This April marked the first ever virtual iteration of the Orange County Youth Environmental Summit (YES). Orange County Water District (OCWD) hosts YES annually for up to 8,000 Orange County 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.

Due to the pandemic, OCWD engaged Empire to help produce the week-long summit virtually this year. Empire partnered with BuzzCast to develop a safe and secure platform where students and teachers could tune in to daily live presentations, meet with their class online, watch educational on demand content, download worksheets and lesson plans, and view sponsor booths to learn more about OCWD and their partners.

The mission of YES is to educate students about environmental issues, water-related and beyond, that support next generation science standards. The platform hosted on demand content and sponsor booths all week, in addition to two livestreamed sessions each day from Tuesday through Thursday.

To support the live content, Empire built a broadcast studio at the Orange County Water District facility in Fountain Valley to capture kid-friendly science experiments, demonstrations about the groundwater replenishment process, and the animals that make up the ecosystem of the water district. The week included live segments with OCWD, the California Science Center, and Emily Calandrelli, The Space Gal from Emily’s Wonder Lab on Netflix.

Interactive program features engaged students with quizzes and polls throughout the duration of each session, as well as live Q&A segments with speakers to close. Corresponding worksheets and lesson plans were made available for download for each live session, as well as for On Demand video content. Over 60+ educational On Demand videos or Grab & Go worksheets with lesson plans were made available to the students of Orange County for the duration of the week.

​Empire is a leading producer of thought leadership events and virtual events of every kind, and has been proud to serve leading environmental and cause-related organizations for nearly three decades.

Empire was proud to produce World Food Program USA’s livestreamed panel discussion entitled Climate Starves: Hunger and the Climate Crisis. This engaging conversation was part of their US Against Hunger series and moderated by award-winning international journalist, Femi Oke. The panel featured Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT); Gernot Laganda, Chief of World Food Programme’s Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction; and Laura Melo, World Food Programme Representative in Guatemala.

The virtual panel focused on the U.N. World Food Program’s work of fighting food insecurity and addressing how climate change impacts hunger. The discussion was livestreamed through a Vimeo player on the World Food Program USA’s website and Facebook page for hundreds of viewers.

Empire worked closely with the World Food Program USA team and served as overall producer of the virtual event, which is the second in a series of four.

Empire is a leading producer of virtual events of every kind and has been serving not-for-profit organizations for nearly three decades.

Empire was proud to help The New Museum present their Virtual Gala honoring artists Faith Ringgold and Pipilotti Rist. The evening served as the virtual film premiere of Ringgold and Rist for the New Museum’s closest friends, family, and patrons—a global, virtual audience that was a who’s who of the contemporary art world.

The film featured the artists themselves, along with renowned voices from the world of art and philanthropy who reflected upon and honored the impact of each of these powerful women.

Among other narratives, Faith Ringgold was recognized for her consistent activism over decades through her story quilts, paintings, and children’s books. Pipilotti Rist was recognized for her immersive installations and multi-media work, including her major exhibition, Pixel Forest, at the New Museum.

The evening concluded with an exciting live auction, remarks from Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan, Lewis Director of the New Museum, and toasts by Artistic Director, Massimiliano Gioni.

Empire worked in close partnership with the New Museum to direct, film, and produce Ringgold and Rist, as well as to produce the overall virtual gala and interactive segments.

Empire is a leading producer of virtual events of every kind and has been serving not-for-profit and arts organizations for nearly three decades.

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During Shibuya Fashion Week, Empire was proud to help "KANSAI YAMAMOTO", one of Japan’s most famous fashion designers, stage the world’s first-ever runway show at Tokyo’s iconic Shibuya Crossing.

The creative team of Quenta Takaya, a long-time student of the pioneering and recently-departed fashion designer, Kansai Yamamoto, played a central role in creating the collection. In addition to archived pieces from the “KANSAI YAMAMOTO” collection, the show also showcased the new collection “TOMORROW”. Combining the essence of Shibuya and artist Taro Okamoto’s greatest mural, Myth of Tomorrow, illustrating the tragedies of the atomic bomb explosion, this new collection conveyed the tremendous energy of human strength and pride.

"March this year marks 10 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, our recovery of everyday life from the COVID pandemic since last year, and our new voyage after Kansai’s passing. We instilled our hope for tomorrow in many levels in creating clothes with the image of people coming and going through Shibuya."—Quenta Takaya

The show featured numerous celebrity appearances including musician/actor MIYAVI, dancer/actor Kaiji Moriyama, make-up artist Kodo Nishimura, and many more.

Empire was honored to support  the production of this amazing runway show, continuing our long-standing relationship with “KANSAI YAMAMOTO” as they push the boundaries of both fashion and entertainment.

Watch the show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv7o22Sk8bk

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Empire is keeping up by creating yet another live event, this time partnering with E!. The second weekend of March marked the drive-in premiere screening of the final season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians in Los Angeles.

Going out with a bang, the early screening of season 20 of the reigning reality television show hosted hundreds of their biggest fans at the Rose Bowl for a very exciting evening filled with glam, good food, and fun. Never-before-seen messages from Kim and Kris were aired to the very lucky audience before the premiere episode began.

Guest cars entered the event along a runway lined with huge neon gold glowing Ks. At contactless check-in points, guests were given an info flyer with a map and vouchers to pick up their complimentary KUWTK snack & swag kits filled with branded items including a steel wine tumbler, a You’re Doing Amazing Sweetie hat, and Bible mask, as well as other treats like Champagne Rosé gummy bears, popcorn, and water.

After check-in, cars headed to a drive-thru step & repeat where they could get their photos texted to their phone within seconds. Once parked, guests could access the menus of local food trucks brought in specially for the event and place orders via an app which would notify them when their food was ready for pickup.

After settling back in their cars with their snacks, swag, and food, guests played KUWTK trivia with their friends as a slideshow of fun facts from 20 seasons of this iconic show looped on the giant 50' screens.

Compliant with COVID-19 safety precautions and CDC guidelines, the event functioned at safe capacities, proper PPE was enforced, symptom screenings were conducted for staff and guests, ample signage and messaging communicated rules and regulations, bathrooms functioned at half capacity, no congregating was permitted, and COVID-safety leads were staffed on site to ensure all other regulations were successfully maintained throughout the course of the event.

Empire is a leading producer of live, hybrid, and virtual events across the globe. Production practices are held to the highest standards of safety precautions to protect our staff, attendees, and the greater community.

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Empire was proud to produce World Food Program USA’s livestreamed panel discussion entitled No Woman Left Behind: The Future of Gender Inequity and Hunger. This engaging conversation, moderated by award-winning international journalist, Femi Oke, featured Her Royal Highness, Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan, Chef Tyler Florence, and WFP’s Director for the Gender Office, Kawinzi Muiu.

The virtual panel focused on the U.N. World Food Program’s work of fighting food insecurity and addressing how gender inequality impacts hunger. The discussion was livestreamed through a Vimeo player on the World Food Program USA’s website for hundreds of viewers.

Empire worked closely with the World Food Program USA team and served as overall producer of the virtual event, which is the second in a series of four.

Empire is a leading producer of virtual events of every kind, and has been serving not-for-profit organizations for nearly three decades.

Empire was honored to work alongside New World Symphony for their 33^rd Anniversary Virtual Gala: Brave New World, producing 25 private Zoom rooms, each with their own custom videos for New World Symphony’s top donors and VIPs.

Every unique program featured performances by premier musical artists; tailored remarks by New World Symphony’s Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Gala Chairs, Judith Rodin and Paul Verkuil; Q&A experiences with special guests; and more.

The hour-long receptions were hosted concurrently while the global audience enjoyed individualized content, vibrant conversations, and champagne with friends before viewing the World Premiere of a film produced by Maestro Tilson Thomas.

Empire was proud to work with New World Symphony to keep the arts and entertainment alive before and enduring this pandemic. The premiere film, Anything is Possible, A New World Story, produced by New World Symphony’s Michael Tilson Thomas, was available for viewing for 72 hours following the Gala.  

Empire is a leading producer of virtual and hybrid events. We strive to deliver the same high production value and immersive interactive qualities we are known for in live events to virtual and hybrid audiences.

Bandai’s “Kamen Rider” remains one of the most popular metaseries in Japan, with annual reincarnations of the insect-motif masked superhero battling supervillains in an action-packed world. On February 10, Bandai crossed over into the fashion world launching “HENSHIN by KAMEN RIDER”, a new clothing line themed on the legendary Tokusatsu franchise.

Bandai, with the help of Empire, was responsible for the brand's online launch with a unique virtual pop-up experience. Using Empire's customizable Virtual Platform, customers were transported to the powerful 3D futuristic world of HENSHIN. With just a click, customers had the ability to move around the digital space and access to immersive promotional videos and limited edition sneakers and fashion line-ups.

Empire’s “Virtual Platform” is a highly immersive virtual space that can be used for any event including from pop-ups, exhibitions, and virtual seminars.

Official website:
https://henshin-k.bandai.co.jp/

Virtual pop-up store:
https://henshin-k.in3sixty.com/

©Ishimori Pro, Toei

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For years, CES has marked the start of a new year, setting the tone for the industry with inspirational innovations and influential insights. Rather than taking over Las Vegas, CES 2021 was an all-digital experience for the first time. Over the course of four days in January, Panasonic shared their latest innovations and services worldwide and held their own hybrid event, “CES 2021 Panasonic in Tokyo”.

Panasonic, with the help of Empire, designed and launched a special event site and user experience through online seminars, where customers had an inside look at Panasonic Group's latest innovations and services. Interested parties, whether attending virtually or physically, then had an opportunity to connect with the developers through virtual one-on-one meetings or at the exhibition hall, where all the innovations were showcased.

Empire worked with Panasonic to formulate the comprehensive user experience including the concept, planning, design, and production of the special event site, registration site, as well as edit video content and provide on-site technical production, coordination, staging, direction, and livestreaming of each seminar.

We are proud to once again work with Panasonic and continue to act as a leader in producing global IT events.

CES 2021 Panasonic in Tokyo: https://www.panasonic.com/jp/ces2021

CES 2021 Panasonic in Tokyo Teaser: https://youtu.be/R0y3Ah01EYM

MediaLink and its partners teamed up with Empire to deliver personalized insight experiences to high-level executives virtually attending this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the second week of January 2021.

Empire worked closely with MediaLink to design and build the user-friendly virtual platform to host over 1,000 executives, marketers, and media industry professionals who look to MediaLink each year to maximize their experience at CES.

The bespoke virtual platform hosted trend sessions, board room meetings, CES-related programming, and breakout sessions over the course of the multi-day virtual conference for industry leaders to network and meet.

One of the innovative design features created for this proprietary, branded virtual conference center was a meeting lobby where attendees would show up for pre-scheduled meetings in dedicated spaces. Additionally, a virtual concierge could also place attendees into meetings in real time, curating networking and orchestrating market-making. The MediaLink Hub was also created to allow easy access for registered CES attendees.

Global brand partners tuned in for live programming that featured interactive question & answer capabilities enabling session hosts to field questions from the virtual audience in real time. In breakout sessions, media and brand partners experienced deep-dive panel discussions and engaging presentations on cutting-edge consumer technology, industry trends, and more.

Leading up to and on event days, Empire’s team of producers, creatives, and technical directors managed platform content, media, and livestreams, oversaw sessions, and handled troubleshooting for active attendees.

Empire was thrilled to work with MediaLink and is a proud producer of virtual, hybrid, and live leadership conferences, experiential marketing events, and more.

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