Empire was thrilled to partner with Pioneer Works on O P E N—a celebration of the reopening of their space after months of capital improvements focused on accessibility and equity.

The evening honored Board Members Austin Hearst and David Belt for their enormous contributions to the “Pioneer Works for All” campaign and raised funds for cornerstone PW initiatives like their robust artist residencies and free public programs throughout the year. The event featured performances by Resistance Revival Chorus and DJ Black Helmet, installations by Rachel Stern, Alejandro García Contreras, and Ashcan Orchestra, as well as stunning food activations by PW Supper Club alumni Chefs Tara Thomas, Woldy Reyes, and Bad Taste by Jen Monroe.

Offering creative strategy, vision consultation, and program producing, we are proud to partner with Pioneer Works for this celebration.

To celebrate their 60th anniversary, Alger partnered with Empire to curate the perfect entertainment for their rooftop event in downtown NYC. 

Empire secured headliner St. Paul & The Broken Bones, whose dynamic performance brought a festival-level energy to the intimate gathering. DJ Natasha Diggs kept the atmosphere lively with her beats throughout the night. Alger CEO Dan Chung introduced the band with personal remarks and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all the employees and guests for supporting Alger for 60 years. 

Tasked with the difficult challenge of producing a headline performance on the 28th floor of a Manhattan skyscraper, we worked closely with our partners to design a layout and stage to accommodate the eight-piece band, rain or shine. As a result, a clear tent was installed over the course of two days to cover the rooftop while keeping the breathtaking views unobstructed. 

Some of the guests were invited to the 29th floor for a meet & greet with the band, where they had the chance to hear directly from the artists about the set list and the stories behind their music.

Empire managed all aspects of talent sourcing, booking, and coordination, ensuring the evening's entertainment flowed seamlessly. 

As NBCUniversal geared up for the highly anticipated Season 2 premiere of E!’s House of Villains, they aimed to create an immersive stunt that put digital content and show talent front and center.

Enter the “Secret Snake Society”—an exclusive, one-night-only members' club for 165 influencers and cast members to rub shoulders and test their villainous skills. As they navigated five completely unique, custom activations, influencers were invited to embrace their inner villain for the evening.

Empire transformed the Bowery Hotel into a content creation hub, beginning with a villain portrait gallery and culminating in an exclusive 15-minute sneak peek of the first episode—complete with cheeky villainous moments and devious behavior throughout.

The Activations

Snark Attack
Carnival games allowed guests to spin a giant wheel and drop a Plinko puck to generate the ultimate clapback. Winning results, like “Saber-Toothed Ninny-Bits” and “Feral Peasant,” were turned into frenemy bracelets.

Villainous Allies
Guests chose a cast member to ally with, receiving a custom cocktail handed to them through a curtained cocktail window.

Make A Scene
Guests were encouraged to unleash their inner villain by wreaking havoc in a fine dining setting—flipping tables and creating controlled chaos.

Out-Villain a Villain
Influencers went head-to-head with cast members, competing to see who could outwit the best of the best. Those who failed were showered in confetti.

Sinister Style
A villain needs glam and a killer wardrobe. We gave guests the opportunity to dress to the nines and strike a pose in a portrait session.

Social sharing skyrocketed, with potential total online reach of over 18M and YoY growth on all key metrics for event-generated House of Villains content, making the event a major success for E! Entertainment. From concept and ideation to final production, creative direction, and every detail in between, Empire worked hand-in-hand with NBCUniversal every step of the way.

Hyundai Card, a leading premium credit card company in South Korea, hosts DaVinci Motel, an annual festival in Seoul. This innovative event celebrates a convergence of arts, business, technology, and academia. Through thought-provoking talks, performances, and curated pop-ups, DaVinci Motel transforms Hyundai Card’s Brand Space in the Itaewon district into a hub for creativity and inspiration.

Empire presented Hyundai Card with the festival’s marquee headliner Steven Yeun, an award-winning actor and producer known for his work in BEEF, Minari, Burning, Nope, and The Walking Dead. In a one-hour moderated conversation, Steven engaged fans, sharing personal insights into his journey through the entertainment industry and his rise as one of Hollywood’s leading actors. The session concluded with an engaging Q&A that allowed attendees to connect with him directly. 

We are proud to have collaborated with Hyundai Card to secure Steven Yeun, develop the moderated conversation, and manage logistics for him and his team. 

Convened by the United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, and hosted by the UN Office for Partnerships in collaboration with the PVBLIC Foundation to promote dialogue and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the SDG Lounge was created in the Woodrow Wilson Reading Room of the Dag Hammarskjold Library at the United Nations Headquarters for the duration of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.  

Embodying the spirit of the United Nations, the SDG Lounge provided representatives from Member States throughout the world with a global platform to discuss issues and solutions relating to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, ranging from food insecurity and gender equality, to AI, inequality, and global health.

With sessions featuring representatives from the Maldives, France, Sierra Leone, Belgium, Tonga, Chad, Rwanda, Sweden, Somalia, Denmark, Liberia, Senegal, Jamaica, and Norway—alongside former and current heads-of-state including Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, as well as the President of the European Union Ursula von der Leyen—the SDG Lounge was a space for attendees to experience unscripted dialogues and interactive, in-depth discussions.  

In addition to Member State representatives, the SDG Lounge included key voices from across industries and sectors, bringing together business leaders from Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and the World Bank, alongside powerhouse advocates for change like Astronaut Sara Sabry, IOM Global Goodwill Ambassador America Ferrera, Tunisian tennis phenom Ons Jabeur, and UN SDG Advocate Lilly Singh, among many others.    

With an ethos of both sustainability and partnership at its core, Empire and the UN Partnerships worked together on the design of the SDG Lounge to keep the Goals front and center. Each element was constructed using eco-friendly materials designed for reusability, while modular furnishings allowed for flexibility. All scenic elements were retained by the United Nations, where they will continue to serve the global community, including a custom commissioned 50" mural that has become a permanent fixture at the Library Reading Room.  

With resounding messages of collaboration delivered across seven days of programming, the SDG Lounge provided us all with the inspiration needed to keep the promise of the SDGs today, tomorrow, and for future generations to come.

To learn more about this year’s SDG Lounge and view some of the programming please visit https://webtv.un.org/en/search/categories/meetings-events/side-events/sdg-lounge-2024

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For the 5th year, Empire served as the The Gates Foundation and Project Everyone’s production partner for their Goalkeepers 2024 event—an annual event that brings together heads-of-state and international Sustainable Development Goals “Goalkeepers.” Among Goalkeepers' 17 goals to achieve before 2030, this year’s event focused on why fighting malnutrition matters.

To focus on the event's impact, the typical two-day event shifted to a one-evening program and reception, from six hours of content to a two-hour window, which included over 1,200 guests held at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Empire’s mission was to deliver a flawless production for this pivotal event, celebrate the Goalkeeper changemakers, execute a program focused on the world’s nutrition crisis with key speakers, and encourage content creation and social presence, which included design and creative elements, LED installation, food & beverage management, and registration and logistics for high-level speakers and attendees.

The program streamed live online and in an on-site overflow space for all attendees near and far to enjoy. Jon Batiste kicked off the program and the stage was flooded with prestigious speakers and nutrition-focused experts, such as Host, Kenyan media personality Janet Mbugua, Brazilian President Lula da Silva, welcoming Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Nigeria, Muhammed Pate, along with Ethiopian-Swedish chef, Marcus Samuelsson, and Bill Gates, who took the stage to speak about Global Health funding and nutritious foods for all.

In order to accommodate more guests and activations, two venues within JALC were activated both with a variety of custom food stations and bars, multiple photo backdrop opportunities and DJ Chmba, who played upbeat house music to set the tone.            

Empire was proud to again work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Project Everyone, and many other partners to present Goalkeepers 2024. To learn more about the Goalkeepers event, please visit: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/goalkeepers/

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Photography Credit: Mike Lawrence, Kevin Hagen, Roy Rochlin, Valerie Terranova

Empire had the opportunity to partner with Target to produce a kickoff meeting for over 11,000 team members at Target Center in Minneapolis, MN for Target’s annual meeting, Target Together.   

We created a sophisticated and thoughtful seating plan to accommodate all team members. As team members took their seats, a DJ spun top hits and the MC engaged audience members with fun pre-show activities custom-created by Empire. The pre-show included ‘Rock that Target Red’ and ‘Target Trivia’ segments. Empire also worked closely with Target to create a custom emoji lookalike video contest, challenging team members to mimic the emoji. Empire created custom screen graphics used throughout the pre-show. 

Following inspiring remarks from Target’s leadership about strategic initiatives, a surprise fashion show took place on stage. Empire choreographed and developed creative content, which included Target’s beloved mascot Bullseye and team members from across the country ending the show on a high note. Team members cheered with joy when they saw their colleagues sporting the latest Target looks, accompanied by furry friends. No fashion show is complete without a grand finale which brought all 70+ models back out for an epic faux-snowstorm, snowball fight, and even a fireplace with gifts on the mantel. 

Empire played an important role in ensuring the seamless execution of Target Together 2024, collaborating with Target’s internal teams on multiple facets of the event, including technical management, guest logistics, stage production, scenic, catering, fashion show choreography, and screen content.  

Target Together exemplified how large-scale meetings can provide connection, celebrate achievements, and build anticipation for future goals. Empire was honored to contribute to the program and overall success of the event. 

One of Empire’s longstanding corporate clients engaged us to deliver an evening of music featuring the legendary lead singer of The Who—Roger Daltrey. Presented for an audience of approximately 500 guests at the beautiful Tavern on the Green in Central Park, the client, a lifetime fan of Daltrey’s, celebrated another successful year through the voice of one of the most iconic rock vocalists of all time.

Starting with a private reception and meet-&-greet for 25 VIP’s, Daltrey made everyone feel like they had known him their whole lives. Roger and his band then delivered a high-energy concert featuring 75 minutes of hits, including many by The Who such as “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Behind Blue Eyes”, and a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s classic “Have You Ever Seen The Rain”. The performance was punctuated by Daltrey’s incredible stage presence and storytelling between songs, and the crowd smiled and sang along throughout the show.

Daltrey and the band had so much fun that they delivered three additional encores, including a performance of The Who’s anthem, “Baba O’Riley”, featuring a breathtaking violin solo.  

Working closely with the client team, Empire delivered the artist as well as all technical production, staging, talent logistics, coordination, and stage management to ensure a successful event.

Empire is honored to have produced many of the world’s greatest rock icons for our clients’ events, including David Bowie, Heart, Adele, Bono, Pat Benatar, The Pretenders, Elton John, John Fogerty, Aerosmith, and so many more.

Empire had the privilege of booking and managing A-Trak as the headline DJ for the VIP opening party of Salon Hannam 2024 in Seoul, Korea. Salon Hannam 2024 is a special art exhibition project by LIFEPLUS, debuting during the week of Frieze Seoul. The opening party and exhibition took place at the newly acquired Hanwha General Insurance Company Building. 

The exhibition showcases a diverse range of artists including Fabrice Gygi, Oscar Tuazon, Kevin Beasley, Seth Price, Devon Turnbull, David Hertt, Harold Mendez, Rim Park, and Giopato & Coombes. Curators and galleries from around the globe were also in attendance, making the event a key moment in the international art scene. 

Empire is proud to contribute to the cultural and global significance of Salon Hannam’s opening by securing top-tier talent and management. Through our efforts, we helped bring LIFEPLUS’s vision to life, complementing Frieze Seoul’s celebration of contemporary art and global creativity.

Longchamp brought its ENERGY BY LONGCHAMP global pop-up series to Kyoto in September 2024, turning the Shimadai Gallery into a dynamic playground of brand energy. Welcomed by lanterns bearing the Longchamp emblem and bamboo benches inspired by the brand’s bag toggles, guests stepped through a noren curtain into an immersive corridor of radiant brand colors.

Inside, a locker room-themed space awaited, energizing visitors with activities like relaxing on custom yoga balls, experiencing the latest Parisian beauty trends, and wandering through an endless mirror room bathed in aura colors.

Before the official opening, celebrities and media were treated to an exclusive preview party, where the vibrant setting became the perfect backdrop for photos. The celebration was amplified by live DJ sets and lively dance performances, making the Kyoto pop-up a joyful blend of culture, energy, and unmistakable Longchamp flair.

As the production partner for this energetic showcase, we were excited to have supported Longchamp in energizing Kyoto with bold creativity. From concept to execution, we embraced the opportunity to help craft an immersive experience that radiated positivity and style.