Music Mondays: The Weeknd @ Lincoln Hall

Nothing says Thursday night like some dark R&B jams at Lincoln Hall, as was the case last week when I saw 2011 Internet sensation/2012 bonafide R&B artist, The Weeknd, perform his first Chicago show. If you do not know who The Weeknd is, he took the nerdy music collective of the Internet world by storm in 2011 with three excellent, dark and edgy mixtapes that helped bring R&B back into the national music consciousness. Shortly thereafter he went from being completely anonymous, to rarely photographed, to playing Coachella in 2012. Being a full-on Weeknd fan boy since his first mix tape House of Balloons dropped in March of 2011, saying I was excited for this show would be an understatement. Continue reading…

The Branding Police Prepare for London

Depending on who you talk to the 2012 Summer Games either present the greatest social media opportunity in the world, or the biggest social  media challenge in order to protect sponsor rights. John tackles this issue head on in his latest column for MediaPost.com, The Social Olympics:  The Effect on London 2012. If we are in a “new age of sharing and connecting,” does it make sense to put in place the  “most stringent restrictions ever put in place to protect sponsors’ brands and broadcasting rights?” Expect the debate to rage on as we get closer and closer to July.

Mixing and Matching at the Event Marketer Summit

Earlier this morning, rEvolution’s president presented with Travelers’ Director, Media and Sponsorships, at the 2012 Event Marketer Summit in Chicago. Video, Foursquare contests, umbrella giveaways, live tweeting – and that was just the presentation itself! John and Mike discussed how Travelers successfully expanded its golf sponsorship into new markets and sports through amplification, and by connecting sponsorship equities and consumer passions. Congrats to Amanda for checking in and taking home an iPod courtesy of Travelers.  More photos from today’s session after the jump.

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Music Mondays: Electric Guest at Schubas

It helps being the friend who’s a music nerd, specifically for situations when someone has an extra ticket. The timing for this one couldn’t have worked out much better. I had just picked up on the buzz about newcomers Electric Guest a couple weeks back, their debut was released last Tuesday and here I was, the following Friday standing before them at their first headlining show at Schubas. Continue reading…

rEvolution Short Film Takes On Mofest

Production assistants (PA) are pretty much the backbone of film production.  I don’t know how many of you have worked as a PA or fully understand the scope of what a PA does.  Well, for my first three or four years in the production world, I worked as a freelance PA in Chicago.  I would work for anyone that called me.  Most of the time, the jobs are pretty demeaning: setting up tables, telling people where they can’t walk, and throwing out garbage.

My lowest point came when I had to stand in O’Hare airport to pick up the producer, holding a sign that read, “Tool of North America.”

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Marquette University – Speaker Series

On Thursday, April 26, rEvolution president John Rowady will be speaking at Marquette University as part of its Sports Marketing Speaker Series lead by professor Joseph Terrian. John will be speaking on the role of agencies in sports marketing, in particular focusing on the role technology has played on the industry.  Previous speakers in the series have included Dick Enberg, CBS broadcaster, David Preschlack, Executive Vice President, Disney & ESPN Media Networks Group, and Craig Benzel, Director of Marketing and Corporate Sales, Green Bay Packers.  If you’re in Chicago, John will also be speaking at the Event Marketer Summit on May 2, with Mike McCullough, Director-Media and Sponsorships, Travelers.

Mofest Chicago This Weekend

Our Art Director, Peter Wiese, is bringing some work from rEvolution with him this weekend to Mofest. The seventh annual Chicago film festival kicks off this Saturday and continues on Sunday.

Appearing at the show is Continue reading…

Music Mondays: Fang Island at the Beat Kitchen

For a band who describes their sound as “everyone high-fiving everyone,” you know you’re in for a good time at a Fang Island show. On Friday night at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago, the Brooklyn-based group who is doing a short April tour in advance of a new record out in July, did not disappoint. Playing a mix of favorites from their self-titled album (2010), in addition to some new songs, the bands infectious energy always rubs off on the crowd and is a welcome respite from bands that take themselves too seriously.  Catch them our tour now if you can, and enjoy the video for the single “Daisy,” after the jump. Continue reading…

ESPNU Warrior Classic – Saturday, April 14

For 2012, the third annual ESPNU Warrior Classic makes its first appearance in Charlotte, N.C. this Saturday. Ten-time national champion, Syracuse, faces off against BIG EAST rival Rutgers at 11 a.m. Following the conclusion of the game, at 1:30 p.m., ESPNU Warrior Classic veteran Hofstra takes on a local favorite and lacrosse powerhouse North Carolina. The rEvolution experiential crew will be there all day Saturday with the ESPNU Lacrosse Fan Fest. Stop by and hang out – better yet – step into the cage and put your lax skills to the test.

The Games to Get the Games

New Orleans just wrapped hosting the Men’s Final Four and is turning its sights toward hosting the Super Bowl in 2013.  Indianapolis is still getting rave reviews for hosting the Super Bowl in 2012, and then went on to host the Big Ten Tournament a month later. So why are these cities magnets for hosting major sporting events? Shouldn’t more cities want to compete for these opportunities? Kent tackles this topic head-on in his latest MediaPost column, The Games To Get The Games (our fingers are crossed for a cold weather Super Bowl in Chicago real soon).