Knicks and FILO Create Partnership; Produce Surreal Playoffs Party in Manhattan

Playing for Now is the slogan the New York Knicks implemented for the 2013 Playoffs. After receiving the 2 seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2013 NBA Playoffs, the time was now for the Knickerbockers to put everything they had into giving back to the community and the city of New York…and that’s exactly what they did.

The Knicks created the 2013 Knicks Playoffs Borough Tour presented by Chase throughout the first round of the playoffs for not only the city of Manhattan, but all five boroughs (the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Manhattan). Before Game 1 of the first round even began on Saturday, April 20, New York’s team combined Chase bank branch appearances with alumni autograph sessions, Knicks brand ambassadors, scavenger hunts and “what would you do for tickets?” competitions all over the boroughs.

As part of the activation and promotions, the New York Knicks also hosted their 2013 MSG Fan Fests outside of Madison Square Garden for every home game throughout the playoffs. One home game even included an exclusive Chase “Blue Carpet” ceremony.

It was a spectacular few weeks as all five boroughs were painted orange & blue and wrapped in the infamous #knickstape. Everywhere you looked, you saw the Knicks.

FILO’s role included producing a mobile barber set-up for Knicks Playoffs Cuts, where fans could show their Knicks pride by receiving custom colored haircuts and attempt to win Playoff tickets. FILO also assisted in the signage production of all Knicks Playoffs branding, provided a plethora of brand ambassador’s and hosted each home game Fan Fest with a FILO emcee.

Lou Bavaro of FILO Productions traveled everywhere with FILO’s brand promoters from the Cotton Club in Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge to the Staten Island mall, in an attempt to build brand recognition for the Knicks and hand out endless give-a-ways for the fans of New York.

“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me…for FILO…for everyone. I’ve lived in New York for a long time and there are some spots I visited with (and for) the Tour that I had never been to in my life. I’ve never seen anything like this before--the Knicks reached out to every fan possible amongst the five boroughs and they did it the right way. It didn’t matter if you were living in Staten Island, Astoria or in Midtown Manhattan. We were coming to bring the Knicks to you and I think that says a lot about an organization and to their fans.”

After the New York Knicks beat the Celtics in 6 games on Friday, May 3, the Knicks and FILO Productions went to work on a grand spectacle event in Herald Square for Game 3 during the 2nd Round of the NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers.

8 days later…the Knicks and FILO were in Manhattan hosting more than 50,000 people for the Knicks Playoffs Fan Fest & Outdoor Viewing Party presented by Chase. The Broadway Plaza event (between 34th and 35th streets) brought Knicks fans everywhere together. The event included the Knicks full basketball court with competitions and prizes, multiple DJ’s and emcees, the Knicks Playoffs Cuts exhibit, a fully branded Knicks photo booth, the Knicks Groove Truck and most importantly, a roughly 500 square foot jumbotron screen with a LIVE feed for the game.

The one day event took place on Saturday, May 11 and included New York Knicks Legends Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Hall of Famer Bernard King, Earl Monroe, Larry Johnson, Dean Meminger, Cal Ramsey and the Knicks City Dancers.

The Knicks weren’t able to pull off a “W” against the Pacers that night, but every fan in attendance, all of FILO and everyone from the New York Knicks had created an experience and memory that will live on forever. New York and its team (the Knicks) were playing for now.

Another Grand Slam Tour for “Play Ball! Minnesota”

“Play Ball! Minnesota” wrapped up its three-month mobile tour on June 1 at St. Paul’s Grand Old Day festival – marking the team’s 10th stop on the road and 13th event.

This was FILO’s second year producing the “PlayBall! Minnesota” tour, which made its way across the state to stops such as: the Earth Day Half Marathon in St. Cloud, Arthritis Walk in Baxter and the Med City Marathon in Rochester.

“Baseball is beloved throughout Minnesota, and that’s been evident in the excitement and participation we’ve seen on this tour,” said Dan Fosse of FILO. “From kids to parents to grandparents, everyone lights up when they hold a baseball bat and take a swing. ‘Play Ball! Minnesota’ gives everyone the opportunity to experience the love for the game.”

FILO was responsible for managing all aspects of the tour, from pre-launch planning and routing to on-site staffing and activation. Our brand ambassadors registered approximately 350 new emails and handed out thousands of “PlayBall! Minnesota” branded giveaways.The tour touched an estimated 5,000 people, allowing the Twins organization to carry its message across the state and collect important information to communicate with followers and fans of baseball.

"PlayBall! Minnesota" and FILO will come together again this Sunday June 16th when the Twins and the Minnesota Minute Men honor the 2013 Play Ball! Mr. Baseball and Ms. Softball Award Winners at a banquet at Jax Café. FILO recently joined the Minute Men to help market and grow the organization, which exists to do good will through sports.

Grilling for Friends of Farnsworth

On June 4th Farnsworth Aerospace Elementary celebrated its 10-year anniversary and FILO was there to help – managing the audio/visual for the parade and program and feeding the staff, students and families. Our first experience utilizing FILO’s new 8-foot branded bbq grill proved to be a rousing success as we cooked and served 1,000 hot dogs and sides in just over an hour. In addition, FILO provided all the audio/visual components needed to liven up the parade and project the formal program, which took place in the school gym.

“Thank you so much for helping celebrate Farnsworth's 10th Anniversary of Aerospace last night,” Jill Wall, Program Manager, wrote in an email.“Your grilling was top notch, the music truck in the parade, your incredible staff helping, donating the paper products = Farnsworth LOVES having FILO as a continuing partner!”

Now that we have this first grill fest under our belts, FILO plans to offer the service to individuals and organizations in the near future so keep an eye out for the official announcement!

 

FILO Hits The Road Again

FILO has been a key part of the NBA Nation tour presented by Sprint for the last seven years, bringing the league’s interactive basketball experience to fans across the United States and promoting the NBA, its programs and its partners. This year’s tour will reach its midway mark this Father’s Day Weekend with a stop at the Taste of Randolph in Chicago. The first three stops were in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Charlotte, and were all met with great fanfare.

The 2013 NBA Nation Tour presented by Sprint is highlighted by the Sprint Unlimited NBA Experience and includes the Kevin Durant Unlimited Free Throw Competition and Steve Nash’s Fast Break Challenge. 

Other experiences include the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown, a Dribble to Stop Diabetes interactive tent, NBA Fit Clinics and, of course, the Official Ambassador of the NBA Nation Tour presented by Sprint, NBA Legend Darryl Dawkins. There is also an 18-wheel, 53’ interactive show truck where you can play the latest video games or capture your photo with a state of the art mock locker room set-up.

“The NBA Nation Tour presented by Sprint has found success in the first part of the tour and looks to carry that momentum into our next stop in Chicago,” said Tour Manager Andy Acosta. “As the NBA Finals are in full swing the excitement of the NBA is growing and we look forward to finishing the tour on a high note.”

The NBA Nation Tour presented by Sprint will be present at 8 stops across the country (total) and has the potential to reach more than one million people on impressions alone.

Some of FILO’s responsibilities and duties include eight full set-ups and tear downs of a footprint greater than 20,000 square feet, general operations management, signage production, equipment refurbishment, high-level talent management and managing a staff of more than 50 workers.

FILO Productions’ crew had a combined 13 NBA Nation Tours under their belts heading into this summer and for the second half of this season will be visiting Washington DC, New Rutherford, NJ, Philadelphia, PA and Dallas, TX.

 

FILO Launches Summer Internship Program

FILO is launching our first ever Internship Program this summer, bringing on three college undergraduates and an MBA candidate to help our company in a number of areas.

Maddie Wikstrom, Iowa State, and Joe Tobritzhofer, North Dakota State, will both graduate this fall. Isaac Dougherty just finished his first year at Wake Forest and Nathan Aadland is at St. Thomas working toward his MBA. Maddie, Joe and Nathan started this month and Isaac will join us at the end of the month.

“We aren’t starting this program, simply to bring in grunt workers to make coffee and copies,” said FILO owner Kevin Weinhandl. “We want to develop young talent in the event management/experiential marketing field and are giving them real responsibility.”

“Of course they will also do their fair share of grunt work too and pay their dues like all FILOs,” added Weinhandl.

Each intern will spend a week with a FILO in every department to get a holistic view of the company. They will have value-added projects in sales & marketing, business development, inventory management and logistics. Already Maddie is deeply involved in improving our website, Joe has been working diligently in the warehouse and is now at our NBA Nation Tour stop in Chicago, and Nathan has been creating business plans with FILO management.

 

Brazil - FILO Goes International...Again

Director of FILO Productions Brian Buron was back down in Sao Paulo, Brazil working the NBA 3X basketball tournament with 72 participating teams. There was a total attendance of 25,000 people over the two day 3 on 3 basketball tournament in Parque Villa Lobos this past weekend. The event featured appearances by Cleveland Cavilers and Brazilian native Anderson Varejao, the Chicago Bulls Lovables and Washington Wizards Mascots G-Man and G-Wiz. The weekend was filled with contests, performances, prizes and interviews all surrounded by the 3 on 3 basketball tournament. Brazilian basketball fans came from all over the city and country to participate in the weekends activities. 

Take Me Out To the Expo

"Play Ball! Minnesota" will head to Rochester, Minn., this weekend for the Med City Marathon Fitness Expo. This is Play Ball! Minnesota's first appearance at the Med City Marathon Fitness Expo, and they’re looking forward to providing entertainment and excitement for more than 800 children who will be making their way through the expo prior to the start of the race.  



"Play Ball! Minnesota" also returned to St. Cloud State University for the SCHEELS Earth Day Half Marathon Expo on April 20. The non-seasonal record April snowfalls did not keep runners & fans away from the festivities held at Halenbeck Hall Field House. PlayBall! Minnesota hit it out of the park as fans lined up to take a swing at the t-ball inflatable and learn more about PlayBall! The FILO team also visited Target Field for the Twins vs. Rangers game, and went to Baxter, Minn., for the Arthritis Walk on May 18. PlayBall! Minnesota will wrap the tour up with the Huskies home opener on Tuesday, May 28, in Duluth, Minn., and at Grand Old Day on June 2.