Empire produced the Architizer A+Awards at Highline Stages in NYC on Thursday, May 14, 2015. Now in its third year, The Architizer A+Awards are the definitive global architectural award program with more than 90 categories and over 300 judges. The gala event in New York City is the signature architectural event during the city’s design week, NYCxDesign, and right before the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). Comprising diverse and innovative global projects from starchitects to emerging firms, this year’s winners represent the best new architecture, interiors, and products. A highly-esteemed jury of industry leaders including Yves Béhar, Paola Antonelli, Liz Diller, Joseph Altuzarra, David Rockwell, Rem D. Koolhaas, and Ian Schrager selected the five finalists in each category.

The ceremony was hosted with charisma and charm by John Gidding from HGTV's "Curb Appeal: The Block", and kicked off with a phenomenal and impassioned speech about the Architecture industry by Architizer CEO Marc Kushner. This year's biggest winner was Reiulf Ramstad Arkiitekter, which was named Firm of the Year, and other special achievement awards were presented to SsD, LEGO, 14+ Foundation, and August, among others. Guests entered the spectacular, industrial-style space to a red carpet and step & repeat welcome, where event sponsor Cadillac showed off one of its spectacular new models, the 2016 CT6. Once inside the main space, guests enjoyed cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres while enjoying the ambient music played by DJ Javier Peral. Prior to the awards ceremony, attendees also enjoyed watching an extraordinary demonstration of the superb artistry and technical mastery of a watchmaker from Audemars Piguet Luxury Watches.

Empire is a premier producer of some of the world's most prestigious award ceremonies, including The Webby Awards, The Gotham Awards, The Fragrance Foundation Awards, and was honored to be chosen as Architizer's production partner for the 2015 Architizer A+Awards.

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Empire produced 19th Annual Webby Awards on May 18, 2015. This marked the 11th consecutive year Empire has partnered with Recognition Media on the annual event, which celebrates excellence on the Internet and famously limits winners to acceptance speeches of just five words.

"This is the only awards show where the descriptions of the awards are longer than the speeches," said comedian and host Hannibal Buress.

As usual, the show included some funny and irreverent moments, such as when Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Ellie Kemper accepted for Best Actress and used her five words to say, "So excited. Live-streaming my pants." Or when Chelsea Peretti, accepting for Outsanding Comedic Performance quipped, "The Internet must be stopped."

The ceremony had its more serious touches as well. "Create change, like a girl," said account executive Shaina Holtz, accepting the Agency of the Year award on behalf of Leo Burnett Toronto. And in a heartfelt tribute to the late New York Times media columnist David Carr, CNN's Brian Stelter closed with: "David, thank you for the spice."

But the standing ovation on this evening was reserved for Pat Quinn, ALS patient and co-founder of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Quinn, who was introduced by Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, accepted the Special Achievement Award and proved once again that five words can be enough to bring the house down when he said: "Every August until a cure."

Empire is honored to be the production partner for The Webby Awards for more than a decade running, and enjoys producing other award ceremonies including the Fragrance Foundation Awards and The Architizer A+ Awards.

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Empire had the honor of producing the 8th annual Internet Week New York Festival once again, which featured an array of events around New York City from May 18-21, 2015. Event headquarters was positioned at the Metropolitan Pavilion for the third consecutive year.

With more than 10,000 visitors over the week and dozens of companies represented, the space was organized to create separate, yet still cohesive, spaces in which to provide concurrent content. Two stages were sponsored by yp.com and USA Today / Gannett, a classroom was sponsored by The Trade Desk, and a lounge was furnished by official design partner, Design Within Reach.

Empire oversaw the Festival headquarters from conception to completion, coordinating registration for the thousands of guests, stage management and producing all of the presentations in the theater and on both HQ stages, and managing all event sponsors from the design of their spaces to all of their needs from load in to load out.

Empire is a leading producer of trade events, expos and event marketing / presence marketing installations with extensive experience in the technology industry.

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One recent Saturday evening, Empire produced what we've named “The Night of 3 Ls”: three separate events in one evening featuring Lenny Kravitz in Boca Raton, Lionel Richie in Miami, and Ludacris in New York City.

At the Boca Raton Resort & Club, Lenny Kravitz took the stage with his band in front of a corporate audience of more than 1,200 and performed an hour-long set that included hits such as “American Woman,” “Fly Away,” “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over” and “Let Love Rule". The highlight of the show came when the entire audience, wearing RFID bracelets that lit up in time to the music, danced with their arms in the air.

At the same time at the Miami Epic Hotel, one of our clients was delivering a heartfelt toast to his wife on the occasion of her birthday in front of a gathered group of friends and family. At the end of his toast he turned to reveal the evening’s biggest surprise— a private concert by Lionel Richie and his trio with his hits including “Hello", “Easy”, ”Brick House”, “All Night Long” and “Dancing on the Ceiling.” The audience danced the entire set and joined Lionel for a meet & greet after the show.

Finally, back in NYC, Empire delivered an extremely special, private concert with Screen Actors Guild, Critic's Choice, MTV, and Grammy Award winner, Ludacris. As soon as the kabuki curtain dropped, and the special guest was revealed and the birthday girl was treated to the concert of her life. As the show began, guests flocked to the front of the stage where Ludacris, performed a 45-minute greatest hits set including “Pimpin’ All Over the World,” “Move B*tch,” “What’s Your Fantasy,” “Get Back,” “Money Maker,” and “Stand Up.” At the end of the performance, Ludacris led the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday" as the cake was brought out. Following the show, Ludacris took part in a meet & greet with the family and the guest-of-honor’s closest friends.

Empire’s robust team of headline entertainment producers and global technical production capabilities made it possible to present all three of these demanding concert events flawlessly to very satisfied clients.

Empire is the world's leading producer of headline musical entertainment for private and corporate events.

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SONY Pictures’ digital entertainment network, Crackle, once again partnered with Empire to produce their 2015 TV Upfront— an annual presentation to advertisers and media. With an exciting lineup of both new, original programming and returning series, Crackle had much to talk about.

The Upfront took place at the beautiful Hudson Theater in the heart of Times Square, and opened with welcome remarks by SONY Pictures Television’s President of Worldwide Networks, Andy Kaplan.

Next up, an opening video featuring Michael Richards as Dick Corcoran, a fictitious Crackle executive, led to a surprise reveal of comedian Jerry Seinfeld who took the stage to talk about his Crackle series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee".With over 100 million streams on Crackle, the Emmy Award-nominated series’ sixth season will feature a star-studded cast including Bill Maher, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Steve Harvey, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah (the newly named “Daily Show” host) and Jim Carrey.

SONY Picture’s Television’s EVP of Digital Networks, Eric Berger, then took the stage, emphasizing that “Crackle is a smart complement to TV buying that offers you a valuable new audience, a groundbreaking TV-like experience and ad solutions you cannot find anywhere but here.”

Crackle Senior Vice President of Digital Media Sales, James Smith, also appeared on the program stating “With TV reimagined, we’ve overhauled

the old online metrics for engagement. The fact is, most people don’t click on ads, so why use this as the standard for streaming TV? We believe attention and viewbility are much better measures for TV advertising.”

Eric Berger then presented Crackle’s programming slate accompanied by many of Crackle’s biggest stars and show runners including Seth Green, Dennis Quaid and Kate Bosworth.

Among the many announcements of the day, Crackle also announced that it had produced the first ever made-for-digital sequel to a major motion picture and David Spade and Brittany Daniels came on stage to introduce “Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser.”

To close the star-studded event, country hip hop star ‘Colt Ford’ took the stage to perform the hit ‘Diggin’ which is featured on the Joe Dirt 2 soundtrack, in front of a giant projection screen running scenes from the film.

In addition to securing the venue, designing the spaces, managing event logistics, catering and stage managing the complex program, Empire provided all staging and technical production support.

Empire continues to set the industry standard for producing outstanding presentations for clients seeking to communicate their mission, motivations and value proposition to key customers. Empire is proud to have served SONY Pictures Television and Crackle for their Upfront.

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Founded in 1991 byJames Houghton, Signature Theatre is the first theater company to devote anentire season to the work of a single playwright. By championing in-depthexplorations of a living playwright’s body of work, the Company delivers anintimate and immersive journey into the playwright’s singular vision. Nownearly a quarter century old and housed in a spectacular Frank Gehry-designedtheatre on West 42nd Street, Signature is among the world’s mostinfluential theater organizations.

Signature onceagain called upon Empire to help produce their annual gala and create anext-level experience through elevated design, a compelling program andflawless execution, all while showcasing their beautiful venue.

This year’s gala paidtribute to playwright and director Tina Landau and philanthropists andlong-time donors John and Amy Griffin. The stage program’s presenters includedEdward Norton and Bill Irwin, ensuring that the presentation was not onlyimpactful and meaningful, but hilariously entertaining as well.

After guests checkedin at the theatre's main entrance on West 42nd Street and VIPs walked the redcarpet, they ascended the staircase to discover the lobby transformed into aformal affair.

Balancing the need topresent an elegant evening without challenging the existing design of thevenue, Empire used linens in a palate of mixed hues of blue and aubergine andcrisp white flowers, complementing the impressive woodpaneling abundant in the space. Thematic event lighting also helped transformthe space for this special night.

During twosimultaneous pre-dinner receptions, guests chatted and enjoyed an array ofcocktails and hors d’oeuvres, while live music provided by classical guitarist,Michael Sheridan, added to the experience. As dinner commenced, guests were guidedto their seats by an accordion performance and song, courtesy of Shaina Taub.

Executive DirectorErika Mallin and Founding Artistic Director James Houghton spoke, followed by amusical tribute in honor of Tina Landau, featuring a medley of compositions fromTina’s shows accompanied by composer Tom Kitt.

Edward Nortonintroduced John and Amy Griffin, citing their many philanthropic endeavors andcontributions to Signature Theatre. To demonstrate the impact of the Griffins’influence on children’s artistic development, child prodigy violinist ClaudiusAgrippa wowed the crowd with his performance of Vieuxtemps violin concerto No.5.

Empire is proud toserve Signature Theatre and to support a variety of leading arts organizationsas producers of their fundraising events.

For more informationon how to support the Signature Theatre, please visit: http://www.signaturetheatre.org/

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Social media has taken over the Internet, making it easierthan ever to share content with friends, family, fans and the general webuniverse. It has broken down the barriers to fame, leveling the playing fieldfor creative individuals to build remarkable audiences. The Shorty Awards honorthe best individuals and organizations on social media, recognizing thoseproducing remarkable content on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram,Vine, and the rest of the social web.

SNL’s Rachel Dratch hosted the 7^th Annual ShortyAwards this year when it returned to The TimesCenter on Monday, April 20. Theprogram kicked off with an opening video that followed Rachel’s pre-show preproutine culminating in a special visit to the master MC himself, Alec Baldwin.The Shortys uniquely gathers Hollywood and Internet celebrities alike withpresenters ranging from Bella Throne, Bill Nye, Emily Kinney and Lucy Devito,to Tyler Oakley, Thomas Sanders and Jimmy Tatro. Some of the night’s bigwinners included Taylor Swift, Hannibal Burress, Conan O’Brien, NASA, BrandonBowen, Jerome Jarre, Michelle Phan and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Following Wyclef Jean’s presentation of Best Band award to HAIM,he introduced a special performance by Panic! At The Disco. The band performedtheir hit “Miss Jackson” and debuted live their newest single “Hallelujah.”However, the best surprise of the night was the acceptance of Best Emoji of theYear by Poop himself! He even stuck around for selfies at the afterparty.

During the live-streamed ceremony, the program was simulcastto a separate viewing party downstairs where guests were able to network whileenjoying the delicious caterings of Cleaver and Co. Once again, Makers Mark andHeineken sponsored the bar and this year Baked by Melissa provided a unique andyummy Shorty branded cupcake whale tail installation. Throughout the event,brand and organization winners were welcome to accept their trophies on a speciallydesignated gallery stage where they were could record their acceptance speechesas well.

Following the event, all guests continued the celebrationheading to URBO for a wild after party. Congratulations to all the individualand industry winners this year!​

The quintessential backdrop of crystal blue waters and blond beaches of Aruba served as the backdrop to an incentive program rewarding an international top performing global sales team. The perfect headline entertainment for the island vibe: the 1.5 million album-selling, blockbuster movie-scoring, sold out worldwide-touring, White House performing, international sensation, Rodrigo y Gabriela.

On Saturday, April 18, a warm and breezy Caribbean night, attendees and their spouses mingled on the private lawn of Aruba’s Ritz Carlton to witness the dynamic duo. Once onstage, their music – an upbeat hybrid of rock, nuevo flamenco with a heavy metal flare – did not disappoint. While mostly original and instrumental, the dynamic performance included a few covers, like Radiohead’s Creep. Following the performance, Rodrigo y Gabriela graciously greeted and talked with VIPs, taking photos.

For this incentive program, Empire worked closely with SWIFT Smart Solutions. SWIFT is a leading producer of large-scale meetings, events and training development for it’s corporate clients and Empire has enjoyed a solid collaboration with SWIFT for over a decade. Empire identified the best possible talent candidates, negotiated the performance contract, and facilitated the production and logistics plan to support the concert while SWIFT handled all technical production, as well as the spectacular Aruba venue selection and design.

Empire is a leading provider of headline entertainment for international corporate meetings and events and is deeply experienced in overcoming the challenges of presenting headline entertainment outside of the US.

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Empire is often asked what band we think is the "next big thing". When one of the world's leading technology companies asked us just that in 2014, we delivered Jason Derulo before he was a household name. As the followup in March 2015, Empire recommended and contracted Neon Trees, who had the crowd on their feet throughout their high-energy set. Hits such as "Sleeping With a Friend", "Everybody Talks", and "Animal" had the attendees screaming for more. And we predict there will be much more from this band, indeed.

Empire is one of the world's leading provider of headline talent for special events. Whether our clients need a classic artist or a current cutting-edge performer, we pride ourselves on being able to quickly identify the artists who fit your budget as well as your audience demographics.

On March 9th, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Gates Foundation Co-Chair Melinda Gates and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton joined global and community leaders for the event entitled "Not There Yet: A Data Driven Analysis of Gender Equality," featuring the official release of the No Ceilings Full Participation Report and data visualization site NoCeilings.org. Empire acted as the overall event producer handling all technical, staging, scenic and signage aspects as well as the creative framing of the stage program. The event was also streamed live for viewers around the world.

Moderated by Chelsea Clinton, 20 years of global data from the report and NoCeilings.org were showcased through the compelling stories of leaders who are actively advancing the full and equal participation of women and girls in their nations and communities. Storytellers, speakers and validators promoted gender equality, making the point that more must be done both at home and abroad.

The event included participation by women leaders across various industries, including Her Excellency Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, President of the Republic of Croatia; Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia and Malala Yousafzai, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Co-Founder of the Malala Fund. For more information on the No Ceilings: Full Participation Project, please visit https://www.clintonfoundation.org/our-work/no-ceilings-full-participation-project.

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