Partnership to Launch the WIRED + Marriott Culturazzi Series.
WIRED and Marriott Hotels & Resorts, signature brand of Marriott International (NYSE:MAR), today announced a partnership to launch the WIRED + Marriott Culturazzi Series. Kicking off with a Marriott Meetup: Five Startups to Watch event at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf on September 19, WIRED Insiders ? startup executives, digital game changers, gadget gurus, culture vultures, and adventurers ? will curate four events hosted exclusively at U.S. Marriott properties through December.
?As we transform our lobbies and public spaces, they are buzzing with younger travelers connected to their digital worlds, blending work and play,? said Paul Cahill, senior vice president of brand management of Marriott Hotels & Resorts. ?Together with WIRED, we will bring provocative and stimulating experiences to our hotel guests and the local community amplified on their social networks and on our Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as by Marriott Hotels & Resorts? cadre of social media influencers.?
This fresh and inventive partnership builds on Marriott Hotels & Resorts heritage as an innovative hospitality leader and of brilliantly hosted experiences, and WIRED?s role as the authority on how ideas and innovation are changing the world. In addition to live events, custom Marriott Hotel & Resorts print ads debuted in WIRED?s September issue, accompanied by online creative, tablet integration and social media support. Each ad reflects the depth of Marriott Hotels & Resorts? more than 500 hotels worldwide, offering both business and leisure travel experiences.
?WIRED is at the epicenter of how technology influences the way we live, work and play,? said Howard Mittman, publisher and vice president, WIRED. ?We are thrilled to leverage WIRED?s creativity and expertise to develop a captivating program that reaffirms Marriott?s position as a breakaway leader in hospitality, expertly blending high-tech services with high-touch experiences to meet today?s evolving customer needs in a meaningful way.?
The monthly WIRED + Marriott Culturazzi series lineup includes the Humor Me Comedy Showcase in October and an evening of arts, music and tech at Art Beats in November. The event series will culminate at the WIRED Store in New York City in December, featuring the coolest holiday gadgets and gear, where Marriott will present an exciting interactive display and VIP event. The events, held in the hotels? public spaces, will inform, entertain and inspire hotel guests and the local communities; they will also bring together the hotel event experience with the digital social sphere via live tweeting, Facebook posts, Instagram photos, blogging and Web video.
Events to date include:
Marriott MeetUp: Boston Long Wharf, September 19, 2012
A celebration of American ingenuity and entrepreneurship led by WIRED Insider?s Smarter Upstarter and reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian. The night will recognize ?Five Startups to Watch? from the Boston community that bring innovation to the area?s startup scene. As well, Kiva Systems will be honored with the ?Chief Disruptor? Award for its great success and continued growth.
Humor Me Comedy Showcase: Marina Del Rey, CA, October 24, 2012
An uproarious evening on the hotel rooftop. The Humor Me Comedy Showcase will feature emerging and established comedians presented by popular comedy video website Funny or Die.
Additional details will soon be announced for upcoming Culturazzi events. Join Marriott Hotels & Resorts? rapidly growing Facebook and Twitter communities or follow WIRED Insider for a front row seat to all the action. For more information, please visit: TK
Marriott Hotels & Resorts has been reimagining the guest experience, transforming lobbies and public spaces by designing them for a new generation of business travelers who blend work and play, demand style and substance and desire high tech and high touch. Working with its partners IDEO and Steelcase, Marriott is introducing new concepts, such as purpose-built spaces for smaller collaborative meetings, designed for the way Gen X and Gen Y work today. As the industry leader in hosting meetings of all sizes, Marriott is testing innovative technologies, such as applications and booking meetings on demand that will further differentiate the customer experience at its hotels.