Bravo Network's Experiential Upfront Event
Bravo Media, a division of NBC Universal, selected Empire Entertainment to produce their Upfront Event, held on March 10, 2010 at Skylight Soho in New York City.Empire collaborated closely with Bravo Ad Sales Marketing to create an attention-getting event that would bring Bravo’s distinctive brand and unique programming to life for its advertising clients. The result was a stylish, experiential marketing event and party for 600 guests that featured a variety of programming-themed, custom-designed vignettes in which clients could interact with show talent.To showcase Bravo’s roster of programs, Empire proposed the concept of transforming a raw space into a “house” comprised of highly stylized rooms, with each room representing one of Bravo’s 5 passion points: Food, Fashion, Beauty, Design and Pop Culture.
Empire built temporary walls to partition the interior of Skylight’s expansive, high-ceilinged venue into the Kitchen (food), Closet (fashion), Bath & Fitness Studio (beauty), Living Room (design) & Pop/Screening Room (pop culture).The Kitchen featured Top Chef chef’testants cooking and serving small plates to guests across a 20-ft wide central island counter, while former contenders from Shear Genius styled guests’ hair in the Bath. Other interactive stations included interviews with Andy Cohen on a reproduction of the Watch What Happens Live! set, love consultations with the Millionaire Matchmaker team in the Pop Room, couture fashion styling and photo shoots with the stars from Double Exposure in the Closet, and workout tips with Thintervention’s Jackie Warner in the Fitness Studio.For this Upfront Event, Bravo brought in nearly 70 stars from their shows, half of which were flown into New York City by Empire’s talent logistics team, which managed all air and ground transfers. All participating talent walked the Bravo blue carpet inside the heated 60-ft press tent before heading into the party through the custom-branded entrance canopy, accented with box hedges.
Inside the party, Creative Edge served up tasty hors d’oeuvres and a variety of food stations, while guests sipped specialty cocktails tinted to match each passion point’s color. DJ Eric Cubeechee, a contestant from Launch My Line, spun a set of pop tunes that kept the crowd partying 45 minutes past the scheduled 4-hour party time frame. Celebrity attendees included Matthew McConaughey, Isaac Mizrahi, Sarah Jessica Parker, Tom Colicchio and others. The striking design and unique interactions with show talent combined to create an unforgettable experience for Bravo’s top clients and one that will keep Bravo’s brand front and center as they determine their advertising purchase decisions for 2010.Empire Entertainment worked closely with the Bravo Ad Sales Marketing team and served as overall event producer and designer for the program. Empire’s responsibilities included overall design & management, coordinating custom scenic, decor, audio/visual, catering, activities, venue, helping Bravo’s press department with red carpet, talent travel logistics, graphic design, printing, permits and security.
Empire has also produced many upfront events and parties for clients that include Disney Media Group, FOX Broadcasting and the National Geographic Channel among others.
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
