Vibe Media's Inaugural Vibe Impact Awards honoring Mary J. Blige
Vibe Media has been the go-to source reporting on urban contemporary culture since 1993. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Vibe launched the Vibe Impact Awards, setting out to honor artists who have played a significant role developing and shaping hip-hop’s culture. In order to produce this celebrity-driven special event, Vibe turned to Empire Entertainment.The first ever Impact Award was bestowed on one of the most influential women in hip-hop, 9-time Grammy Award Winner, Mary J. Blige. The event was hosted at the infamous Sunset Tower Hotel on Los Angeles during Grammy week, drawing numerous industry moguls, celebs and high profile guests. Empire worked with the venue and vendors to design an elegant dinner setting infused with sponsor Malibu Red’s signature colors throughout the dinner and cocktail space.Following red carpet arrivals and cocktails, dinner kicked off with the CEO of Vibe, Ari Horowitz, welcoming guests and introducing the host of the evening- Andre Harrell, long-time friend and the first person to sign Mary J. to Uptown Records. Jermaine Hall, Editor in Chief at Vibe, then took the stage to share Mary’s history with the brand and even got the crowd to sing in her honor. Once dinner was served, Harrell continued the program inviting Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Sean “Diddy” Combs to recount some of their personal experiences with Mary. Queen Latifah introduced Anita Baker for a few short words, and afterwards presented the actual award to Mary J.As soon as the program ended, Empire quickly flipped the room to accommodate the additional 300 guests arriving for the after party, which had been stored inside due to weather constraints earlier in the day. The guests piled in to the sounds of DJ Homicide and a special celebrity-DJ set from Nick Cannon. Malibu Red’s specialty cocktails were flowing throughout the room as guests mingled and danced the night away.Empire congratulates Mary J. Blige on her inaugural Vibe Impact Award and becoming the most covered artist in Vibe’s history by gracing her 10th Vibe cover this month.
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
