2008 Ex Award Winners: Best B-to-B Hospitality Event Element

Best B-to-B Hospitality Event Element

Ex Award
Campaign: Super Bowl XLI
Client: CBS
Agency: SportsMark Management Group

Last January CBS packed up three private 737 jets and took 1 000 executives and advertisers on the ultimate dream trip—a weekend of sun fun and football in Miami’s South Beach that went totally over the top in terms of luxury service and amenities. With gourmet dining top-notch entertainment not to mention Super Bowl XLI the experience may go down as the single largest event ever in the annals of hospitality programs.

“One of the main objectives was to showcase their broadcast. It was their city and their Super Bowl ” says John Koch senior director-creative services at SportsMark which developed produced and managed the event. “Right from the start we wanted to take advantage of the location. From there we created a look and feel that carried from the very beginning.” A gorgeous setting and gorgeous weather at least up until game day helped set the tone as guests filled 600 rooms at the elegant Loews hotel. Branding was subtle like incorporating CBS’s logo via soft blue and white lighting at the post-game party.

“There were not a lot of banners but the guests knew who invited them ” Koch says.

Weekend events included a private dinner for 250 VIPs at Emeril’s Miami Beach featuring guest chef Emeril Lagasse and an exclusive beach party on South Beach with a surprise performance by Prince and the band Groupo Fantasmo. The concert included technical lighting for 45 000 square feet of beach front space a 60-foot mobile stage a premium sound system and custom video production. The next night 1 000 CBS guests including athletes and celebrities filled South Beach’s hottest nightclub Prive.

After the big game CBS took over the ballroom and all the hotel bars with fun and food. Other activities included an exclusive CBS golf tournament at Jacaranda Country Club hot lap rides in actual NASCAR vehicles at Homestead Speedway shopping and Art Deco tours fishing excursions and tours of the Vizcaya Museum.

From the very beginning until guests re-boarded the jets for the ride home every want and need was met. Staffers even flew on the planes to ensure top service coming and going.

In all the event was the ideal platform for entertainment and high-level business discussions.

“Client feedback was great ” says John Bogusz executive vice-president at CBS Network Sales. “By far the best Super Bowl program we’ve ever done.”

“These guests get invited to a lot of these types of events ” says Koch “and it is difficult to impress them but we gave them ‘wow’ factors at every turn.”

Did they ever. 


Gold Award
Campaign: Infiniti EX Launch Event
Client: Nissan
Agency: Kubik

This year’s silver award winner for Best Activation of an Entertainment Sponsorship (see p. 68) scored again this time for its hospitality chops. During its launch of the Infiniti EX 35 the brand kicked up the luxury factor a notch by leveraging its sponsorship of the Cirque du Soleil.
Infiniti threw Salon Night parties in Montreal Toronto and Vancouver inviting up to 1 500 Nissan and Infiniti owners and/or prospective owners.

To keep in line with the Cirque du Soleil theme guests were greeted with a purple martini and hors d’oeuvres. The lounge-like environment had couches also in purple a dj mixing modern/urban music and gourmet food stations sprinkled throughout the space. The centerpiece was a gigantic pyramid with images projected on it. Guests were also given a chance to interact with the full line of Infiniti vehicles on display.

Once guests were settled in the show began. All eyes were on the 16-foot pyramid which was lifted to reveal the Infiniti EX 35. The pyramid was completely inverted and turned inside out from the center point until it was pointing down over the top of the revealed vehicle. Adding to the excitement two Cirque performers hidden under the pyramid appeared through the dry ice.

And two additional EX vehicles were rolled out through the mist near the stage area near a Nissan spokesperson who delivered a speech on the new vehicle.

The events packed in a full house at each location. Toronto sold out in 13 days with 700 guests; Montreal booked 500 guests in 15 days; and Vancouver sold out in 19 days with 490 guests.


Silver Award
Campaign: E3 Media and Business Summit
Client: Vivendi Games
Agency: Freddie Georges Production Group

To promote its newest video and computer game titles Vivendi Games needed to stand out from the crowd at the E3 Media and Business Summit 2007. And what better way to attract the press and retail reps than with a spa-style hospitality experience. A 2 100-square-foot hotel ballroom was transformed into a relaxing oasis for guests. The ballroom was divided so that each brand was represented in its own space through color textures lighting artwork organic elements and shapes.

A Zen-like atmosphere was created throughout using high-gloss flooring a live organic moss wall and theatrical lighting. Curved acoustical ceiling patterns reduced ambient noise to keep the space serene. Walls in each area of the space were lined with additional textures to keep the organic nature-inspired theme going.

The space was successful in more ways than one. At an event that challenged guests to travel between multiple hotels throughout the Santa Monica area Vivendi’s pre-scheduled press appointments received a 98 percent confirmation rating plus an additional 20 percent increase based on on-site appointments.