Since launching over 2 decades ago, Travel Channel has become the world’s leading travel media brand. Their emphasis on providing experiential programming featuring high-end adventure, foreign lands and exotic palates has won over a highly-coveted viewer demographic. So when it came time to plan a Fall Ad Sales event, they wanted the party to represent the authentic experiences reflected in their programming.

Empire signed on to produce this year’s party dubbed “1 Night, 4 Countries, No Jet Lag.” Held at ESPACE on West 42nd Street, the blank canvas space was transformed into four large vignettes – Spain, Italy, Croatia and Morocco.Spain’s substantial backdrop included a fully-fabricated representation of Barcelona’s Plaza Real, complete with archways, orange trees, rustic wooden bar tables and a live flamenco band with dancers. Alongside a buffet of delectable Spanish tapas, guests enjoyed a Jamon Iberico carving station while tasting a selection of Spanish Sherries.

In Italy, a contemporary Milanese street café offered seating on black leather banquettes under outstretched awnings. An oleologist (a sommelier of olive oil) from Eataly taught guests how to properly taste and appreciate premium olive oils, while guests posed for Instagram photos on the Vespa scooters parked beside the café. Croatia -- the gem of the Mediterranean now known for its chic seaside resorts, featured terracotta-topped beach cabanas and sleek white lounge ottomans. Dubrovnik’s medieval walled city could be viewed through carved stone ruins.

Draped fabrics in blue and purple jewel tones created a sultry setting for Morocco’s souk filled with antique colored glass lanterns, pottery, glasses and rugs. Guests relaxed in the hookah lounge and received henna tattoos and haggling lessons while Moroccan musicians played traditional instruments accompanied by belly dancers.Watery blue LED lighting transformed the central bar area into the Mediterranean, perfectly tying in all four countries.

Travel Channel on-air talent was integrated into each of the vignettes in a variety of ways including a printed itinerary with expert tips that helped guide guests through the authentic experiences. For this highly detailed event, for which every element needed to be authentic, Empire was responsible for sourcing the venue, design, technical direction, site management, entertainment & activities, and overall event management.The travel Channel client was thrilled with the execution of the event and felt that it captured exactly the quality and authenticity embodied by their programming.

Empire is a leading producer of upfront and advertising sales events for the media and advertiser supported industries.

For the first time in college league basketball history, The BIG EAST Conference hosted Media Day for the men's and women's college basketball teams on the same day. To bring this carefully-watched event to a wider audience, Empire was contracted to produce a livestream webcast of both conferences. The conference kicked off at The Chelsea Piers Lighthouse and included star college players and nearly 300 members of the media.

The event was webcast live on www.BIGEAST.com and can be viewed via the link below.

https://new.livestream.com/bigeast/mediaday

Empire served as the webcast producer including technical production and creative direction. Empire is a leading producer of live webcast and broadcast events.

A catwalk is inherently glamorous, but the charity: water WaterWalk is a reality check. In 2013, W Hotels partnered with charity: water, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water to every person on the planet, to help raise funds and awareness in new markets. As part of their sponsorship of the previous year’s charity: ball, the W Hotels pledged to host cocktail parties touring charity: water’s signature Waterwalk to six different cities- Boston, New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco, Scottsdale, and Los Angeles.

Together, we helped create an evocative and enriching experience that brought the reality of how far people in developing nations have to travel for clean drinking water. For each participant who walked the Waterwalk, an assembled catwalk that symbolizes the distance it takes for 800 million people to find water, W hotels Worldwide donated $45 to bring one person clean water in Orissa, India. The local hotels invited tastemakers, hotel guests and press to this special cocktail party for their chance to walk the walk and give back, while enjoying drinks courtesy of Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

charity: water Founder Scott Harrison, came to the kick-off event at the W Boston. W Hotels Worldwide’s Global Music Director, internationally acclaimed DJ and music producer Michaelangelo L'Acqua also made it to W Boston to help launch the Waterwalk campaign and set the beat to this Happening. At the W French Quarter the Stooges Brass Band kept guests dancing all night, including the Pussyfooters, local Mardi Gras celebrities. Ultimately, every city created it’s own flair while helping spread charity: water’s mission.

We’re honored to continue to help produce charity: water’s events, while helping W Hotels Worldwide implement their corporate sponsorship.

For more information about the organization, please check out their website: www.charitywater.org.

Coined the “Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth,” the Maker Faire is a family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, this all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, hobbyists, engineers, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors celebrate what they have made to share with the world.

When Zazzle, a leading e-commerce website specializing in custom made products and one of Maker Faire’s valued sponsors debuted in their first New York Maker Faire, they turned to Empire to help curate the Zazzle experience during the weekend-long, highly publically attended event at the New York Hall of Science in Queens, New York.

Empire worked closely with Zazzle to create an inviting family oriented interactive experience set under a 40’ tent in the center of the festival. Over the course of the weekend where over 10,000 enthusiastic innovators attended, children and their families gathered in the Zazzle space to create their own arts & crafts. From coloring in Empire’s custom designed Zazzle robot postcards to dressing up in mini robot costumes while posing for a photo booth, to creating personalized buttons, kids of all ages unleashed their inner “maker.” Empire also created a unique display showcasing Zazzle’s unique and customizable products.

Empire was proud to work with Zazzle on the Maker Faire, showcasing innovation and experimentation across the spectrum of science, engineering, art, performance and craft to bring about a nurturing ground for this growing community of creative and curious people.

To learn more about the Maker Faire and to find the nearest Maker Faire near you, you can go to http://makerfaire.com.

Empire was proud to manage the tour of The Gazette in Helsinki for their 2013 World Tour finalé. The Gazette is a popular Japanese visual Kei rock band (a Japanese genre similar to glam rock) formed in 2002. The five band members are known for their extravagant visual kei makeup and hairstyles, with each member having his own defining style and personality. They have huge fan bases in Japan and all over the world, and tickets for their show in Helsinki sold out within an hour.

On event day, fans of the Gazette started to line up at 7:00 a.m. carrying carefully-crafted gifts for the band members. Once the doors to the Circus were opened, they quickly filled the 1,500 seat venue. Empire Asia’s Tokyo office was responsible for managing the Gazette’s tour in Helsinki including overseas promotion to the band’s fan base. The concert was a huge success, ending with fans crying audibly and hugging each other, overwhelmed by joy.

Empire is a leading producer of global concert events, both public and private.

First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a luncheon at the Studio Museum In Harlem for the spouses of visiting heads of state in town for the United Nation’s General Assembly. Along with Obama and Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Secretary of State John Kerry, 50 first ladies from around the world toured the museum, dined on a special meal created by chef Marcus Samuelsson, owner of Red Rooster in Harlem, and enjoyed performances by television and Broadway star Audra McDonald, The Dance Theatre of Harlem and the LaGuardia School musicians. The Studio Museum of Harlem was selected for its historical and cultural importance; “There’s a reason why I wanted to bring you all to Harlem today,” Obama told her guests. She said the neighborhood “is infused with a kind of energy and passion that is quintessentially American,” which acts as “a thread that connects all of us here today, no matter where we’re from or what language we speak.”Performances by children from the Dance Theatre of Harlem and The Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts inspired audience to remember the importance of youth and the first lady encouraged the women in the room to use this “opportunity” to share ideas on improving the lives of women and children in their respective countries.The First Lady went on to encourage dialogue stating “Don’t be shy, make sure that you talk to the ladies at your table about the great work that you are doing in your countries, because you are all doing some wonderfully powerful work. Ask others about what they are doing in their countries.”

Empire provided all décor, design, production, stage and talent management and logistics for this important diplomatic initiative. Empire is proud to serve the White House and U. S. Department of State and to have been chosen to support this historical event.

Empire Entertainment’s Tokyo-based Asia Division recently introduced Japanese Kawaii (“cute”) Culture to Paris with a tour of Kawaii fashion ambassadors during the peak of Paris Fashion Week.

The Tokyo Crazy Kawaii Committee chose Paris, France because of its influence in world fashion and beauty and the fact that France hosts the highest number of annual visitors in the world.

Kawaii is a word that means “cute,” but it also contains other nuanced meanings such as having a generous attitude towards others or being accepting of various styles. With this three-day convention, simulating a mini Tokyo through fashion, food, music, and anime, Tokyo Crazy Kawaii Paris was successful in promoting awareness of such aspects of Japanese culture and creativity to large and influential audiences in Paris.

Empire Entertainment was responsible for bringing Kawaii to Paris by coordinating and directing a 109 Booth, which simulated 109, the iconic teen-fashion shopping mall in Tokyo.

The event was a huge success and attracted large crowds each day. A follow-up event has already been scheduled for 2014.

After serving the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office (Kantei) at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting project in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2013, Empire Japan was again chosen to be a content producer for the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, otherwise known as Summer Davos held in Dalian, China.

For this amazing event, Empire was responsible for the core elements such as an event emcee, content producing and stage direction. Everything from titles, themes, copywriting, speaker liaison, stage direction and production were managed by the Empire team. The president of Empire Entertainment Japan, Theodore Miller, had the honor of being selected by the Prime Minister’s Office to serve as the event emcee throughout the night, presenting and interviewing the roster of distinguished speakers. One of the evening’s highlights included a speech and facilitated interview by Miller of Mr. Hakubun Shimomura, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and Mr. Yuki Ota, Olympic Fencing medalist and Tokyo 2020 Bid Ambassador. Both Minister Shimomura and Mr. Ota had just returned from Buenos Aires, where they played key roles in helping Japan and Tokyo secure the 2020 Olympic bid, and newspapers on the day following the event announced that Japan’s Prime Minister had decided to appoint Mr. Shimomura as Minister in charge of the 2020 Olympics.

Other speakers at Summer Davos’ Japan Night included: Mr. Ichita Yamamoto (Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy / Minister of State for Space Policy / Minister in charge of Information Technology Policy), Mr. Yasutoshi Nishimura (Senior Vice-Minister of Japan’s Cabinet Office), Mr. Klaus Schwab (Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum), Mr. Yorihiko Kojima (Chairman of the Board of Mitsubishi Corporation), Mr. William Saito (CEO and Founder InTecur), Mr. Yoshiaki Fujimori (President and CEO of LIXIL Corporation), Mrs. Lin Kobayashi (Founder and Chair of the Board of International School of Asia, Karuizawa), Mrs. Nancy Singleton Hachisu (Author of the best-selling book “Japanese Farm Food”).

Empire is proud to serve governmental organizations throughout the world with creative and production services for their leadership forums and conferences and is a leading producer of Head of State events.

With the designation of Tokyo as the location for the 2020 Summer Olympics, Empire’s Tokyo-based division is uniquely positioned to serve global brands and clients with their future events, hospitality and Olympic activations.

On September 27th, 2013, Start Today CO., LTD., which manages Japan’s largest and most frequently-visited fashion shopping site “ZOZOTOWN”, launched a new online fashion site targeting young women called “LA BOO.”

To achieve maximum exposure, the client sought to secure on the most recognizable faces in the fashion world today, international supermodel Cara Delevigne. Empire’s Asia division negotiated for and contracted the world famous supermodel and also coordinated the arrangements for the photo and video shoot in London.

Using a top notch shooting crew, the television commercial, along with an outdoor campaign and a tie-in with Japan’s iconic mascot “Fu Nasshi,” the LA BOO campaign yielded excellent response across the board and has exceeded all of the clients goals.

Check out the commercial here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz81YyowP_Y

Empire is a leading source of talent for advertising and marketing campaigns across all platforms.

On August 2, 2013 Empire worked with longtime client, Accent on Cincinnati, to present two fantastic headline concert artists for a major Ohio-based insurance company. The 2,000 insurance representatives (and their spouses) gathered at the Duke Energy Convention Center were first treated to an opening set by The Midtown Men, four of the original cast members of the Broadway smash-hit "Jersey Boys", backed by a 7-piece stellar band. Recommended by Empire for their high-energy, charismatic performances, The Midtown Men did not disappoint, giving the crowd some of the great Frankie Valli songs featured in the Broadway production including "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry." Their set also included a number of surprises including the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love", the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back", and the Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreaming". The set left the crowd on the dance floor begging for more. And more was what the audience received as Michael McDonald and his band took the stage to perform the songs that has earned him five Grammy Awards, including "Keeps You Running", "You Belong To Me", "I Keep Forgetting", and "Yah Mo Be There". McDonald's set also included a number of the Motown classics that he has covered over the years such as "Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". Saving the best for last, McDonald ending the set "What A Fool Believes", followed by encores of his Doobie Brothers hit, "Taking It To The Streets", and a phenomenal rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Living For The City."Empire is a leading provider of headline musical entertainment for corporate events for over 20 years and has delivered artists including Aerosmith, Keith Urban, Bon Jovi, Usher, Prince, Elton John, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Bruno Mars and hundreds more for our clients' events, galas, and parties around the globe.