneous press events in New York City and Los Angeles, Empire was called to produce both events. Empire worked closely with DIRECTV's events team to identify and select key event venues that had a buzz factor, a design that fit with the video gaming theme, and a central location. The 40/40 Club, owned by rap mogul Jay-Z, was chosen to host the New York City event because its existing projection, LCD screens and monitors were perfect for client and sponsor branding, video gaming demos, and most importantly, the main presentation.
Since the program will be broadcast in high definition, Empire brought in HD Cam decks and compatible video switchers to upgrade the in-house projection, in addition to bringing in two 63" HD plasmas to air loops of the show after the presentation. Guests munched on a menu of video gamer staples that included miniature cheeseburgers and beef tacos, teriyaki chicken skewers and sweets such as fried Snickers and fried Twinkies. DJ Mighty Mi spun the perfect mix of old school and new hip hop while guests played video games on XBOX 360 consoles hooked up to individual LCD screens around the club.
In Los Angeles, Hollywood nightclub The Ivar, which has been featured on HBO's Entourage and CW's America's Next Top Model, was selected for the West Coast premiere event. To ensure that the presentation looked sharp, the existing projectors were swapped out for more powerful, brighter projectors and Digi-Beta decks were used instead of DVD. Catering was provided by Gourmet Celebrations and featured tasty items such as Chinese chicken salad in mini takeout boxes, mini crab cakes, and mac ‘n cheese bites. Attendees played games including Dead or Alive 4, Project Gotham Racing and Halo 2 on freestanding mobile XBOX 360 gaming kiosks. Hollywood favorite DJ Pesce kept the party going with contemporary hip hop. Empire was responsible for managing multiple elements of both events, including venue, RSVP tracking, guest registration, audio/visual, DJ, catering, XBOX gaming & security.
Many corporations choose Empire Entertainment to produce their high-tech events.
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
