Great Food, Stage Dancing, Bad Bar Service Highlight Tuesday Party Scene
Tuesday night’s social activities at ad:tech New york began with a trip to the Hilton Hotel Lobby Bar in search of What’sNextOnline’s B.L. Ochman but, instead, we ran into Gawker Media’s Nick Denton and Christopher Batty with whom we discussed the over-hyping of blogs and agreed they’re pretty much just a system that allows people to publish a website really easily. OK, there’s some other good communal consumer stuff about them too. We never found B.L. but we did check out the Bridges Bar which was packed as the exhibit hall had just closed and there weren’t many early parties except for the Industry Brainpower Awards and Soire, which we missed, and the WhenU Official ad:tech Wrap Up Party over at WhenU’s Penn Plaza offices.
WhenU put out a great spread with the best snacks of any party this week including delicious, gigantic shrimp. We ran into Tacoda CEO Dave Morgan for a brief chat and both marveled that Mr. “I’m a Web Copywriter” was there handing out business cards as he had to every booth on the exhibit hall over the course of two days.
read more...Monday Night ad:tech Party Scene Long, Busy, Fun, Loud
There were no less than seven parties, that we knew of, Monday night, the first night following the first day of ad:tech New York 2005 and we made it to six so we’ll do our best to sum up the evening’s activities for you if, for some unknown reason, you weren’t there to experience it all for yourself.
As is tradition, Tribal Fusion hosted its Grand Opening Reception in the Exhibit Hall following a very busy, very crowded day on the exhibit hall floor. There was Tribal Fusion-branded beer, various wines and finger food to enjoy along with the company of the eMarketer crew, Waisum Tam and David Murrow. While we’re sure the AC was doing its best to fight the body heat of 8,300 attendees, it wasn’t quite cutting it and we opted to head out of the Exhibit Hall and down to the Hilton Hotel’s Bridges bar for the Partner Weekly cocktail party.
This year, Partner Weekly made the event invite only and sealed off the usually very open Bridges bar and dressed up the entrance with red velvet curtains and a red carpet to, we assume, make us all feel important. The inside was transformed into a casual nightclub atmosphere with low lighting and candles. Since the food at this party was emanating from th same kitchen as Tribal Fusion’s we were less than thrilled at placing yet another ball of fried something into our mouth so we just ditched the food and headed to the bar. At this point the extended eMarketer crew was with us (pictured) along with Tia Fix from PrimaryAds and a discussion ensued about how busy this year’s show is and whether the industry is still trying to legitimize itself or if that has been achieved.
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A Smart Affair by Hitwise
Hitwise produced one of the most engaging Ad:Tech parties I’ve been to [due to Ad:Tech regulations, a derivation of the word “engagement” must be included in every post]. Held at the penthouse of the Dream Hotel, it was an intimate, well catered affair with music low enough that you could carry on a conversation. The hospitality by Lizzie Babarczy et al from Hitwise was unmatched. Cheers to an event well thrown.
read more...Exhibitors Rest After Arduous Set Up
Following the theme of today’s New York City Marathon, ad:tech hosted a party for its exhibitors giving them a selection of food and beverage alongside a racetrack adhered to the floor of on of the Hilton’s function rooms. Hot dogs, pizza, ice cream ans drinks were served.
Interestingly, to get to this off the beaten path function room, a trip through the exhibit hall and up an escalator was required revealing yet another exhibit hall space with about 30 more exhibitors. That, in addition to the number of exhibitors on the main floor brings this to an all time high for the show. We’re told upwards of 7,500 people will attend the show this week.
Invites Roll In For ad:tech New York Parties
As ad:tech New York, held at the Hilton New York November 7-9, approaches, the party invitations have begun to roll in. We thought we’d summarize the festivities here for you. First, there’s the usual “official” cocktail parties Monday following the first day of the online marketing conference. After the first full day of activity in the Exhibit Hall, Tribal Fusion will host its Grand Opening Reception from 6P - 7P in and around the Exhibit Hall. Wine, beer and finger food will be served. Also beginning at 6P but extending until 8P will be the Partner Weekly “Red Carpet Rendezvous,” an invite-only cocktail party held in the Hilton’s Bridges Bar. No doubt, other companies will be hosting various events in and around the area.
For late night fun Monday, Bluelithium will host its Day One Wrap Up Party at New York’s Glo beginning at 9P and extending until the wee hours of Tuesday. Coinciding with Bluelithium’s party will be the Real Results Party, held at Crobar, beginning at 9P and hosted by a slew of online ad companies. Both parties will have open bar from 9P to Midnight.
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