November 2019   ///  Spring Studios   ///  NYC

In November 2019, GPJ produced IBM Security’s flagship event in New York City, the IBM Security Summit. It was an opportunity to re-think the programming, content and impact of the event, and we seized it with a dramatic stage, multi-floor programming, scalable content, and a beautiful venue to bring the IBM Security brand to life.

Building off 5 years of client collaboration, 2019 was the first year GPJ won the project, and with IBM’s CEO in attendance, the stakes for excellence and impact were high.

We took over 4 floors of Spring Studios in TriBeCA, leveraging the individual spaces to allow for our full-day programming which included general session, lunch, 1:1 meetings, and a closing reception.

For the General Session, GPJ Live Production designed a floating stage with a 50’ LED backdrop, designing custom presentations for each IBMer and speaker.

We were also tasked with developing content-driven activations, showcasing both products and clients, built for scalability and re-usability throughout the 2020 portfolio, including RSA, Think and BlackHat conferences as well as 8 global Security Summit events.

This included an LED feature wall teleporting attendees into ‘Relatable Spaces’ where security threats daily go unseen. From a Coffeeshop with full espresso bar, a Food Hall for lunch service, and an Airport Lounge for evening cocktails, attendees saw human-centric scenarios unfold highlighting the impact of security incidents, to company, employee and consumer and how IBM Security solutions work in concert to mitigate and thwart these threats.

Additionally, GPJ scripted and animated 8 Client stories, celebrating key industry clients who are using IBM today. In fact, 95% of top 100 Fortune 500 companies use IBM Security today.

With the highest attendance to date, with over 400 attendees, clients, partners, and experts, IBM Security once again established itself at the forefront of enterprise-level security and cross-technology innovation.

October 2020   ///  IBM’s Hurlsey House   ///  London

The annual IBM Hursley Summit is aimed at technical architects and those looking to build cloud automation skills in order to lead their organization's digital transformation.

North America attendees typically fly to the UK to experience the IBM Hursley Lab themselves. The property is an 18th century mansion that was later used as a military hospital before IBM bought it in 1958. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 event went virtual, so we sought to bring the spirit and experience of Hursley and its location to our audience in their homes.

GPJ created an exclusive content-driven experience with English TV presenter, writer, and actor Charley Boorman. An IBM Host leads attendees through the IBM Hursley story, with Charley, and his Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle, at the forefront. A combination of pre-recorded video and live Q&A during the event gave attendees direct access to Boorman, and solidified the 'live' feel of the entire virtual event.

The success of the program relied on the rich and authentic storytelling of the town’s history, the innovative work done at the IBM Hursley lab and IBM’s partnership with Harley-Davidson in the development of the LiveWire technology. This was achieved in both Boorman’s celebrity and topicality, as he frequently rides his own LiveWire.

With a very short runway, the virtual pivot required flexibility and collaboration between our North America and UK offices, expertise in talent acquisition and production, and ultimately a bit of luck for a beautiful shoot day in the English countryside.

March 2010  ///  Skylight SoHo  ///  NYC

Eager to break from the Upfront formula for their first foray into the ad sales event space, Bravo focused on showcasing content not through speeches and sizzle reels, but rather through experience.

Taking over the large floor of Skylight SoHo, Bravo divided the venue into the rooms of a conceptual Bravo Home. Each room was representative of a specific Bravo show, but also their brand 'Passion Points': Food, Fashion, Beauty, Design, and Pop.

'Food' naturally became the kitchen, where guests had light plates prepared fresh (Top Chef). 'Fashion' was expressed by the Closet where guests were treated to dress in an assortment of clothes, shoes, and accessories, then have their photo taken, fully nined (Project Runway). 'Beauty' became a hair Salon where guests sat for on-the-fly hair stylings (Tabitha's Salon). 'Design' was channeled as the Living Room, where contemporary lounges and bars were set (Nine by Design). Pop was the Home Theater, playing highlight reels from current and upcoming Bravo shows (The Real Housewives)

Taking the experience even further, stars from Bravo's shows were on-site to sit with guests for truly personal experiences. In the Rec Room, Patti Stanger doled out relationship advice (Millionaire Matchmaker) and Andy Cohen (Watch What Happens Live!) interviewed guests on camera, creating content for Bravo's website.

March 2016   ///  Vince Young Steakhouse   ///  Austin, TX

In March 2016, the city of Austin was once again transformed by brand activations during SXSW Interactive. One of the most impactful, hosting over 9k attendees and generating 35.6M tweets, was also one of the most unexpected: IBM.

Through strategic guidance of our client, IBM left the tradeshow floor of years past, in favor of executing a full venue takeover which transformed the Vince Young Steakhouse into the IBM Cognitive Studio.

For 5 days. IBM repositioned itself with SXSW badge holders, youthful developers, c-level professionals, and the public at large. With a vast host of solutions and offerings to share, success at Austin's social-sharing festival relied on telling a singular IBM story: Welcome to the Cognitive Era.

The attendee journey began by reimagining the ever persistent lines at SXSW. We engaged the wait by registering attendees via tablets with staff staggered throughout the line. This yielded audience capture with effortless, elegant profiling, which was palatable through whimsical questions rather than cold data fields. This data was paired with individualized NFC wristbands that granted guests entry and fueled the pervasive, personalized engagements they would encounter inside the Cognitive Studio.

Entering the space, guests were greeted by not only Austin's iconic Longhorn bull but IBM's cognitive robot Pepper. Whether engaging in conversation or simply snapping a robo-selfie, Pepper's welcome wagon reverberated throughout social media.

On the porch, guests found VR biking stations, where their profile drove a recommendation for one of three bike vignettes: City, Trail, or Pro. Using 4D VR, we told the story of David Hasse, a professional cyclist who uses Watson to coach him during his Race Across America. By analyzing live biometrics, landscape typography, and weather tracking data, IBM Watson advises our rider on pace, course and daily goals to maximize racing efficiency. This physical challenge was felt by attendees as flywheels provided resistance in parallel to the rider's progress along their virtual ride. In the VR HUD, Watson prompted riders to change speed and direction to maximize their riding experience and complete the virtual course.

Continuing the personalized experience, guests thronged the Cognitive Cocktail Bar where libations were selected based on the individual’s profiles rather than their orders. As guests approached the bar, they had only to tap their NFC wristbands to trigger Chef Watson to recommend a cognitive cocktail of choice.  As free drinks are expected at SXSW, our cognitive experience resonated with guests evidenced by social streams awash with photos of the entire experience: Wristband + Scanner = Cocktail.

Deeper inside guests were encouraged to lend their voice by the analog interaction of pen to paper. With a series of prompts ("Cognitive is...", "Weather can be...") guests filled in responses and pinned their cards on the perception wall. From their, local artists Mollie Tuggle and Sophie Roach selected guest responses and translated them into paint and brush stroke, filling a massive, 24'x15' mural that evolved and was completed over the 5-day event.

Capitalizing on taking over a restaurant, IBM staged a Cognitive Cook-off between the steakhouse's Chef Phil Brown vs Chef Watson. With a film crew in the kitchen, the cook-off was live-streamed to all the monitors in the Cognitive Studio, while the recipes became grab-n-go tacos served to all guests.

In the Dev Playground, guests experienced Watson’s AI through accessible, analog experiences. Guests were invited to battle in Rock Paper Scissors against IBM’s Marvin robot, who uses Watson to analyze, predict and ultimately defeat all opponents. Guests were also enticed to don a brainwave scanner, to drive Bluetooth BB-8 droids. Touch tables continued the personalized experience, with guests swiping wristbands to showcase IBM apps filtered w personalized content, and push-to-mail, opt-in content.

The IBM Cognitive Studio was a sea change event for IBM whose robust offerings were not only told succinctly but resonated holistically with attendees and media alike. Medium's John Battelle writes: "I’ve been wary of marketing’s increasingly strong grip on SXSW, but kudos to IBM for creating a place that everyone I spoke to felt added true value to the event. I hope many more take a cue from Big Blue at SXSW next year."

Follow the Social Story Here

January 2019  ///  Las Vegas Convention Center ///  LVN

With IBM CEO Ginni Rommety to speak at CES 2019, we brought IBM back to the first-in-tech trade show floor with a prominent 130’ x 60’ booth. As IBM’s technology solutions operate an echelon above the consumer, we knew our challenge to make an impact and shift public perceptions revolved around three core tenants: Be human. Be transparent. Be purposeful. We achieved all our goals, with massive foot traffic, social attention and being named Top 20 Best Booths at CES 2019 by Exhibitor Magazine.

Acting with purpose, we worked closely with Ginni’s team to pair her speech’s offerings to our booth design, allowing guests to experience her keynote once again through the IBM booth. These solutions and initiatives were paired with industry partners, demonstrating that IBM is not just technology that enables the future, but it's tangible today.

Leading off her announcements was the world’s first, fully functional and for-purchase quantum computer, IBM Q System 1, set at the front of our booth attracting questions, crowds and camera flashes. To it’s right we placed Project Debater, an AI who can capture and analyze arguments and opinions, to provide for and counter arguments for topical debates, such as ‘Should gambling be de-criminalized’ (We were in Vegas, after all!).

Progressing into the booth space, underneath a dynamic LED canopy, guests engaged with our Watson in Motion activation, which educated users on the analytical capabilities of Watson AI, through the narrative lens of sports. Motion sensor avatars were gesture controlled while illuminating data sets and response fields based on the users' motion.

Guests were also treated to sit at the FoodTrust bar, treated to 3D-printed totems that unlocked content videos at each station. These IBM blue objects gently meandered down the conveyor belt bar top, piquing attendee curiosity and conversation.

Alongside IBM partner Samsung’s video analytics demo and responsive, self-teaching Robot Arm, the rear of the booth enlarged to a double-decker structure, with private client meeting rooms above, and technology demos and an open theater space below.

December 2012  ///  Cedar Lake  ///  NYC

November 2011  ///  Stephan Weiss Studio  ///  NYC

The #Spotify hashtag blew up during their 2012 press event, thanks to a combination of rich visuals, live music, and a moment in internet music history.
 
The white-gloss curved stage was mirrored by a 28' curved LED screen, flanked on each side by 4 standalone 9' LED panels. Video content was simultaneously wrapped over these screens, creating dynamic video arrangements, a keynote graphics canvas, and immersive digital wallpaper.

With top-of-the-hot Spotify's taste at stake, they delivered 3 headline acts, Vampire Weekend, Janelle Monáe, and Frank Ocean, who played on a combination of traditional and in-the-round stages. During the afterparty masked-Brit DJ SBTRKT spun while lounge furniture was set and libations were served.

The most-tweeted moment however was when Napster co-founder Sean Parker was reunited with Napster-shutter-downer Lars Ulrich of Metallica. The two hugged and buried the file-sharing hatchet from their 2000 feud, now that artists are finally getting paid.

In 2011, for their first-ever US press event, Spotify debuted their new "apps" services, welcoming partners from RollingStone, the Guardian, and more. Live-streamed in Sweden and the UK, the event featured a massive projection screen above a clean, gloss-white stage. The stark design was accented by Spotify's quirky, illustrated characters, flanking the main stage and peppered throughout the venue.

After remarks and an intimate performance by the then-yet-to-pop band Fun, guests were invited to engage in the demo stations around the room, getting hands-on interaction with the 10 featured apps, launched online that day.

July 2012  ///  The Metropolitan Pavilion  ///  NYC

RECIPE:
    1 part      Top Chef
    1 dash    Amazing Race
    1 pinch   Innovative Finale Event

Colliding the globe-trotting with the mouth-watering, Bravo hosted a private 'Around the World in 80 Plates' finale party. Through an innovative concept that won the business, we showcased 9 countries, their cuisines and a medley of cultures, all delivered atop 3 rotating, turntable stages.

Each stage featured 3 countries, designed with props, backdrops, furniture, floor coverings, and most importantly, culturally specific food offerings. As guests palates were transported from pungent French cheeses to Moroccan beef cigars, live entertainment filled the room with Flamenco guitars, Brazilian Carnivale dancers,  Indian sitar players, and even a Chinese dragon.

Guests could also test their cultural knowledge at either the Guess'N'Flip game, where iconic city scenes rotated to reveal their locale, or the Name the Ingredient game, where blindfolded guests could taste and guess mystery food items. Guests also left with a postcard set featuring each city from the show, with the same custom stamps and photo motif dotting the entry stairwell.

February 2017 /// Moscone Center /// San Francisco, CA

At the annual RSA Cybersecurity Conference (RSA), attendees constantly find themselves inundated in new security offerings, overwhelmed by the magnitude of ever-evolving threats and struggle to keep up with their disconnected tools. Bringing panacea to the pain points, and for 3 years running, IBM has showcased its unified suite of security products through a dynamic and dramatic booth experience.

In 2019, we launched IBM Security's new brand platform, simply titled 'Aurora'. This northern-lights inspired ethos supplants pragmatic fear with a forcefield of undulating, ever-present protection, represented by color, light, and motion. We manifested our own aurora through a 16-panel, kinetic motion gradient of mesh panels bathed in the hues of the Security color palate. Where our competitors had a hanging banner, we had an art installation!

On the floor below (similarly bathed in gradient light wash rendering each guest their own Instagram filter) we once again activated the Protection Pillars, whose transparent OLED touchscreens housed a 3D-printed scenic window display with Choose-your-own-Adventure content illuminating how IBM Security can remove risk to allow you to grow your business. Our Plasma Ball giveaways flew off the shelves, letting guests literally touch the aurora while also tapping into nostalgia.

In 2018, we brought the constellations of interconnected IBM solutions to life with a canopy of kinetic, color-changing LED bulbs. These bulbs aerially. Danced over our Disruption Dome, anchoring the back of the booth for both engagement and theater takeovers. Guest could choose one of four persona narratives to go through a day in the life of a security professional, and how that bad day could have been avoided with IBM Security offerings.

In 2017, our design was inspired by the human Immune System, demonstrating how a multitude of threats are simultaneously identified and attacked by various, collaborative elements. Tendrils at the booth’s entrance drew attendees in and across the solutions throughout the space. At the booth’s rear towered a 16’h, arching LED monolith with a digital engagement allowing users to deep dive through the IBM Security Immune System. Guests stepped onto buttons activating 1 of 3 solutions stories, quieting both narrative animations as well as illuminating the engaged IBM products and their connecting solutions.

Flanking our entrance was the Watson Vision wall engagement. This array of depolarized monitors hid looping video content that went unseen to the naked eye. It was only when guests held up shield-shaped polarized filter wands to reveal the animations behind. The promise of the empowerment Watson brings to security products was illustrated in the fast and tactile experience, quickly attracting crowds and surprising and delighting attendees.

For three consecutive years, our IBM client was over the moon with not only the booth design and experience, but also the collaborative spirit working with us throughout the event’s development. We also have a strange Stanley Kubrick load-in tradition, but you'll have to ask me about that one, sometime.

April 2012  ///  Center548  ///  NYC

Digital. Digital. Digital. This was Bravo's 2012 Upfront, packaged with the tagline 'Powered by Bravo.'

Starting with a LED-rave-tripping freight elevator ride, guests dove into a multi-level space, populated with food, drink, comfort, action, and a live-taping of Bravo's 'Watch What Happens Live!'. Crisscrossing conduit pipes ran overhead, descending into color blocked lounge vignettes themed in Bravo's 'Passion Colors.'

A mosaic of digital devices showcased Bravo content and apps, while a sculptural collage of projection-mapped talk bubbles exploded to life in both presentation content, and live video-dj'ing during the dance party. Instagrams tagged with #PoweredByBravo were printed on-site, while tweets of the same hashtag were projected onto the walls of the venue.

January 2017 /// Jacob Javits Center /// NYC

Each January in New York City, the Javits center is taken over by the National Retail Federation (NRF) for Retail’s Big Show. In a sea of 510 exhibitors, among 118 sponsors, we were tasked to make IBM stand out in the crowd. To strategize, design, produce, install, execute and succeed at this goal we channeled one simple mantra: ‘Show up differently.’

Setting ourselves apart in the quite crowded expo hall, we designed a purple-bathed booth buttressed by towering walls, bringing a welcome calm to the in-booth experience which allowed for SME-led demos to be both of value and well-attended. Above the steady crowds flew a massive, circular hanging banner. Graphics brought IBM’s Watson center stage with short messaging statements and brief demo titles depicted throughout.

Where our competition went commercial, we went couture. Poised shoulders above the crowd, welcoming guests to our booth was IBM’s Marchesa dress. Debuted at the Met Gala 2016, this LED-adorned dress lit up different colors based on the real-time sentiment of Tweets about NRF. This partnership between Marchesa and IBM delivered high fashion to our design, which we complemented with gauze fabric panels and beautiful washes of light.

NRF 2017 saw IBM generate both record attendance as well as business leads proving differentiating themselves in the space is anchored in experiential design.

October 2012  ///  TriBeCa  ///  NYC

Foodies love eating even more than they love Top Chef. Its only natural to combine the brand with the gastronomical experience. Opening a fully-functional restaurant in just 10 weeks is a more daunting task.

We found a restaurant that we could gut; a staff we could train; architects to actualize design; contractors to fast track permits, and builders to pull the concept into reality.  Using the Top Chef brand guidelines as the diving platform, we orchestrated an open kitchen space with lofty ceilings, custom furniture, and glossy orange accents throughout the restaurant.

For 6 weeks, we ran the Top Chef Kitchen in TriBeCa, featuring a rotating menu prepared by TC's 'Bravolebrity' chefs, who popped out of the kitchen each night to schmooze with guests. Tickets, sold through opentable.com, sold out in just 45 minutes, leaving us wondering if we priced it too low, or just successfully, maybe primarily, tapped into the Top Chef fan base.

​

www.yelp.com​

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May 2016 /// IBM Design Studio /// Austin, Texas

Shark Tank + IBM Watson = Cognitive Build

Hosted at the IBM Design Studio in Austin, Texas, this finale event was the culmination of a global cognitive competition where 275,000 IBMers developed and shared their ideas.

With the final 50 teams advancing to the Finals, teams worked with business mentors to finalize their concepts, honed their pitches before mock-judges, and worked into the night to perfect and package their cognitive idea. The following morning, each team presented their concepts, with 8 finalist teams being selected for the main event. These 8 teams presented on the main stage in front of a critical panel of IBM leadership, including CEO Ginni Rometty, who wowed the crowd by not only pledging to fund the winner but to fund all 50 teams in the finals!

Re-designing the Design Studio for this event was a challenge in taking an office space and re-purposing it for a live, theater event. Striking tables and chairs, the main stage included an angular wood back wall, with clean branding and a small, circular stage, putting our competitors and their concepts on full display.

To infuse the 'builders spirit' throughout the space, we constructed custom visual installations in multiple rooms, including Post-It art murals, string art typography, and hand-drawn, dry-erase illustrations. Guests were also treated to add their visual impact on the Builders Wall, where each team drew in text and graphics representing their team and their ideas, which were tacked up for everyone to share. Continuing the ethos of the builder, we took signage into a series of lofty yet accessible quotes, alongside clean wayfinding for our global attendees to be able to navigate the office space efficiently.

It was amazing to design an experience for such a multitudinous audience who all shared a singular passion: To make the world a better place.

George P. Johnson Austin ///   February 2015

Upon joining GPJ Experience Marketing, my first task was to build a Creative Studio from scratch at the Austin branch. Historically comprised of Operations, Client Services, and Event Management teams, starting a culture of creativity in a traditional corporate environment would take not only the right team members but also an inspired, authentic environment.

My core concept in building this creative environment was two-fold: Be authentic. Be individual. Celebrating these pillars of authenticity and individuality resonates with both importance I place on team members being themselves, as well as the space feeling function fit yet intimately comfortable with an earnest aesthetic.

For the floorplan concept, I encircled the Creative Studio with ‘Nooks’, small corner spaces, beset with lounge furniture, that would be shared across disciplines to ignite collaborative conversations and work. Knowing many team members were not native to Austin, I designed these spaces to be thematically representative of Austin history and iconography and not the tourist tropes of BBQ and Longhorns. 

Nook themes included:’The Moontower’, celebrating Austin being the last US city to retain and maintain these turn-of-the-century architectural oddities, alongside Matthew McConaughey’s infamous role in 1997’s ‘Dazed and Confused’, which was filmed in Austin. ‘The Lady of Ladybird Lake’ features a sprawling mural depicting the Congress bridge spanning Lady Bird Lake, as well as the largest US urban bat population living beneath the bridge. ‘The Eastside’ is an homage to the historic, yet increasingly displaced, Mexican-American community in East Austin, alongside the artistic revival and mural culture happening there.

For wall decor, I immediately pivoted from internal pressure for vinyl graphics on the walls (as we have a large format printing facility in Nashville) towards sourcing Austin-based muralists to not only create one of a kind artwork but physically put paint on the walls. This deliberate approach and respect for the medium give the office nooks stunning visual depth and a unique sense of place. As a finishing touch, I set gallery placards, highlighting the local artists as well as the ethos behind the work.

To celebrate the pervasiveness of music in Austin I not only brought in a turntable, allowing employees to share their taste and personality through vinyl records but also peppered the space with decade-spanning concert posters. I encourage, and reimburse, team members who bring in posters they find if they are either A) took place in Austin; B) feature an Austin musician; or C) was designed by an Austin artist.

For both the kitchen area and conference room, I brought in a local artisan to design bespoke furniture, constructed of materials now staples of the Austin aesthetic: Reclaimed wood. Concrete. Brushed metal. Tastefully branded with GPJ logos, these custom pieces are not only functional, but a popular talking point of office guests with both clients, vendors, and employees visiting from other offices.

Furthering the functionality, nearly every blank wall became a dry erase surface, allowing creative discussions to evolve visually in real-time, as well as provide a canvas for 2D Designers to craft dry erase artwork and typography to frame the space and take pride in their space.

Rounding out the aesthetic, I exposed and polished the concrete flooring and utilized color/print-variable carpet tiles in multiple patterns to create both unified and individualized spatial zones. In the kitchen, we installed reclaimed wood sheet metal to build custom shelves and an Austin patina to the multi-use workspace.

Outside of the Creative Studio expansion, one of my design concerns was to share the creative energy and thematic visuals with the existing office space. This was achieved by extending the same stained concrete flooring as a conduit throughout the existing office, as well as refreshing the furniture styles in communal areas. The Austin Nooks were also brought into the main space, with The Greenbelt as an homage to the lush, hiking trails and swimming holes surrounding Austin, as well as the active lifestyles shared by its residents, and our employees.

For more information on local artists:

Jason Archer

Mollie Tuggle

Josh Row

Lauren Dickens

Adam Owens

February 2019  ///  Moscone Center  ///  San Francisco

March 2019  ///  Mandalay Bay  ///  Las Vegas

Since it’s inception in 2018, I led the team in designing IBM Security’s presence the IBM Think conference. Security is one of the 4x Core Campuses and has an uphill goal of attracting new and deepening existing clients who are attending Think without Security specifically in mind. With this challenge, we work to stand out and provoke attendees, piquing curiosity with form factor and spectacle, then delivering insight and value through content and education-infused activations.

In its debut year in Las Vegas, we created the IBM Security Disruption Dome. A 16’ projection dome, encircled by 6 plinths of touchscreen, video content, took attendees through a difficult day in the life of a security professional, and how things could have been avoided with IBM Security offerings. The spectacle of the dome combined with the screen-jumping, enveloping animations to create a formative content experience and a destination on for the entire conference.

Building on our success, we sought to elevate the content experience even further, combining art installation, technology, and rich content stories and digital engagement. The result was the Protection Pillars, 4x transparent OLED touchscreens housed a 3D-printed scenic window display with Choose-your-own-Adventure content illuminating how IBM Security can remove risk to allow you to grow your business. Unlike anything else on the show floor, guests marveled at the scale of the pillars, then rewarded further by the depth of the interactive content.

In both instances, our content-driven activations were built for scale and re-usability, showing up immediately the RSA conference for respective years, but have since been activated by global IBM teams in China, Korea, India, Australia, Germany, and the UK.

April 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009  ///  Jazz @ Lincoln Center  ///  NYC

Celebrating the magazine's annual issue of the same name, The Time 100 Gala invites the "100 Most Influential People in the World", and past honorees, to a decadent evening in New York City. An amalgamation of toasts, speeches, comedy, music, and on-the-pulse hob-nobbing, the event welcomes and attracts a diverse, distinguished, and often Secret Service protected the crowd.

Traditionally sparse decor, including column wraps and gobo projections, was bolstered in 2012 where the cocktail-enjoying atrium was wrapped in a white muslin photo wall, highlighted by a glowing edge molding. A portion of this span was removed during the program, so guests returned to the space to find an inviting lounge and DJ platform for the on-site afterparty.

I served as both Creative Director and Design Director for the four years I was fortunate to work on this amazing and global-influencer event.

​

www.time.com

May 2019 2018, March 2017  ///  Las Vegas

The IBM iX team operates at the intersection of strategy, creativity, and technology and for their annual Adobe Summit presence, we seek to be such a fundamental hub attracting guests, deep learning, and meaningful connections.

In 2019, we fully embodied 'The Intersection' redesigning our 40'x40' as an amalgamation of hipster lobby, trendy cafe, and patient lounge. By turning the booth experience upside down, we treated our guests to table service, while they maximized their time sitting and talking with IBM experts. We abandoned the traditional hanging banner and installed a metal lattice with hanging foliage, and mesh canopy creating the IX Logo. The rear of the booth featured our full-service coffee bar, clad in brass finishes, and serving up live demos, 1:1 meeting scheduling, and the ever-popular IX swag!

In 2018, we went vertical with a towering LED wall that created a digital shadow that danced with each attendee. Animated gifs were captured of individual guests to share on their social channels, with registration being captured as guests queued for the digital selfie experience.

In 2017, we created custom illuminated frames, giving our booth an unconventional industrial artistic presence, with whiteboard/design thinking functionality. As our attract, we utilized a FlipDisc display, whose analog, binary panels flickered to guests movements and nostalgic auditory flickers attracted attendees from afar.

IBM 3rd Party Industry Events  ///   2015 - Present

Since 2015, my Austin Creative studio has executed over 200+ annually. The following are some highlights from our work, celebrating both innovative use of branded architecture, digital content development, and rich client partnership rewarding us with annual projects with increasingly raised expectations of what is possible!

www.gpj.com

May 2012  ///  Highline Ballroom  ///  NYC

Fun. If nothing else, 'Fun' was what our MTV Tr3s client sought for their 2012 Upfront to be about. Kicking off as a 'Latin Street Fair', we sought to create an environment that would feel native in any latin culture, from Buenos Aires to the Bronx.

Taking over the Highline Ballroom, a traditional NYC concert venue, we constructed scenic installations over the existing VIP booths. The first became a Colombian party bus complete with a truck grille, tire, rearview mirror and working headlight. The other, topped with corrugated metal roofing, was transformed into a taqueria, serving up build-your-own tacos for guests.

Under a canopy of bistro lights, guests segued from the comedic to the content to the concert, featuring the swoon-inducing Juanés, and then on to the dance party, where advertisers and time-slot sellers conjoined in 12am conga lines.

December 2012  ///  The 69th Regiment Armory  ///  NYC

Since 2006, charity: water has been making waves in the NFP community for both their 100% donations to projects model, as well as their charity: ball ticket price geared towards the everyman rather than just the uber rich. This model has raised funds to fund over 8,000 water projects in Africa, delivering clean drinking water to nearly 3.2 million people.

charity:ball 2012 featured an innovative (or can-we-pull-this-off) 'donation zones' system, where guests would step into increasing pledge levels, resulting in their pledge and name instantly appearing on the projection screens encircling the massive armory space. This live-data tracking was enabled by each guest wearing a pre-registered RFID wristband with their name and credit card information stored inside. With over $3 million raised, the technique and technology were a historic success.

A 60' net structure was flown where guests could purchase and release $5 yellow balloons that aggregated to become a giant charity water logo by the end of the night. Additional infographic-laden installations included a lifesize 'Yellow Thunder' drilling rig, a PVC pipe labyrinth highlighting CW's gravity systems in Rwanda, and a birthday donors canopy featuring the photos and names of individuals who have raised money by pledging their birthdays for donations instead of receiving presents.

​www.charitywater.org

January 2012  ///  Manhattan & Brooklyn  ///  NYC

Debuting their foray into the wearable-technology marketplace, Nike sought to make an impression not on the public directly, but on Influencers who's excitement regarding the Nike Fuel wristband would generate sales. The challenge was in impressing these individuals, and so the event was designed to be original, exclusive, and most importantly, active.

After a short press event introducing the product, guests strapped on the Fuel bands and were taken to a series of different activities. These included tennis at Grand Central, weight-training with the Bartendaz, and flipping pizza at Roberta's in Brooklyn. The event delivered unique experiences for a select number of participants, who, naturally, went home with head-to-toe Nike gear and the Fuel band, about which to tweet and 'like' at their leisure.

November 2009  ///  Stephan Weiss Studio, NYC
December 2009  ///  Saatchi Gallery, London

To celebrate the release of his 'Power of the Invisible Sun' photography book, Bobby Sager hosted a private party to raise donations for his 'Hope is a Game-Changer Project.' Behind the titles, was the mission to bring indestructible, and iconically yellow, plastic soccer balls to impoverished villages across Africa.

Designed to streamline expenses and showcase Sager's photography, the event tapped stark gallery spaces where the white walls could be soaked in looping canvases of children from across the continent. Stark displays were created with physical prints mounted to fabric-wrapped walls, and cocktail bars were emboldened with the word 'Hope' stretched across their facades.

As the book's title borrows from The Police's 'Invisible Sun,' Sager tapped friend and fellow globe-trotter Sting to perform an intimate, acoustic set. Interspersed with passionate remarks from Sager and Trudie Styler, the program wound down with guests diligently filing up to each make a charitable donation.

Then we packed up the whole event, and did it again, two weeks later, in London.

May 2012  ///  82 Mercer, NYC
June 2011, 2010  ///  Metropolitan Pavilion, NYC

Each year, this crowd-sourced, all-things-internet festival descends on NY, helmed by a centralized HQ space. Dedicated to headline keynotes, panel discussions, and classroom breakouts, the HQ hosts a smattering of sponsor activations for internet heavyweights (Microsoft, Google, Yahoo!) and startups (Makerbots, Postano, BrightBox).  These activations are managed according to event guidelines to deter the "tradeshow" feel as much as possible.

With a food court stuffed with AsiaDogs and Panade Puffs and a sometimes-slept-in lounge curated by Design Within Reach, the HQ sees a steady flow of attendees throughout the week-long event. The HQ turns over nightly for opening, closing and sponsor parties, combining the internet,  alcohol, and live music into dancefloor-inevitable evenings.

November 2011, 2010, 2008, 2007  ///  Hammerstein Ballroom  ///  NYC

Keep A Child Alive hosts a star-studded, one-night-only concert gala experience to raise funds to battle children's AIDS in Africa. Hosted by the vivacious Alicia Keys, the concert attracts a host of diverse and influential musicians including Bono, Jay Z, Adele and David Bowie. The theme and corresponding decor evolve yearly, including 'Buy Life', 'Dreams', and 'Discover India', but the message remains the same: With your help, we can save lives.

November 2010  ///  Skylight SoHo  ///  NYC

Launching their fashion-purchase-aggregator website Boutiques.com (RIP), Google held a party for industry leaders and fashion bloggers to immerse guests in the different fashion themes of the site: Boho, Romantic, Classic, Edgy, Casual, and Street. Each theme was expressed through lounge decor, speciality cocktails and hors d'oeuvres , and activities including tarot card readers and laser graffiti.

Models were lined up long the main hallway as living mannequins, showcasing fashion looks by on-site designers, who would restyle their models several times throughout the evening. The dancefloor and DJ booth were encircled by VIP banquettes, providing the fashionable celebrity guests an area to relax and socialize throughout the festivities.

March 2011
82 Mercer  ///  NYC
Roosevelt Hotel  ///  LA
Girl & the Goat  ///  CHI

2011 saw the Upfront market shift again with the first-ever, multi-city Upfront event. Connecting events in NYC, LA and Chicago live, each event featured interviews with cast members and Bravolebrities, that were interspersed with commercial breaks during the national broadcast of the Top Chef season finale.

The flagship event, in NYC, took over SoHo's multi-room 82 Mercer space, dividing the floor into a press walk, a lounge, and a dining room. The lounge featured Passion Point color-blocked clusters, complemented by illuminated divider walls with Bravo graphics and icons, while the dining room hosted columns of communal tables, designed in the Top Chef style guide of bold orange and silver. After dinner, guests were entertained by a live taping of Andy Cohen's 'Watch What Happens Live!', shot on an intimate set directly in front of the seated guests.

In Los Angeles, Bravo took over the historic Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. Here Housewives from 'Orange County' and 'Beverly Hills' joined ad buyers and executives for a dinner in the acclaimed Public Kitchen. After the finale, guests were invited upstairs for bowling and libations at The Spare Room, where the venues lightbulbs had all been swapped for bulbs in saturatred Bravo colors.

Chicago's event, the smallest of the 3 markets, was hosted at previous Top Chef winner, Stepanie Izard's restaurant, Girl & the Goat. A small viewing party attending, including the full cast of 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta', and were treated to a dinner prepared by Izard.

September 2011  ///  New York Public Library  ///  NYC

Every year, after his remarks at the United Nations, President Obama invites the UN General Assembly to a reception for brief remarks and photo opp. In 2011, the New York Public Library hosted the evening, welcoming guests to light fare in the Celeste Bartos Forum and an intimate speech in Astor Hall.

September 2012  ///  Cedar Lake  ///  NYC

At an intimate 'Unlock Your Beauty' press event, L'Oreal showcased their new Advanced Haircare line by creating a series of 'vaults' representing each of the 5 new products.

Each vault's curtain revealed a conceptually stylized space featuring live models performing short 2-3min routines. Each performance was evocative of a hair care product, where a model lifting dumbbells and anvils with her hair was staged for the 'strengthening' product and a suspended aerialist swam in a giant fish tank was representative of the 'hydrating' product.

After the 5 mini-performances, brief remarks from L'Oreal executives were followed by the reveal of the actual product. Guest were then invited to deep-dive with the product specialists and consult famed hair technicians on specific hair problems and L'Oreal solutions.

March 2012  ///  Manhattan, NYC

A small fleet of Bravo taxi cabs dispersed throughout NYC to promote Jeff Lewis' newest show 'Interior Therapy.' Offering free rides to New Yorkers and tourists, each cab was designed in one of five themes: Bohemian, 60s Mod, Glam, Ski Lodge, and Moroccan.

Customizing the all-too-small interiors of the Ford Escape was a challenge, but we worked to find creative ways to install door-to-door decor while keeping the cabs street legal. With hanging lights, real stone work, tin ceilings and leather seats, each cab was transformed into an interior space, stripping away as many vehicular touchstones as possible. For the exteriors, the cabs were wrapped in vinyl clings in thematic, eye-catching patterns, complete with tune-in information and a "This Ride is Free" light on top.

May 2011  ///  American Museum of Natural History  ///  NYC

For their 2011 Upfront, Telemundo wanted to go wider than cultural; larger than national; bigger than global. They wanted to go universal. With this astral theme in mind, the American Museum of Natural History was a natural fit for the host venue.

Indoctrinating guests to the theme, the save the date was a digital countdown clock widget that attendees could install on their Facebook pages while the invitation was a futuristic boarding pass for the Telemundo shuttle departure. Upon arrival, guests were greeted by space-suited staff, locating their reservations on ipads and distributing customized name tags. Once inside the theater, guests saw the countdown clock expire and the massive IMAX screen explode into with a wormhole of color and a light, only to arrive at planet Telemundo.

After the program, guests traversed and LED-lit, tension-fabric tunnel which functioned both as decor and roomshield for off-theme egyptian artifacts. At tunnel's end, ad-buyers and reps emerged into the Cullman Hall of the Universe, which was accented with bars, foodstations, lounge seating, infinity-mirror-topped cafe tables, a small stage, and a DJ platform.

November 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008  ///  Cipriani Wall Street  ///  NYC

Hosted annually by the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the Gotham Awards kick-off the Hollywood awards season with New York's perspective on Best of's and Talent to Watch.

Ironically (for an organization built on Indie film) held at Cipriani Wall Street, the Gothams attract a passionate crowd of producers, actors, directors, screenwriters, and film companies. Hosted by a changing guard of comedians and actors, the awards focus on rewarding new talent, from star-bound actors to household-name-next-year directors.

October 2010  ///  Lavo  ///  NYC

While Oxygen's 'Running Russell Simmons' only lasted 6 episodes, those fortunate enough to attend the show's kick-off party left with memories of hip hop history.

Taking over the NYC hotspot LAVO, we worked to bring in aspects of both Russell's style and Oxygen's style guide, including a argyle-printed green carpet and Oxygen 'O' bubbles projected on the sidewalk and surrounding the entry stairs. Complementing the decor-heavy club, were green shadowboxes with live dancers, LED animations surrounding plasma screen content, a custom painting of Russell, and a live twitter stream from guests in the party.

For the entertainment, DJ Cassidy spun Dej Jam hits and welcomed Run DMC's Rev Run and Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa's to stage for crowd-rocking MC sets.

December 2007  ///  Empire State Building, Bryant Park  ///  NYC

The Simpsons took New York City by storm in conjunction with the DVD release of their first-in-20-years feature film. The center of the action was at Bryant Park, where the ice skating rink was Simpson-ized with branded placards, a wash of yellow lights over the ice, and an hourly 'Simpsons on Ice' performance complete with a choir singing Simpson carols. As guests were treated to free skating, courtesy of 20th Century Fox, the Bryant Park Christmas tree was adorned with pink donuts and topped with an inflatable Spiderpig.

Completing the NYC takeover, the Empire State Building hosted a Lighting Ceremony where Homer Simpson pulled the switch to bathe the iconic building in yellow light. (Strangely enough, this was the first time the ESB had ever changed its lighting for a private company, which now has become quite commonplace) The ESB also hosted a small party on a horizon-viewing floor, adorned with donut-shaped mylar balloons, where Fox execs networked and cut Simpsons cake.

May 2011, 2010  ///  Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center  ///  NYC

Each year the Film Society of Lincoln Center honors an established film actor or director with the Chaplin Award. The gala features a brief cocktail reception, seated dinner, theater program, and after party. Recently, FSLC has honored Sidney Poitier and Michael Douglas with the prestigious award.

May 2012  /// Hammerstein Ballroom  ///  NYC
June 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007  ///  Cipriani Wall Street  ///  NYC

"The Oscars of the Internet" has grown from its San Francisco circa 1996 roots to being livestreamed globally every year from New York City.  The event celebrates everything digital, and to deal with the sheer volume of the awards, has become famous for the forced brevity of their '5 Word Acceptance Speeches.'

An amalgamation of social media, smartphone games, indie music, and quickly-expiring memes, the awards stay true to the independence and horizontal ubiquity of the internet, while attracting some esteemed or simply established celebrities in the process.

November 2010  ///  The Hospital Club  ///  London

Taking the success of IWNY across the pond, London was the first host for Internet Week Europe. A much smaller affair for its first foray, serving as a kick-off event rather than an HQ, IWE was held at Covent Garden's Hospital Club. The basement TV Studio was set for a livestreamed debate regarding the merits and impediments of paywalls. The Gallery was set for a pre-&-post cocktail reception, while the upstairs bar hosted the afterparty for sponsors and web entrepreneurs.

February 2011  ///  Stowe, VT

In conjunction with their 'Refreshment Duo' ad campaign, Labatt Blue Light hosted a weekend in Stowe for sweepstakes winners from all over the US and Canada. Taking over a rental property in the mountains, the house was modeled to be the "Refreshment HQ" where the spandex-clad duo relax while they're not distributing ice-cold Blue Lights. After a day of skiing, hiking, and snowmobiling, guests entered the home to find Labatt furnishings and refreshments a plenty. With live body painting, video confessionals, hot tubing, meet & greets with the Duo, and live music, guests had "the best weekend of my life," and plenty of Blue Light.

June 2011 ///  The Wynn & Encore Resort  ///  Las Vegas

“Karaoke. Strippers. No Regrets.” Seriously. That was the ask.

For her 50th Birthday celebration, our client wanted to immerse her friends in her favorite things, and Las Vegas is the perfect place to find all three.

With a guest list arriving on private jets, we worked to ensure that all aspects of the weekend would be streamlined and simplified, including custom resort maps, daily activities menus, and surprise photo albums from the weekend snuck under hotel room doors on the last morning in town.

In addition to an intimate dinner at Lakeside and VIP table at the XS nightclub, the main event was a 2am affair with dinner, dancing, cover band concert, and the requisite cigar and whiskey bar. Among the tufted banquets and feather-touched florals, activity side rooms included karaoke, airbrush tattoos, and strip tease lounge.

May 2012  ///  Openhouse Gallery  ///  NYC

Celebrating their 140th Anniversary, Shiseido cosmetics staged a 5-day event at the Openhouse Gallery, which was repeatedly repurposed to suit dinners, product showcases, and cocktail parties.  Wrapping the main space was a series of timeline placards depicting the history of Shiseido, with museum cases housing particular beauty products from Shiseido's archives. The room also housed a cherry blossom tree, marrying the decors pink palate with the theme of Springtime in Japan. By the entry area, a large 'Wishing Wall' was constructed, adorned with hanging Ema, the traditional Japanese wooden plaques.