Good Deeds Day 2016
Initiated by philanthropist and businesswoman Shari Arison of the Ted Arison Family Foundation in Israel over 10 yearsago, Good Deeds Day has grown into a global movement of doing good and thepower of doing good deeds. For this years 10th anniversary event, Empirewas engaged to manage partnership & sponsorship development in NorthAmerica as well as to produce the national flagship event at Herald Square, directlyin front of corporate partner, Macy’s.
The flagship event took the form of astreet fair at which 20 not for profit organizations and corporate partnershosted good deed-related activities on site. Each participating organization wasgiven its own-tented space with tables, chairs, and uniform signage in whicheach organization offered a different participatory good deed. JessicaSeinfeld’s GOOD+ Foundation hosted a sorting and bundling clothing projectwhere participants created wardrobe packets for children of families in need.Stand with Us partnered with the Israeli Consulate and made sandwiches thatwere delivered to a nearby homeless shelter. The event also featured a steadystream of speakers and performances on a main stage throughout the day. DavidArison, head of global relations for the Arison group kicked off the dayencouraging everyone to participate and do a good deed, no matter how big orsmall. Actor, musician and environmental activist Adrian Grenier spoke aboutMobile Kitchen Classroom, an organization that empowers high school students toactively contribute to the creation of a healthy and sustainable food culture.New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also stopped by to take photos and show hissupport for the 10th anniversary events.
As the day progressed, emcee JamesDonahower kept stage programming light and engaging, while highlighting eachnot for profit and corporate partner and driving home the purpose of the day. Theall day event also featured performances by Jessica Sweetman, JudahFriedlander, Harlem Samba and more. DJBeco Dranoff kept the energy up in the crowd between performances and during activities.Empire delivered several sponsors including Macy’s, Scholastic Book Fairs, KINDSnacks and VH1 Save the Music Foundation who were on site with innovativeactivities to offer to participants. More than 33,000 schools nationwide hostedScholastic book fairs good deed initiatives throughout the months of April andMay, 500 children’s books were donated on site at the NY event by Scholastic toencourage people to host read aloud, KIND hosted a guided meditation and sharedKind products as well as hosting a KIND wall of good thoughts, while VH1 brought music instruments for people topractice and play on. The NYPD estimated that the Good Deeds Day Flagship eventhosted more than 8,000 people, with many more stopping by to snap a photo andupload their post to social media. Additionally, Empire supported social mediamarketing efforts, engaging influencers like Bill Gates who tweeted about GoodDeeds on the day.
In addition to strategic partnership andsponsorship development throughout the year, Empire was responsible for thedesign and execution of the street fair event including securing Herald Square,providing all tenting, staging and production, security, staffing, onsitemanagement and talent coordination. Empire also worked with reelworks.org ayouth filmmaking charity, and the Good Deeds Day team to create a NorthAmerican public service announcement (PSA) that ran on partner websites and on JewishBroadcast Service.
Good Deeds Day’s 10thanniversary brought more New Yorkers to participate than ever before and Empireis proud to have had the opportunity to produce this milestone event.
Check out the highlights video, producedby reelworks.org at:
https://app.frame.io/f/XDYNEp5j
To learn more about Good Deeds Day or toget involved in 2017 plans, please visit
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
