2017 Webby Awards
Empire has been producing The Webby Awards since 2005, and this year was one of the best yet.
Empire secured comedian and actor Joel McHale to host the 21st annual Webbys and his opening monologue set the tone for the evening: irreverent, hilarious, and at times, poignant. He also reminded winners of the show’s unique “five words or less” acceptance speech rule, warning them that if they were to speak more than five words, “we use the same security as United Airlines”.
As always, the Webbys honored a variety of the internet’s best. Winners included Artist of the Year, Solange, Best Actress, Gillian Anderson (presented her award by her X-Files co-star David Duchovny), and Best Actor, Steve Buscemi, who received his trophy from comedian and actor Louis C.K.
Other winners and presenters included political commentator Van Jones, multi-Grammy Award winning rap musician Residenté, The Women’s March co-chairs Carmen Perez, Linda Sarsour, and Bob Bland, New York Times Crossword Puzzle Editor Will Shortz, and YouTube Creators for Change ambassadors Franchesca Ramsey, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, and Humza Arshad.
The event was once again held at Cipriani Wall Street and featured a colorful and exciting set design created by David Korins, the Tony nominated scenic designer of Broadway’s “Hamilton” and “War Paint”. After a standing ovation for the founders of the Women’s March ended the show on a high note, attendees enjoyed a fantastic afterparty at Highline Ballroom where Empire presented Questlove to spin and keep the dance floor packed.
Empire is honored to have worked with The Webby Awards for 13 consecutive years. The 21st Annual Webby Awards are now available to watch online here.
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
