This past winter, Beck Media built a full-scale replica British pub at AutoMobility LA in Los Angeles and the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit to support the second season of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Grand Tour.”

At “The Grand Tour” Mayhem Hall Pub, team Beck offered attending media complimentary pints of beer, classic British bites like fish & chips and bangers & mash, photo booth opportunities and more.

The build of the pub was covered top-to-bottom in show memorabilia, British fanfare, and classic pub décor, and was full of Easter eggs for superfans of “The Grand Tour” and its rambunctious trio of hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

Mayhem Hall was a hit among attending press at both shows. The response was phenomenal, with more than 600 credentialed media visiting the pub across both events, garnering editorial and social media coverage and exceeding client KPIs. Attending outlets included Associated Press, Bloomberg, Car & Driver, Jalopnik, Los Angeles Times, Maxim, Road & Track, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal, to name only a few.

Below: a few snapshots of the fun. Cheers!

 

Beck Media conceived, sourced, and executed a previously untapped marketing opportunity at the Indianapolis 500 to promote Amazon Prime Video’s original documentary series Le Mans: Racing is Everything, which follows drivers from the famous 24-hour car race in France. 

Across the most highly attended days of the Indy 500, Beck Media won the hearts and minds of automotive press with our “Amazon Prime Video…Start Your Engines” activation. Credentialed media at the Indy 500 work for hours on end, and for weeks at a time. We amped up the hospitality in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Media Center with a combination of food, drinks, and surprise experiences like a mini spa room, live racing-themed LEGO builds, Amazon product giveaways, and more! During the event, we connected with more than 1000 attending media and received social coverage, editorial coverage, and numerous thank you notes. Needless to say, we were touched!

Johnsonville is a family-owned company in rural Wisconsin, a region not widely known for its rich Italian culture, and yet Johnsonville’s employees – who are known as members – have been making incredible Italian sausage since 1945. Johnsonville was looking for new ways to promote its product, and the result was Dinner is Served, an original digital series conceived and produced by Beck Media. 

Featuring Top Chef‘s lovable fan favorite and Italian restauranteur Fabio Viviani, Dinner is Served takes Johnsonville members on a culinary adventure—treating them to a delicious Italian spread, teaching some of Chef Fabio’s personal recipes, and more.

Dinner is Served was purpose built to be highly promotable via editorial media – a key performance indicator for Johnsonville. Beck Media created media mailer cooking kits featuring Johnsonville Italian sausage, placed the Dinner is Served recipes with numerous print and online publications, and filled press days with national and regional media resulting in coverage in several verticals, including entertainment (HARRY, USmagazine.com, In Touch, Closer), lifestyle (Parade.com, Esquire), food (The Daily Meal), and business (Business Insider, Ad Age’s Creativity).

Watch the full series at www.DinnerIsServed.tv.

Amazon wanted a big, attention-grabbing event to launch “The Grand Tour” — the new series from Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. They got it in the form of a global “car crash” stunt that simultaneously staged wrecked Toyota Priuses (Priii?) at iconic locales in Hollywood, London and Berlin.

Beck Media produced the stunt in partnership with Amazon, and the results were staggering: an instant, global, social and earned media curtain-raise alerting fans that Clarkson, Hammond and May were back and more outrageous than ever. Jalopnik, Road and Track, Autoblog and L.A.’s ABC 7 covered the stunt in the U.S., to name only a few.

Here’s a time lapse video of how the Hollywood “crash” came together:

On Friday, May 13^th, Beck Media and Shudder, the AMC-backed horror streaming service, celebrated one of the horror world’s most notorious holidays by hosting a streaming black kitten cam.

Beck Media produced a spooky live video stream of black and grey kittens and cats that racked up thousands of views, comments and shares. The kittens explored a witch’s lair, scampered over a Ouija board, chased laser pointers, and more.

The stunt generated editorial and social media coverage from TV Insider, Nerdist, Dread Central, PopSugar Pets, and many others.

Oh, and the best part?  Viewers were able to help the kittens find a forever home through Venice Beach Kitten Rescue.

It could be argued that there are two types of Valentine’s Day celebrators in the world: those who adorn themselves with heart shaped decorations, munch on chocolate shaped cupids, and romanticize about the perfect evening — and those who detest everything about it. This Valentine’s Day, Beck Media kept both of those camps in mind.

Beck Media worked with client Feeln, the SVOD service and subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, to bring streaming viewers an unforgettable Valentine’s Day experience. The finished product was “Your Perfect Valentine’s Date,“ which allowed viewers to stream a virtual “date” with the Italian supermodel and actor Fabio, known for his muscular figure, flowing hair, piercing blue eyes, dazzling smile, and his appearances on countless romance novel covers.

In the video, which was featured on NBC’s TODAY as well as numerous other news outlets, Fabio reclines before a roaring fire and murmurs thoughtful and supportive things….for 18 minutes.  Check it out a preview version of the video here:

 

Obama, Cooper push for media help in better vet portrayal

NEW YORK (AP) — The first lady and “American Sniper” star Bradley Cooper are backing a new challenge to TV and film producers and writers to accurately represent U.S. troops who have returned from war and move away from portraying them either as victims or infallible heroes.

Michelle Obama and Cooper joined a list of media heavyweights Friday in Washington, D.C., to launch the new “6 Certified” program with representatives from Warner Bros., National Geographic Channels and the Producers Guild of America on hand.

The initiative will allow TV shows and films to display an onscreen badge that tells viewers the show they’re watching has been certified by the group Got Your 6, which derives its name from military slang for “I’ve got your back.” To be approved, the film or show must cast a veteran, tell a veteran story, have a story written by a veteran or use veterans as resources.

Chris Marvin, managing director of Got Your 6 and a former U.S. Army officer and Blackhawk helicopter pilot, said their campaign isn’t hoping to show veterans in a good light but in an honest one.

“Most Americans tell us that they only see veterans portrayed as broken or as heroes who walk on water in film and television,” he said by phone. “We’re missing something in the middle. Veterans are everyday people.

“They’re your next door neighbor who helps you bring your garbage cans back when they blow away. They’re your kids’ fifth-grade math teacher. It’s the person running for city council,” he added. “You see them every day in your own life but you don’t see them on film or television.”

The Got Your 6 group was launched in 2012 to enlist Hollywood in the effort to discourage stereotypes and promote more accurate representation of the 2.6 million soldiers coming home over the past 10 years. Surveys have found that many Americans presume veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, are homeless or are addicted to drugs or alcohol.

The group has taken lessons from other successful efforts to change national viewpoints, including increasing gay rights, reducing teen pregnancies, encouraging colonoscopies, improving animal rights and reducing drunken driving. It has identified Hollywood as an engine of cultural change.

“This is more of a challenge than anything else. We’re challenging the entertainment industry — myself included — to live up to the responsibilities inherent in the powers we have and with the reach that we have,” said Charlie Ebersol, a producer and creator of the “6 Certified” program.

Ebersol said films like 1987’s “Full Metal Jacket” by Stanley Kubrick and Clint Eastwood’s new “American Sniper” would likely be eligible for certification because they portray veterans accurately, even if the soldiers in those films aren’t representative of the population of veterans.

Mrs. Obama cited TV shows including “Nashville” and “Doc McStuffins” as ones that share stories of “our veterans in new and meaningful ways.” She said telling veterans’ stories honestly makes for “tremendous TV and movies” and “are good for business as well.”

“We hope our country will welcome back our veterans — not by setting them apart but by fully integrating them into the fabric of our communities,” she said.

Mrs. Obama also came to the defense of “American Sniper” — about marksman Chris Kyle, considered the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. It has earned Cooper an Oscar nomination but has also weathered a growing storm of criticism that the film glorifies murder and serves as war propaganda.

“While I know there have been critics, I felt that, more often than not, this film touches on many of the emotions and experiences that I’ve heard firsthand from military families over these past few years,” Mrs. Obama said.

Ebersol had his own list of shows with positive veteran portrayals, including the Jay Pritchett character in “Modern Family,” Sam Waterston’s portrayal of veteran Charlie Skinner on “The Newsroom” and Seth Rogen’s guest role as a veteran on “The Mindy Project.” In all them, being a veteran wasn’t their defining characteristic.

“We have a real opportunity to go way beyond the platitudes of the entertainment industry. We love to say, ‘I support the troops!’ and ‘I’ve got a yellow ribbon!’ but there’s an actual, tangible way to make a difference. That’s what the challenge is here.”

Article text courtesy of Variety. 

Beck Media Expanding to Austin Under Hulu’s Tom McAlister

DECEMBER 12, 2014 | 09:23AM PT

Variety Staff

Beck Media & Marketing, the entertainment and technology PR and marketing firm, is expanding its operations to Austin, Texas, under the leadership of Tom McAlister.

McAlister, a former Hulu and Warner Bros. Television executive who worked at Beck from 2009-10, is rejoining the firm as managing director to head up the new office, which will open on Jan. 5, 2015. Beck Media is based in Santa Monica, Calif., with an additional office in New York City.

“From a packed live events calendar that includes SXSW to a booming startup community, Austin is a cultural capital and a growth market,” said Todd Beck, founder and CEO of Beck Media. “This expansion is a natural next step in the evolution of our business, and I’m delighted Tom has returned to lead this practice for us.”

McAlister previously led the content marketing team at Hulu, overseeing campaigns for the streaming site’s original series. Prior to his stint at Hulu, McAlister served as director of publicity initiatives at Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Marketing, spearheading studio campaigns for hits such as “Arrow” and “Person of Interest.” In his role at the Austin office, McAlister will expand the Beck Media team and address the marketing and communications needs of new and existing clients.

Beck Media client Monopoly Millionaires’ Club is the first new multi-state lottery game in more than 12 years.  With three different ways to win a million dollars, Monopoly Millionaires’ Club is the first game to combine the high stakes and rich rewards of multi-state lottery gaming with the fun and entertainment of a national television game show.

At a launch event in Times Square on October 20th, New Yorkers were able to play a life sized Monopoly game — and win cash prizes.  Here’s how the New York Daily News covered the story:

Also on hand was “Mike & Molly” star Billy Gardell, who will serve as host for the nationally televised game show “Monopoly Millionaires’ Club,” which premieres in February 2015.  Thousands of players will win a five-day, four-night trip for two to Las Vegas to be in the studio audience.  Contestants on the show will then be selected at random from the audience to play a series of games, each with a Monopoly theme, each of which will over cash and others prizes valued up to $100,000.  And a final round will offer one player on each episode a shot at $1 million!

Billy Gardell and Mr. Monopoly looking dapper at the Times Square event: