Super Bowl Insider: Maxim Throws All-VIP XLII Bash
It’s a high-security event, and everyone is a VIP. So when producing Maxim’s Super Bowl party, owner and producer of TK New York Tracy Kessler needed more than the typical security personnel and badges to make the event flow well.
“One thousand people crash this party a year,” said Kessler, so crowd control and security were very important as the hours ticked down to party-time.
The event was held in the brand new Stone Rose Lounge at the Fairmount Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Ariz., which opened just in time for Maxim’s Super Bowl appearance. To help limit public access, Kessler worked with the Princess staff to build a staircase down into the event space by removing railings on the second floor of the resort. Private access was also created on the ground floor to aid in crowd control from the red carpet.
As guests entered the event space, they had their picture taken in front of a green screen. Then, they continued forward through a tunnel of 48 Samsung flat-screen TVs that projected their image walking on the moon, in water, in fire or in a snowstorm. A strategically placed model helped keep everyone moving.
The event space flowed from the lounge to the pool area, and a stage was constructed over top of the pool with three catwalks leading onto it.
Room Service provided the white couches and box chairs scattered throughout the space. Heat lamps dotted the pool area in the hopes of keeping every manicured finger warm.
A secured celebrity seating area was gated off for A-list celebs within easy view of the more public spaces.
“We couldn’t call it a VIP lounge, because everyone there is a VIP,” said Kessler. Typically, A-listers are whisked away at events to a completely separate space and attendees only catch glimpses of them. Kessler wanted attendees to be able to see the stars without bothering them, so at Maxim’s bash, any attendee could sit 15 feet from Diddy, Ryan Seacrest, Cindy Crawford, Adrian Grenier and other celebs with nothing separating them but the water in the pool.
Set alongside the pool, cabanas were adorned with pillows monogrammed with the names of event sponsors Samsung, Patron, Under Armour and Perry Ellis.
Instead of passing out grab bags as mementos of the evening, Kessler had something very special for all attendees. Everyone was given a scratch card with a prize level on it. Once the prize level was revealed, guests could choose from a variety of products within that level. Prizes included everything from purses and golf bags to talking pens and T-shirts, but guests were able to choose what would suit their individual tastes.
Custom Maxim-branded T-shirts were another takeaway — guests could choose from six different slogans such as “Blondes vs. Brunettes,” “Lights on vs. Lights off,” and “New York vs. New England.”
“I really enjoy this,” said Kessler, who has led her company in producing some very high-profile events throughout the short three years since its inception. “I love the creative process and that creating events is project-based. It’s so hard and so crazy, but you get to see it come to fruition in the end.”