PRE FASHION WEEK

One of the events, we recently produced was the PRE FASHION EVENT, which was a retail showcase, fashion show and after party featuring up and coming designers.

Some of the designers included: Cloak & Dagger, Caycee Black, and loyale for the show and Mixology NYC, Magnes Sisters, Diana Warner, Cri de Coeur and Hello Robertson at the showcase.

The sponsors were great and truly helped us offsett he cost of the event. Some of them included:
Models: Models International
Hair & Make-up: Aveda
Alcohol: Bulldog Gin, Spaten Lager and Vogelzang Wine
Nails: Priti
Venues: Openhouse Gallery & Delicatessen
Others: Popchips, Think Cofee & Izze Sparkling Juice

Check out some of the press and pictures from the event.
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=saluk+creative&init=quick#/pages/New-York-NY/Saluk-Creative/99521819177?ref=search&sid=503221394.2736088083..1

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TSooB_0t4g

FASHION WEEK PARTNERSHIPS

If any of you are actively or even peripherally in the fashion world, you are understand when we say this past week has been HECTIC. With 5-10 events every night, how in the world do any of these shows get the proper press coverage they deserve. Yet nonetheless, it is THE time for brands to get noticed and for fashion editors to whole heartedly pay attention to the industry and its trends.

While the designers, producers and editors organize and attend the events, sponsors become key to help them offset the costs and add a little something to the night.

And the sponsors can't complain, they are perfectly poised to get a key influencer demographic trying or experiencing their product during Fashion Week.

One sponsor who has truly blanketed fashion week is POP CHIPS. You are probably puzzled...chips in Fashion Week? But it makes perfect sense for this "pop"solutely stylish brand. They started on the West Coast (home of some of the most fanatical nutritionists) and have developed a STRONG following now on the EAST because it is low calorie and quite yummy.

This week we've seen them at almost every event, and every time people make a comment about how much they LOVE them. And even though everyone needs sponsors for an event, you want to have ones that "fit" with the event and that people will actually enjoy experiencing.

Partnering with Public Spaces for Events

Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York have taken much direction from Amsterdam, Paris and other European cities who have coveted outdoor park spaces for its city dwellers.

While in NYC the car-free areas in Times Square, Meatpacking, Madison Square Park and others are still in the development stages they are becoming increasingly attractive for event locations. It truly is a win-win partnership to open up these areas for promotions and events because it brings a revenue stream to the city to help offset the cost of maintaining these areas, and it gives the event planners a guaranteed audience and visibility for their promotions.

According to the NY Times, since May, the spaces have already been used 20 times for events. In order to use these spaces all an event planner has to do is work with the city departments that manage each of the open areas. So for instance, the stretch between Macy's and Herald Square Park, use 34th Street Partnership (they work with the Street Activity Permit Office and NY Police Department) to get all necessary permits.

Wedding Series Pop-Up Shop in Brooklyn during month of June

Real Estate is finding ways to generate lost revenue and what better way than hosting temporary pop-up shops. Plus it allows brands to minimize expense and generate buzz by creating limited time only pop-up stores.

303 Grand in Williamsburg is not new to partnering with brands and making new pop-up shops, but this month's pop-up series is all about weddings, courtesy of The Wedding Library and Martha Stewart Weddings.

Each week, The Wedding Library and local Brooklyn artisans cater to a different experience of wedding planning. The four-week itinerary culminates with weddings for up to ten couples at a small planning price of $500 including ceremony, champagne and cake! One lucky couple will win a free wedding package that includes all the necessary services and a Sandals Resort vacation worth over $20,000.

The pop-up found sponsors with Etsy, Ice Cream Social, stationer Dabney Lee, Paperfinger, Bestow, and Dashing Diva; to provide everything from calligraphy tips to accessories to manicures and pampering.

How to get there: Take the L train to Lorimer. Exit on Union & Metropolitan end. Walk four blocks West on Metropolitan to Havermeyer. Left on Havermeyer and down two blocks to Grand. Right on Grand and its just off the corner. For more details on upcoming events, visit 303 Grand.

(Brooklyn Pop-Up Wedding Series, 303 Grand Street, Williamsburg. For store hours, visit brooklynchapel.com and for more photos of the pop-up, check out Street Attack’s flickr album)

Real Estate Partnerships- Media Opportunities

One industry that has really taken a toll during these difficult economic times is real estate and not just private homes--commercial real estate has immensely suffered.

Even at Rubik we were looking to move offices and throughout our search for office spaces, we were provided deals left and right to sign now--even 3 months free at one venue. And while we love getting deals, you have to wonder how are they going to be able to be profitable or even just stay afloat over the next 6 months- year.

Just like other industries this is the perfect time to get creative and find new revenues streams. Some buildings are looking to use their assets as media and marketing opportunities namely billboards and pop-up stores.

BILLBOARDS
Billboards seem a little tacky for a building but not these examples. With the right partners and the right strategy your building can become an iconic symbol for marketing opportunities.

If you are thinking about selling the outside of your building here are some things to think about:

• Permits- depending on city laws your building might have certain restrictions as to WHAT can be advertised and how it can be advertised if at all on the sides of your building
• Production Partner- we all have our specialties and most likely you'll have to look to partner with a large format printer or projection specialist (i.e. FireFly LA) in order to fulfill the production needs of a media opportunity
• Advertising Focus- You could use your building as just a running billboard, or more strategically use it to secure exclusives with a certain theme-- this can bring greater PR exposure to the building which in turn can raise awareness and command a premium of the building
• Sales Strategy- Once you set your focus, your building will need to put together its own sales strategy and list of prospects to go after. You may even want to employ an agency like Rubik or a media selling company that specializes in this type of sales process. You still get the majority of the sale and you hire them on retainer plus commission.

POP-UP STORES
Pop-up stores have become a great way for brands to create buzz with an act now, limited time only opportunity for consumers. This temporary marketing tactics for brands and retailers can command a greater per month rate for the venue, but some there are some things to think about:

Reebok Example:

• Term & Rates- while you can command a greater per month rate, it takes a lot more time to try and fill the space month to month, when looking at the per month rate, take this extra time in consideration
• Category Targets- to generate positive PR and ensure that the venue is being used appropriately, the venue should consider what categories it wants to target, or more importantly what categories it wants to restrict
• Event Management Partner- while many brands will come in with their own event management team to execute the event, having a preferred event management team can help you find out where new leads lie (they tend to scout locations and if you are on the preferred list of these event management companies you will be one of the first to be selected) **consider offering them a referral commission deal to sweeten the partnership relationship and ensure more projects will come to your venue
• Sales Strategy- Partnering with event management agencies in and of themselves can be a strong sales strategy, however, also use relationships with brokers, local real estate listings and trade publications (i.e. BizBash) to ensure companies know they can partner with you for their next pop-up store
  

Licensing to USPS-- Stamps still going strong

I still feel that even with the advent of e-mail I get just as much hard mail in my mailbox as ever before. Granted most of it is junk and not personal notes and mail, but even still, it appears as though USPS is still going strong enough to forge excitable licensing agreements with its stamps.

Just recently the Simpsons was added to the likes of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and Star Wars and other not just notable but legendary icons in our history.

The partnership is targeted at collectors and included a vote that was cast by almost 1 MM consumers to vote on their favorite stamp (Maggie won!) on www.usps.com.

With the agreement coming from Twentieth Fox Merchandising and Licensing Department it shows the extension a brand can have across multiple areas. Now granted don't expect to get an Oreo stamp in circulation, but then again, if you can make the case maybe you could sell it in--there is always room for non-traditional.

Music Partnerships- Saving the Industry and Driving Emotion

Virgin stores have closed, studios have seen double digit declines and this whole idea of CD's is practically non-existent. But we all know that, the question is how do you fix it and how can music companies like Universal, EMI and Sony become profitable again?

The answer seems to lie in partnerships. The more opportunities to use music as a form of "licensing" in various verticals the more diversification will be in place to create new revenue streams. So where do you find these partnerships:

• CONSUMER PROMOTIONS- sell the "content" as the prize for consumer brands (exaple below)
• NEW MEDIA LICENSING- beyond selling songs for commercials, TV shows, etc, look to other media like gaming- virtual concerts have become huge for some artists like Natasha Bedingfeld and Soulja Boy on There.com
  
• NEW PRODUCT LICENSING- what do people buy to express themselves, show their love to others or entertain themselves? EMI recently partnered with Lottery Tickets, but what about Hallmark Cards, Board Games, etc.
• BONUS MICROTRANSACTIONS- when consumers buy a product online versus in stores, a reward could be a discounted music video, song, etc. as an option at check out.
  

The whole idea of partnerships for music should best be approached in quantity just as much as quality. Music is pretty cheap these days, and the more places music touches consumers the more likely they will consume it.

PARTNERSHIP EXAMPLE:
MySpace recently teamed up with vitaminwater with the launch of Sync. 24 MM bottles were shipped, where under the cap codes could be redeemed for a free MP3 download via MySpace through its partnership with Amazon. Vitaminwater is paying for the downloads and supporting the campaign with magazine, radio and in-store advertising featuring Carrie Underwood, Alicia Keys, and 50 Cent.Not only is MySpace seeing new revenue, but added traffic to its site. In fact the 24 MM bottles is more than the typical number of unique visitors to MySpace per month, which is currently at 20 MM.