When one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer electronics wanted some "different and exciting" entertainment to energize their sales team in order to launch their new portable global positioning device, they turned to Empire for help. The chosen talent would not only have to appeal to a predominantly young and male audience, but they would also need to be affiliated with the company's interests in the recording industry.

Working carefully through both corporate channels and the band's representation, Empire was able to negotiate and secure a performance by legendary southern rock and rollers, The Black Crowes. From the moment the Black Crowes exploded onto the stage, it was clear that this would not be your standard corporate show. The band played, loud and loose, like it was a sold-out, 1991 show at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, and their lives depended on delivering a memorable performance. The 2500 strong crowd rocked to Chris Robinson and company's long, winding jams and uplifting hits, including "Hard To Handle," "Jealous Again," "Twice As Hard," "She Talks To Angels" and Remedy among others. As the adrenaline-pumped audience exited the ballroom of the posh Westin Kierland Resort, the client quickly declared the concert "A home run!" A casual meet and greet followed the concert, with the gracious band members joking with guests and posing for pictures.

Empire is a leading provider of headline musical talent for events around the globe.

When one of the world's most respected internet brands was looking for a major entertainment marketing property in Japan to sponsor in connection with its Spring 2006 promotions they turned to Empire Entertainment's Japan Office for ideas. Empire Japan, working with advertising agency partner Frontage, Inc., identified the upcoming Rolling Stones, "A Bigger Bang Tour," as the perfect promotional opportunity and one that would offer extremely high visability throughout the Nation of Japan. Through careful negotiations with local partners, Empire developed a robust title sponsorship package and provided support throughout the process from contracting through to completion.

The full suite of sponsorship benefits negotiated for the client included logo inclusion and title mention of sponsor in all official media, on-line usage rights to video and images of the Rolling Stones Japan tour, a corporate client meet-and-greet with the members of the Rolling Stones, as well as on-line concert tickets promotional sweepstakes. The response from customers and clients to the promotion was tremendous, and when the Rolling Stones hit the stage - from Tokyo to Sapporo - there was no doubt as to why. With their unique energy and charisma, the Stones thrilled the nearly 150,000 fans at their 5 Japan shows with their hits including classics such as "Start Me Up", "Jumping Jack Flash", "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" in their sets.

Empire Japan is proud to have played a role in the planning and execution of the Rolling Stones 2006 Japan tour sponsorship, and to continue to support an ever-growing field of corporate sponsorship and marketing promotions.

When the world-renowned Schatz-Ornstein photographic studio wanted to throw a party to celebrate Howard Schatz' 16th book of photographs, they called on Empire Entertainment to produce the smash opening party for 150 select VIPs and members of the media. For "In Character : Actors Acting", Schatz photographed 100 actors of stage, screen and television, directing them in one-on-one improvisation, as he snapped beautiful and poignant photographs that captured the actor's portrayal of Schatz' direction. Beverly Ornstein, Schatz' partner and a former documentary producer, created a behind the scenes mini-movie featuring Robert Klein to illuminate how Schatz directed the actors to get his shots.

To represent the photographic work at the event, Empire Entertainment flew a projector system from the ceiling of the studio, and used the hard cyclorama as the screen, creating a visual centerpiece to the party. Empire also strategically placed three other 50" plasma screens in the studio, each featuring different actors being put through their paces by Schatz with his subtle voiceover describing the motivation of each shot.One specific request made by the studio was to create passed hor d'oeuvres that were as visually unique as Schatz' photographs. The tasty and visual treats included a six-hour braised bacon and quail egg with a Guinness beer chaser presented inside the quail shell; tomato fondue with basil sorbet in a wafer cone; bruschetta, red wine mayonnaise and caramelized shallots; apple tart filled with foie gras terrine and caramel; Osetra caviar on smashed Yukon potatoes with lemon; all washed down with Veuve Clicquot Champagne and sparkling waters.

Some of the theatrical & cinematic luminaries in attendance included Robert Klein, Robert Vaughn, Robert Loggia, Bruce Altman, Dan Hedaya, PJ Barry, Christopher Lloyd, Mark Margolis, Giancarlo Esposito, Daniel Sunjata as well as VIPs, and the CBS Sunday morning Crew who are doing a feature on Schatz' work. The event was a complete success and Empire helped to design, plan and implement all aspects from security and décor to catering, production, and room layout.

When one of the world's largest technology companies sought to recognize, reward and inspire its top technical employees and scientists, it chose to conduct a weekend retreat with spouses at the Fairmont Hotel in picturesque Vancouver, British Columbia. The 3 day program for more than 400 guests would include several meal functions, inspiring speakers, activities, entertainment, a gala dinner and a disco after-party. Based on a multi-year working relationship, this global corporation turned to Empire Entertainment to serve as production company for the entire program.

Over the course of many months, Empire worked closely with the clients to develop an agenda and theme that would resonate throughout the weekend and leave a lasting impression long after the guests returned home. The example of the Apollo space program that ultimately sent the first men to the moon was chosen as a source of inspiration and appropriate imagery and content were adopted to theme the entire weekend.

The program began with an arrival night reception and dinner where the company's most senior technical executive delivered a keynote address, followed by an inspiring speech by Dr. Jerry Linenger, an American astronaut who served aboard the Space Station MIR. Dr. Linenger's speech was met with a standing ovation and guests lined up to meet Dr. Linenger after his remarks. The next morning following breakfast, guests were treated to a keynote address by BBC broadcaster and author, James Burke, who shared his perspectives on the history and future of knowledge and technological change. The breakfast was followed by an interactive scavenger hunt game that took place throughout the day.

That evening, guests arrived dressed in ‘Geek Chic' attire for the recognition dinner. Following a cocktail hour, guests entered a ballroom that Empire had transformed into a space-aged fantasy. Square tables set with dark grey linens, silver chargers and square glass centerpieces sat arrayed in lines below a light ceiling in blue chase lights. Each centerpiece glowed with white pin-spotting. Looping footage of high resolution space animations ran on dual projection screens while beams of cobalt blue lighting slowly tracked the room. The evening featured a keynote address and Q&A by the company's chairman followed by a set of side-splitting humor by former Saturday Night Live player and Wayne's World star, Dana Carvey.

Following the dinner, guests adjourned to the rooftop ballroom for a night of dancing to 1980's hits in a mini-disco designed and decorated by Empire and DJ'd by Los Angeles turntablist DJ Crash.On the final morning, Empire set up a farewell brunch which featured bright florals, baskets of hangover cures on each table, and a performance of soft blues, gospel and R&B music by Vancouver's own Kenny Wayne.The results speak for themselves. In the client's post-program analysis, the attendee surveys were returned with 95% of the attendees indicating that they were satisfied and 70% of those indicating that they were very satisfied (the highest ranking).

For this program Empire served as the one-stop production company, developed and designed every aspect of the program in collaboration with the client and supplied all speaker and entertainment booking, staging, sound, lighting and audio visual services, décor, production management and onsite staffing.

Many of the world's most successful corporations choose Empire Entertainment as their one-stop production company to produce their most important programs.

When National Geographic Channel wanted to present an extraordinary client event for their New York City Upfront, they again selected Empire Entertainment as their event producer. The direction from management was that this year's event would have to relate to NGC's programming and would also have to challenge guests with an authentic adventure and learning experience that they would not soon forget. Empire worked closely with NGC's marketing and events team, considered all of NGC's upcoming programming carefully, and ultimately chose a space / astronaut-themed event. The theme would provide a solid basis for the intelligent, experiential, and forward-looking event that would best promote the world's fastest-growing cable network to its most important customers. The event would feature real astronaut training exercises for the attendees as well as authentic exhibits, simulations and access to top, current astronauts and space scientists. But creating an authentic space / astronaut-themed event from scratch would be no easy matter, especially because NASA would not be able to support a commercial event. Empire and NGC would have to create a space program from scratch.

The event was held at Skylight NYC - a spacious, modern former gallery space in lower Manhattan that perfectly resembled what one would expect to be the interior of a NASA astronaut training facility. The décor featured a large entrance statement in the form of a yellow border lit from within through which guests entered the event. The registration area was bathed in red light and resembled a rocket gantry through which astronauts enter a shuttle or capsule. Guests then walked through a chain curtain and into rolling fog like a rocket ready to blast off and entered another world. Guests stepped into a tunnel made of black drape and fiber optic star drop that led into the main room of the event. Before them stood a giant 60' wall of star drop on which was mounted a giant, high definition projection screen looping NGC's high definition footage. Images of the blue earth below, taken from the International Space Station, passed by the giant portal-style window. A vignette featuring the a full size Apollo 13 space capsule (that was used in the motion picture Apollo 13), along with a full scale model of a lunar rover and a current EVA (extra-vehicular activity) space suit, were lit in blue light. Before this, a series of white ottomans were placed for seating with a pillar at the center of each, topped with a Lucite dome containing hydroponic arrangements of beautiful specimen orchids. Guests were served specialty ‘Galaxy' cocktails from two large bars - one a ‘Mars Bar' lit in red and another a ‘Moon bar' lit in blue. Abigail Kirsch provided space aged catering served on Lucite trays by waitstaff and bartenders all dressed in blue NASA flight jumpsuits.

Surrounding the bars were a series of astronaut training activities and guest speaker stations including: Do You Have What it Takes to Become an Astronaut?• This multi-station area featured staff in lab coats administering timed aptitude tests and challenges similar to the exams taken to become an astronaut. These interactive stations were themed to the NGC series "Crash Test Humans" and included:Orbitron • This was a stationary G-force space simulated activity. The user stepped into the innermost of three concentric rings that move and roll the participant along the tilt, roll and yaw access and are used to help train individuals for the disorientation of space flight. As soon as guests completed their time on the Orbitron, they were asked to participate in a timed manual dexterity exercise where they stacked blocks. Space Walk Simulator • This activity consisted of a large, ground supported truss structure and harness rig in which guests were suspended in space and asked to conduct a series of activities similar to those that an astronaut might have to perform onActivities were led by a variety of experts and real astronauts. Dr. Leroy Chiaho, commander of the International Space Station and several Space Shuttle Missions led the Space Shuttle landing simulation, talking guests throuh an authentic landing on headsets while Dr. Max Bernstein, Astrobiophysicist of NASA's SETI program (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) taught guests about how we search the stars for signs of life.

There are great rewards and great challenges to producing the same corporate meeting for a group year after year. Such is the case with Empire Entertainment's long standing relationship with one of the world's largest investment banks. For many years, Empire has delivered top name talent and attractions at the annual client conference of this client, to a highly educated and sophisticated group. Over the past several years, Empire has delivered for this meeting intimate performances by Ray Charles and his 44 Piece Orchestra, The Beach Boys, Latin sensation Albita, comedian Al Franken and Glenn Frey to name a few. This year, the client wanted something completely different - something interactive.

Empire Entertainment suggested and delivered "Who's Line Is It Anyway" star Wayne Brady. The result was like nothing they'd ever seen before. Best known for his role on ABC's television show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and for a memorable sketch on Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show, Brady astounds his audience with dead-on impressions of various singers and sense of humor. However, the highlights in his 60 minute shows are they ways he incorporates audience suggestions and uses the audience members to create spontaneous comedy. It is not only challenging to make songs and movie sketches "on-the-fly", but to make them personalized to the client and attendee without humiliating the audience or the client, is the mark of a truly talented artist. Wayne Brady achieved this and more and delivered a hysterical and appropriate show that had many in the audience wiping away tears of laughter as they exited the ballroom.

From Wayne Brady and Gotham City Improv to the Second City National Touring Company, Empire Entertainment is a leader in presenting improv comedy for corporate events.

When one of the world's largest global software firms suffered an event-disrupting blow, it called on Empire Entertainment to turn a negative into a positive. Hurricane Katrina ended the client's plans to hold their annual "kick off" meeting in New Orleans. Both date and venue had to change in the wake of the catastrophic storm. But in planning for the new event in San Antonio's Conventiuon Center Arena, Empire acted quickly to secure an act that would not only blow the audience away, but that would also connect to New Orleans and speak to the upheaval in the Big Not-So-Easy-Anymore.

Empire landed the bayou's own, John Fogerty, best known as the voice of Creedence Clearwater Revival to perform a headline concert. The result was an ecstatic audience who swayed and danced to a stream of smash radio hits including "Proud Mary," "Bad Moon Rising," "Fortunate Son," "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?", and "Centerfield," to name but a few.The spectacular evening ended with a lengthy meet and greet, where the very affable John Fogerty chatted with guests and posed for pictures.

Empire is a leading provider of headline musical talent for events around the globe.

Since the New York launch of their channel in 2003, the National Geographic Channel has partnered with Empire to produce and manage numerous unique events including the New York and Chicago Upfronts, public press events at Chelsea Piers and the Central Park Zoo, and the multi-character "Adventure Squad" street marketing team. Therefore, it was no coincidence that they called on Empire to produce an elegant reception to celebrate the National Geographic Channel's launch on high definition television and to mark the 5th Anniversary of the channel's inception. The reception was held at the Explorers Club, renowned for its century-old tradition of being the meeting point for a professional society of select explorers and scientists worldwide, most notably, astronaut Neil Armstrong and Sir Edmund Hillary – the first mountaineer to reach the summit of Mt. Everest.

Amidst the club's stately features of dark varnished wood, imported stone fireplaces, polar bear taxidermy and oil paintings depicting explorations to the North Pole, Empire delicately integrated technical production elements and a décor scheme that enhanced the National Geographic Channel brand without overwhelming the space. Upon arrival at the club, guests entered through an 8-foot-high doorway recreation of National Geographic's signature yellow border, consisting of yellow gerbera daisies and green foliage. Once inside, a Eurasian hawk and a pair of Blackfoot penguins greeted guests as they nibbled on passed hors d'oeuvres and sipped cocktails. On the terrace, which was tented and draped with flowing red & yellow silk, guests shot photos of themselves on a green screen with NGC-themed backgrounds and interacted with a mix of exotic creatures including a Lemur, young Alligator, Siberian Lynx, Armadillo, and a Slow Loris.

The event was co-hosted by ADWEEK Magazine, featured remarks by President Laureen Ong and looping high definition video footage of NGC programming, and attracted NGC talent including Explorer host Lisa Ling, Explorer-in-Residence Bob Ballard and the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. Empire coordinated and managed every aspect of the event including venue, catering, décor, live animals, lighting, video plasmas, audio, staging & security.In the words of the client, the party was "A fun, classy event which once again drove home to key constituencies that NGC is a young powerhouse on the move."

When legendary performers look to market their own latest releases, they turn to Empire Entertainment to help present them in their best light. Such was the case when Barry Manilow and BMG released Barry's newest album, "The Greatest Songs of the Fifties," and sought to perform selections of this material for an exclusive audience of influential New Yorkers and music industry executives. The event was held at the spectacular Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center and featured a cocktail hour, an introduction speech by legendary label executive Clive Davis and a fifty minute concert during which Barry performed both Fifties classics and his greatest hits. Performing high above Columbus Circle with the lights of Central Park as a backdrop, Barry performed such great classics as "Mandy," "Made it Through the Rain," "Copacabana," and "I Write the Songs" as well as selections from this new album such as "Unchained Melody," "It's Not For Me to Say," "Moments to Remember" and "Venus." Onstage Barry performed with a large orchestra including a horn section, background vocalists, and dancers. Barry performed both at the vocal microphone and at the piano. The evening ended with a streamer burst and a standing ovation as Barry concluded this rare New York concert appearance to thunderous applause. For this program Empire helped to coordinate all logistics and supervised production, interfacing among Barry Manilow's camp, Jazz at Lincoln Center and various outside resources to provide the highest caliber production quality.

When the stars present themselves, they turn to Empire to help them produce the show.

Marco Tempest performs his next generation magic at the Apple Store in Tokyo's Ginza. Marco Tempest stunned visitors to Apple's Ginza store in Tokyo Japan with his breakthrough combination of technology and magic. Located in the middle of Tokyo's posh Ginza shopping district, on some of the world's most expensive real estate, the Apple Store is a high-profile location always buzzing with activity. Marco, visiting Japan to produce a new TV special, was invited to perform at the Apple Store during its peak December sales season. Despite short notice Marco drew an excited and diverse crowd of shoppers, families, tourists and Apple fans. Entitled "Multimedia Magic Made on a Mac", Marco's performance not only showcased his world-renowned and innovative routines, but it also demonstrated his ability to use Mac products to produce magic.

Using Wi Fi technology, integration between various products ranging from cell phones with cameras to computers to LCD screens, Marco proved once again that he is the future of magic. Under the watchful eye of the audience, Marco solved in less than 5 seconds one of the most popular (and difficult) puzzles in the world - The Rubik's Cube! Marco then asked a random audience member to imagine they were holding a card, and took a photo of them with his cell phone. After placing the cell phone face down in the hand of the subject, they were asked to reveal the card they imagined they were holding. They were then asked to look at the image on the cell phone, and were understandable amazed to see a photo of them holding the actual card that they had only imagined holding moments ago!

The Apple Store management was understandably thrilled with Marco's performance, and is looking forward to future visits to Japan when he will perform at their store again. Marco Tempest continues to blur the line between magic and technology, making Arthur C. Clarkes famous words, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," ring truer then ever.