The 50 Yard Lounge was a premier destination during Super Bowl week in NYC in 2014, fusing food, sports, music and culture. It featured over 80 renowned NYC chefs and restaurants, hosted the NY Jets hospitality venue, and attracted over 4,000 guests. It garnered over 1 billion media impressions and was featured in major publications. The lounge brought together food, sports and music in a unique way, setting the foundation for future events. It delivered an exceptional experience and strong branding platform, becoming a notable part of Super Bowl week.
2. The 50 Yard Lounge was…
•50 Yard Lounge became one of the premier 2014 Super Bowl VIP hospitality destination in NYC -fusing the football, culinary, music and corporate communities like never before.
•Featured more than 80 of the best chefs and restaurants in NYC throughout the week, ranging from Iron Chefs and Michelin rated restaurants, to the top Street Food Vendor and Pizza Joints.
•Home to the NY Jets Super Bowl hospitality venue, the “Jets House” during the week
•Via advertising and PR, 50 Yard Lounge garnered more than 1 BILLION impressions
•More than 4,000 guests throughout the week.
•Featured in publications such as the Associated Press, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Bloomberg TV, Fox News, The Daily Meal, ESPN.com and hundreds more.
•Top flight live music from rising stars such as CateyShaw, Larry Gee, Kate Davis, William B. Johnson and the Drumaticsand a special guest performance by Doug Flutie and the Flutie Brothers Band.
•A true embodiment of NYC, featuring NYC Chefs (food), NYC music and highlighting the characteristics which make this City one of the best in the world
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The 50 Yard Lounge set out to build an experience which brought together the food, sports and music worlds during SuperbowlWeek in a way that had never been done before. We accomplished our goals in spades and not only delivered on our promise, but built a foundation and blue print for years to come at Superbowlsand other major sporting events. Here are some of the highlights
3. Guest Experience / The Vibe
Unpretentious yet refined, casual but cool and embracing the essence of New York City, the vibe and energy of the 50 Yard Lounge was undeniably awesome and a place where everyone felt comfortable to let their hair down, grab a drink and truly embrace the Food, Football and Drink experience
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6. The Venue
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Located at the heart of Manhattan, directly across the street from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station (33rd& 8th), 50YL transformed Lugo Café, Local West and Lucys Cantina into a vibrant, energetic and classic NYC destination filled with greenery, lounge furniture, multiple bars and branded sponsors experiences across the multiple venues. We had up to 8 food stations placed throughout the venues where our restaurant and chefs were serving up their delicious bites while guests listened to the incredible live music or DJ from the 60’ stage at the front of the space. With about 15,000 square feet, 50YL provided ample space for guests to easily get a drink, grab some food and enjoy at their own pace.
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a GoProlook @ the 50 Yard Lounge 2014
look at 50 Yard Lounge Day 2 using GoPro
2014 50 Yard Lounge Set Up using GoPro
The Venue -Videos
9. •Jets House was the premiere destination for the extended Jets community during the week of Super Bowl XLVIII. It will provide access and value for those New Yorkers who will be on the outside of Super Bowl looking in.
•High energy, exclusive, electrifying atmosphere, reflective of the NYC vibe, bright & open layout, overlooking the streets of the city
•A “Home Base” for Jets partners, season ticket holders and fans during Super Bowl week
•Consisted of former and current Jets players, NFL legends, Flight Crew, celebrity Jets fans, radio & TV remotes, Jets web shows, interactive gaming, sponsor activations, live music, celebrity chefs
Jets House at 50 Yard Lounge
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10. The Food / Chefs
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Featuring more than 80 of the best Chefs/Restaurants in NYC throughout the week, 50YL truly embraced and shined a light on the NYC food scene. From Michelin Starred restaurants and James Beard Award winners to street food vendors and NYC’s best sandwiches, 50YL offered the best food experience of any Superbowlevent. Among others, these award winning Chefs included:
Michael White
Johnny Iuzzini
Marc Forgione
Bill Telepan
Pat LaFrieda
Mario Pagan
PhetSchwader
Brad Farmerie
George Mendes
Original Soupman
aka “Soup Nazi”
Elizabeth Karmel
Harold Moore
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The Food / Restaurants
Among many others, our restaurants included:
13. The Athletes
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Aiming to offer something different than your traditional meet & greet and chalk talk, 50YL brought together Hall of Fame Athletes and Chefs together, to make some food, carve some meat, talk some football and deliver a unique experience for our guests and partners.
Doug Fluiteand Johnny Iuzzini
Michael White and Cris Carter
Matt Light and Pat Lafreida
ESPN Radio’s Michael Kay
and Chefs from NYY Steak
Mary Giuliani and Nick Mangold
Mike Golic, Mike Greenberg and LiorSercarz
14. Joe Thiesmann and George St. Pierre
Doug Flutie on the Drums
KedricEllis and Celebrity Cruises Chef
The Athletes
Franklin Becker and Nick Mangold
15. The Music
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50YL Music focused on highlighting local bands who personify the NYC music scene. From singer songwriters to a bad ass street performer, the live music was a smash hit across the board. Top it all off, Doug Flutie and the Flutie Brothers band played an impromptu 45 minute set on Sat night to cap off an amazing week of live performances and DJ offerings.
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The Advertising
Through incredible media partnerships, 50YL implemented a seven figure advertising campaign with a mixture of Print, Digital, Social, Email Marketing and Radio advertising in the NYC and extended markets leading into the big game (New England, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, etc). In addition to traditional media, we curated content which reinforced the messaging and connection between food and sports.
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The Advertising –Full Page Print
USA Today
Time Out New York
The Daily News
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The Advertising –Radio and Video
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/newyork/play?id=10346116
Iron Chef Marc Forgione
http://www.thedailymeal.com/burger-melt-50-yard-lounge/1214
Spencer from Melt Shop
http://www.thedailymeal.com/deviled-eggs-50-yard-lounge/121913
Harold Moore from Commerce
ESPN Radio NY 98.7 with Michael Kay and Don Lagreca
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=10276108
Michael White
The Daily Meal
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The Advertising –Social
Social interactions:
-Daily trivia with Chefs and Athletes, giving away ticket discounts
-All Chefs and Athletes participated in social interaction, tweeting at least 3 times leading into events
-Tapped into Food & Sports social followings
22. The Press / Buzz
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Breaking in to the SB “party” scene was one of our biggest challenges, but the unique food/sports/music positioning proved to be a strong platform and allowed 50YL to continuously be mentioned as one of the premier destinations during SB week. With more than 1 BILLION PR impressions and highlighted stories in publications such as the WSJ, New York Times, ESPN.com, Crains, Sports Business Journal, Biz Bash, Bloomberg TV and hundreds more, 50YL clearly was one of the most talked about events leading into and during Superbowlweek.
23. Our Partners
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As part of the fabric of 50 Yard Lounge, we benefited from great partners who were able to leverage the platform to help achieve their objectives while truly becoming part of the events success.
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50 Yard Lounge Sponsor Video 2014
Sponsor Video
32. The Outcome
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•50 Yard lounge brought together the food, sports and music worlds in a way that has never been done before, delivering an exceptional guest experience and strong brand platform.
•50YL broke through the clutter and become one of the buzz worthy and notable events of Superbowlof the week, attracting more than 1 billion media impressions
•With strong brand participation and even stronger media attention, it is clear the combination of Food, Sports and Music are a viable, strong and desired platform.
•Poised for future growth and expansion of 50YL brand and platform, not only during Superbowls, but other major sporting events.