Grey Celebrates 100 Years
Global advertising and powerhouse marketing agency Grey launchedits yearlong centennial celebration with a kick-off week featuring a mix ofbusiness meetings as well as celebratory social events. Grey called upon Empireto produce three of their biggest events for the week.
On Monday, May 15, Grey welcomed agency leaders from around theworld with a reception and seated dinner in the Whitney Museum of American Art.After remarks by Debby Reiner, CEO of Grey New York, Marc Pritchard, ChiefBrand Officer of P&G, and Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, guests hadthe chance to explore the Whitney. During dinner,Jim Heekin, Chairman and CEO of Grey Global unveiled the gorgeous, warm redcoffee table book profiling Grey’s first 100 years. These books were alsoshowcased on bookshelves spanning the Whitney lobby. Michael Houston, GreyGlobal President, revealed the commemorative Grey centennial logo – one thatcelebrates the colorful, diverse minds of Grey's 5,000 global employees byturning scans of their brainwaves into art. A video also introduced Grey'sRising Stars, recognizing young talent and their worldwide contributions to theagency.
The 68th floor of 4 World Trade Center was the perfect settingfor the Global Meetings on Tuesday, May 16, and Wednesday, May 17. Floor-to-ceilingwindows provided an expansive 360° backdrop of skyline views whileexecutives attended keynotes and breakout sessions. To balance the sun-filledvenue, window tints were customized with elements of the Grey centennial logoto add another layer of branding and dimension to the space. Similar vinylsalso subtly called out iconic New York City landmarks for newcomers.
The Centennial Gala dinner at Madison Square Park on Thursday,May 18 concluded the week of events. Guests enjoyed cocktails inside elegant tentssurrounding the main bar set up in the central fountain, while DJ Lina providedmusic throughout the evening. The clear expansive dinner tent featured a stunningceiling installation of sheer fabric panels printed with Centennial graphics. The dinner program featured comedic throwbacks to some of Grey'smost famous ads, and presented awards to teams behind iconic campaignsfeaturing Volvo, Gillette, the E*TRADE baby, the Swedish Number, and more. Aspart of the future-facing announcements, Houston introduced the UNICEF + GreyGlobal Kids Council, vowing to drive social change by working together with thenext generation to solve cultural challenges with creative solutions.
Additional visual aesthetics and brand messaging were creativelyintegrated into the event. Floral arrangements in the warm red tones found in theGrey logo were displayed in modern vessels to offset and match themonochromatic, minimal, and geometric designs of furniture and table settings.Red colors were also featured in the custom-designed "brainwave" barbackdrop and sculptural dinner centerpieces cut from acrylic panels.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Grey to celebrate theirmonumental achievement and reveal a commemorative visual identity for the 2017 Centennialyear – highlighting Grey’s global range of creative perspectives and solutionsin creating Famously Effective work.
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
