Posted by Keith Green on Thu, Aug 05, 2010
Synergy's New VP of Brand Experience, Tim Heath
Tim Heath has been named to the newly created position of Vice President of Brand Experience, announced Synergy Events president Peter Hurley today.
Heath will be responsible for working with current brand clients and cultivating new brand business relationships for Synergy, a nationally recognized leader in event marketing. He will be part of the company’s senior management team and will direct the brand-side communication process, as well as generate concepts, budgets and proposals for events.
“I am extremely pleased that Tim is part of the Synergy Events family,” Hurley said. “His event marketing background and experience working with top brands are the perfect combination to be a leader on our senior management team.”
Heath has more than 25 years experience working in high profile marketing and account development positions for Sports Systems, New York Junior Tennis League, Jack Morton and IMG. His most recent position was president of English Sportswear. Throughout his career, he has worked with the Canadian Football League, CA Technologies, Merrill Lynch, Nokia and Toyota, among many others.
“It is a privilege to join forces with an agency that is held in the highest regard, and possesses exceptional personnel, creativity and operational excellence,” Heath said. “I am excited to bring my brand communications experience to Synergy Events, and look forward to growing together with the team.”
Heath, 49, is a graduate of Boston University, where he received his B.A. in Sociology. A life-long tennis enthusiast and advocate for the sport, he is the volunteer president of the United States Eastern Tennis Association. Heath also holds a USTA Adult League National title and was ranked #1 in the 2008 USTA Eastern section in the 45 & over doubles division.
He resides in New York City with his wife, Cathy and their 14 year-old daughter, Sara.
Synergy Events is an independent full service event marketing agency that has executed more than 10,000 events in 150+ markets on behalf of global consumer brands, dozens of Fortune 100 companies, sports sanctioning bodies and top PR firms. The company's core capabilities include mobile marketing tours, PR events, PR stunts, product launches and sponsorship activation platforms.
Synergy's home office is located strategically in Ocean, NJ, just 50 miles from New York City and within 200 miles of four of the top eight media markets. The company, which celebrated its 18th anniversary last month, was recently named a Top 100 event marketing agency for the third consecutive year by Event Marketer magazine.
Posted by Keith Green on Mon, Jul 26, 2010
Synergy Events has teamed up with adidas for a traveling experience surrounding the 10th anniversary and 6th edition of the popular Barricade tennis shoe. Synergy custom-built two kiosks featuring 36" tennis balls to grab fans' attention at three ATP tournaments this summer.
Once fans enter their personal information (and USTA rating, if applicable) they vote on their favorite edition of the Barricade. After their vote is recorded, consumers are automatically entered into a drawing to win the Grand Prize of a day's training with tennis star Andy Murray in Miami. First place winners will receive the opportunity to design their own Barricade, while second prize winners will receive the latest in Barricade technology-the all new adidas Barricade 6. Before they complete their entry, consumers can share the link with friends through email or social media. Fans who aren't on site at the three tournaments listed below can enter by visiting the adidas Barricade 10th anniversary micro-site.
In addition the Atlanta Tennis Championships this past weekend, fans can visit the kiosks at the Farmers Classic at the LA Tennis Center-UCLA on July 26-August 1 and Western & Southern Financial Group Masters at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati on August 13-19 .
The traveling experience will culminate with an event at the adidas Sports Performance store at 610 Broadway in New York City. That event will take place on Friday, August 27, the day before Arthur Ashe Kids' Day kicks off the 2010 US Open.
Posted by Keith Green on Tue, Jul 20, 2010
As always, thanks for continuing to check out what is new with Synergy Events by visiting our website and reading our blog. I wanted to share some great news we received recently about the company being named to Event Marketer's annual list of top agencies for the third straight year! Here's the press release, along with a photo from one of our cool 2009 events where we built a lounge on top of the Madison Square Garden Marquee.
Synergy Events, an independent event marketing agency located in Ocean, NJ, has been named a Top 100 agency by Event Marketer magazine for the third consecutive year.
The company specializes in mobile marketing tours, product launches, PR events, PR stunts, and sponsorship activation platforms. Synergy executes these types of events for its sports and consumer-based client partners, including Fortune 100 companies, global consumer brands, sports sanctioning bodies and top PR firms.
According to the Top 100 Agencies issue that hit the newsstands in late June, the editorial team at Event Marketer sought to find the event marketing agencies that have “an ability to scale up or down, reinvent themselves to better serve their clients and the market and produce more intimate and highly targeted programs that leverage every type of media and technology.”
“I am extremely proud of our team for receiving this recognition for the third year in a row,” said Peter Hurley, president and founder of Synergy Events. “The economic conditions last year posed a big challenge for many companies in the event marketing industry. To thrive and be recognized for our 2009 work is a tremendous honor. We are grateful to our clients who continue to rely on Synergy to plan and execute creative events that generate media interest and reach their target audience.”
In 2009, Synergy implemented sports-themed experiential platforms surrounding the Super Bowl, Daytona 500, NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, U.S. Open Golf Championship, Little League World Series, Wimbledon and US Open Tennis Championship. The company also executed the got milk? Milk Mustache Mobile Tour for the 11th straight year.
In early July, Synergy Events celebrated its 18th anniversary.
Posted by Keith Green on Fri, Jul 09, 2010
What's it like to see some of the coolest and creative event marketing programs and advertising campaigns from around the world? Synergy Events' Executive Vice President Stan Phelps recently returned from the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, which he called "an experience of a lifetime."
Stan won a trip to the festival and the opportunity to participate in a seminar with some of the world’s leading brand marketers by submitting his concept of Marketing Lagniappe (www.purplegoldfish.com) to contest organizers. Stan's done some great work on his Purple Goldfish project, a personal mission to find how brands and companies around the world are giving "a little something extra" to enhance a customer's experience and retain business.
The contest was sponsored by Bridge Worldwide and featured marketing thought leaders Bob Gilbreath and Jim Stengel. The idea behind the seminar, which included participation from marketing executives at Kraft Foods, AT&T, PepsiCo, Levi’s, IBM, P&G, Samsung and Luxottica, was to gather business and marketing visionaries to share their perspective on where the industry must shift.
Phelps said "it was amazing to connect with some of the world's most creative and leading marketers and see where the industry is headed. The trip gave me some ideas about what we can do to enhance our clients' needs at Synergy and new technology we can utilize for our events. I was also excited that so many people shared my enthusiasm for my Marketing Lagniappe concept.”
The 57th annual festival was held from June 20-26 and attracted 8,500 delegates from 90 countries for seven days of exhibitions, screenings, seminars and classes, all presented by renowned worldwide industry leaders. In addition, the festival is the most prestigious international annual advertising awards, as more than 22,500 entries from all over the world were showcased and judged at the festival.
Posted by Keith Green on Wed, Jul 07, 2010
This timelapse video shows how Synergy Events built a 30-foot M&M'S® on June 2 in New York City's Herald Square.
This was one of my favorite events in recent memory for a number of reasons:
-
Even in New York City where experiential events like this are much more common, a 30-foot M&M'S® still "wowed" consumers.
-
The M&M'S® brand is iconic and the structure alone, which doubled as a concert venue, drew a big crowd. As the show was set to begin, the M&M'S® opened at its equator to reveal a stage.
-
Star Power: the top 10 finalists from this season's American Idol performed a free concert on that stage.... inside the M&M'S®!
-
Surprise and Delight: not only did consumers get to take in a free concert, they received free packages of the new M&M'S® Pretzel Chocolate Candies (they are awesome, by the way!).
-
A special thanks goes out to our group of terrific, enthusiastic brand ambassadors who distributed the candies around Herald Square for the event.
-
Experiential events can be fairly simple or extremely complicated. This structure required engineering certification and time to carefully plan and execute. Kudos to our operations team for a job well done!
Posted by Keith Green on Tue, Jun 08, 2010
Yesterday at Times Square in New York City, Synergy Events partnered with the USTA for a fun experiential event to promote the first day of ticket sales for the US Open.
From 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., fans participated in tennis-themed skills contests on a mini US Open court that Synergy Events built for the day. Fans also had the opportunity to have their picture taken with the US Open trophy, meet Patrick McEnroe and buy tournament tickets and merchandise.
Good Morning America covered the event, as anchor JuJu Chang hit balls with McEnroe to promote the first day of ticket sales and encourage fans to stop by and participate. Fans lined up as early as 7:30 a.m. on a perfect day to play tennis.
Fans who missed out on the event and did not purchase US Open tickets on the first day of sales can visit www.usopen.org.
The event kicked off what will be a busy activation season for the tournament. Typically, many companies hold events throughout the summer to promote their brand and the tournament, which this year runs from Monday, August 30 to Sunday, September 12.
Posted by Keith Green on Thu, Jun 03, 2010
The US Open will take over Times Square in New York City on Monday, June 7, to launch the first day of the 2010 US Open Ticket On-Sale and celebrate the US Open which will be played in Flushing, N.Y., Monday, August 30 through Sunday, September 12.
Synergy Events is partnering with the USTA for the "US Open Takes Times Square" event that will run from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. The day will feature a wide range of free US Open and tennis activities for people of all ages and skill levels.
"We're thrilled to bring a bit of the US Open from Flushing to the heart of Manhattan," said Harlan Stone, Chief Business & Marketing Officer, USTA. "All sports fans appreciate the world-class tennis, the competition, and the entertainment that the US Open brings each year. By taking over Times Square, we will give everyone a taste of all that our event has to offer and give New Yorkers the opportunity to experience the US Open in a whole new way."
Kiosks also will be available on site for fans to purchase tickets to the day and night sessions of the 2010 US Open, as well as for Arthur Ashe Kids' Day. Fans also can register at the kiosks to win a pair of tickets to the 2010 US Open. One pair will be given out each hour during the event.
"US Open Takes Times Square" will feature a skills and target competition on a miniature US Open style tennis court constructed in Times Square, with participants competing for free US Open tickets, merchandise, and other prizes. Fans can have their photo taken with the US Open trophy and in front of the US Open player wall, featuring life-sized stills of the US Open's biggest stars.
Additionally, Patrick McEnroe, U.S. Davis Cup Captain and General Manager of USTA Player Development, will be present at noon to sign advance copies of his new book, Hardcourt Confidential: Tales from Twenty Years in the Pro Tennis Trenches, which goes on sale June 8.
The 2010 US Open will be held from Monday, August 30 through Sunday, September 12 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Arthur Ashe Kids' Day presented by Hess, a full-day tennis and music festival for children and families, will kick off the US Open for the 15th consecutive year and will take place on Saturday, August 28. Tickets for the 2010 US Open and Arthur Ashe Kids' Day can be purchased:
- at www.USOpen.org
- by calling Ticketmaster at 1-866-OPEN-TIX
- at all Ticketmaster outlets
- at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center box office
In addition, Synergy Events will partner with the USTA for the second consecutive year to present SmashZone, the premier fan interactive in tennis. The 20,000 square-foot experience will be open every day of the tournament starting on Arthur Ashe Kids' Day. SmashZone will feature a wide variety of free tennis-themed activities and games for people of all ages at the Indoor Training Center.
Posted by Keith Green on Wed, May 26, 2010
Yesterday, the NFL announced that New York-New Jersey (New Jersey, actually) will host the 2014 Super Bowl. The landmark deal created quite a buzz in the Synergy Events' hallways yesterday, since our office is less than 50 miles from the new Giants/Jets stadium in East Rutherford.
Naturally, this decision has sparked debate around the country, as the Giants and Jets will co-host the first Super Bowl in a cold weather environment. Fans will encounter a whole new form of experiential marketing, as cold weather may not only affect the big game, but the fans' experience at and away from the stadium. Clearly, New York City will be the centerpiece of the off-the-field activities, as the NFL's official partners might spend to activate their sponsorships unlike any other Super Bowl in history. Monitoring the guerrilla marketing, which undoubtedly will be spread throughout Manhattan, will be a huge challenge for the marketing team at NFL Headquarters.
The debate about having the Super Bowl in a cold weather environment was interesting to monitor on TV, talk radio and the internet yesterday. I don't buy the theory-supported by former NFL player Mike Golic of ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" that the weather shouldn't play a factor in the Super Bowl. Well, before the NFL title game was called the Super Bowl, the game was often played in the cold. Regular season and playoff games are obviously still played in the cold. And weather conditions-and not just cold and snow- certainly have been a factor in previous Super Bowls, including the driving rainstorm that marred Super Bowl XLI.
Another weather-related argument is that potential conditions could give a cold-weather team an advantage. Did anybody complain when the Rams and the "Greatest Show on Turf" won an indoor Super Bowl? Clearly, the Rams had an advantage playing that game indoors. Does anybody complain if a cold weather team plays in a Super Bowl against a warm-weather team in a warm climate like Miami or San Diego? These type of perceived "advantages" have taken place at other Super Bowls, just in a different form. And yet nobody has complained.
I also heard Sal Paolantonio from ESPN yesterday mention that it really won't be a "New York" Super Bowl since the teams will stay and practice in New Jersey. It seemed Sal wasn't too happy about that, since it seems most of his media brethren will probably stay near the sports complex and away from the bright lights of Manhattan so they can cover the teams easily.
I don't think anybody is pretending that this will be an all-New Jersey Super Bowl, as evidenced by the winning "New York-New Jersey" bid and the photo opp in Manhattan yesterday with New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck and New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis. (Photo: New York Post).
From the players' perspective, I heard a couple of different points of view yesterday. Tuck told WFAN in New York that the game "could be played on Mars" and most players wouldn't care. (I thought Tuck did an very nice job talking about how the game is great for New York-New Jersey. Kudos to the Giants and/or NFL PR staff). On the opposite end, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs was worried that the experience wouldn't be great since the game is "primarily for the fans" and shouldn't be played "in 20 below weather." Actually, he's wrong on both counts, especially if he's talking about hard-core fans. It's well-known that the Super Bowl crowd is more corporate, but if hard-core fans get to see their favorite team in the Super Bowl, do you think they will care how cold it is? I know I wouldn't. (And it most certainly won't be "20 below" as Suggs said. (The average high temperature for that time of year in New Jersey
From Synergy's standpoint, we're very excited that Super Bowl XLVIII will happen in our backyard. We've worked with dozens of partners over the years to activate their sponsorships at the Super Bowl, Olympics, World Cup, Daytona 500, NCAA men's Final 4, Breeders Cup and US Open, among many other high-profile sports events. Whether or not those experiential activations take place in New Jersey or in New York City, we are looking forward to partnering with brands as the Super Bowl comes to our home state!
Posted by Keith Green on Wed, May 19, 2010
We're excited to have two new employees in the fold, as Bobby Stern and Justin Theno recently joined our growing team here at Synergy Events.
Bobby is our new Account Coordinator. He has already proved to be a great asset to our clients as we continue to plan and execute experiential marketing events nationwide. He's jumped in with both feet on our got milk? Milk Mustache Mobile Tour, and will assist with other in-market promotions and events. Bobby is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he received a B.S. Business Management, Entrepreneurial Studies and played catcher on the baseball team.
Justin is our new Graphic Designer. Like Bobby, he's a New Jersey guy, having graduated from nearby Monmouth University with a B.A. in Fine Arts. Justin has already put together some crisp 3-D renders for our clients and potential clients. Graphic Design is such an integral part of helping our clients visualize what their mobile marketing tour, PR event, product launch or sponsorship activation program will look like, so we're excited to have Justin at Synergy Events to head up those efforts.
Welcome, guys! We're thrilled you're both here and look forward to a great 2010 and beyond!
Posted by Keith Green on Thu, Apr 22, 2010
Over the past two years, I've had the opportunity to represent Synergy Events by speaking at public relations and marketing communications conferences and seminars about event marketing.
Along with my colleague Stan Phelps (above, left with me after speaking at Bizarre PR put on by the Drexel University PRSSA chapter earlier this month) I like to leave the attendees with some practical information for planning their next experiential event.
We've received some great feedback on the "Top 10 Event/Experiential Marketing Tips" portion of our presentations, so we thought we would share the list, which is below.
If you have questions, comments or would like to provide your own tips, please let us know!
Experiential Marketing Tips