| 1. HOW HBO GOT 'GAME OF THRONES' FANS TO DONATE BLOOD AT SXSW: When it comes to experiential marketing at South by Southwest, HBO tends to steal the spotlight, with detailed activations surrounding its popular series like Westworld and Game of Thrones. Ahead Thrones’ final season, HBO created a fantasy-filled experience inspired by the fictional setting of Westeros, with an added twist—the network partnered with the American Red Cross to invite attendees to give blood. CNBC: “In addition to reminding visitors about the final season of Game of Thrones coming in April, HBO has teamed with the Red Cross to kick off a nationwide blood drive, which it’s calling ‘Bleed for the Throne.’ A giant stained-glass red cross looms over the ‘Iron Throne,’ which was shipped in for this occasion. Those who donate get a limited edition branded T-shirt—splattered with blood, of course—and a trip to the show’s season premiere in New York City. HBO went to great lengths to make the experience feel authentic until you step into a room full of Red Cross nurses with sterilized needles for blood donations. Some 80 actors were outfitted in costumes shipped in from the show’s sets in Belfast. They don’t break character, sticking to a roughly 100-page script created for them, and they even worked with a dialect coach.” 2. NONPROFIT PARTNERS WITH MAJOR LIVE MUSIC VENUES AND EVENTS TO FIGHT SEXUAL HARASSMENT: Nonprofit organization Calling All Crows has teamed up with live music venues and festivals to fight sexual harassment in a new campaign called Here For The Music. Participating venues include Paradise Rock Club in Boston and Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, and festivals include Bonnaroo and Music Tastes Good. Billboard: “In addition to staff and attendee training, the Here for the Music campaign offers to help festivals create clear guidelines for consent at their events, with interactive booths, educational panels, and helps create Safe Zones for reporting incidents. … Calling All Crows, which was founded in 2009 by Gallagher and musician Chadwick Stokes, regularly builds campaigns for bands that are interested in social issues and Here For the Music is an applicable tool for touring bands that asks artists and their teams to train their staff and venue staff how to identify potentially harmful behavior and intervene safely and effectively. Artists are also encouraged to invite a handful of fans to the trainings prior to the shows to facilitate healthier behavior for everyone involved in the live music experience.” 3. NEW YORK'S CHRYSLER BUILDING MIGHT TURN INTO HOTEL UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP: New York's iconic Chrysler Building might change from an old office building into a hotel under new ownership. Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding LLC and Austrian real estate firm Signa Holding GmbH recently agreed to purchase the skyscraper for $151 million, which is fewer than the $800 million the Abu Dhabi Investment Council paid in 2008 for a 90 percent stake. Bloomberg: "Rosen said in an email Tuesday that he would consider converting the tower into a hotel. Scott Rechler’s RXR Realty, which lost the bidding with an offer of about $150 million, had looked at turning the tower into a mixed-use property that would have included a hotel, according to the person, who wasn’t authorized to speak because the matter is private. ... The Chrysler Building, completed in 1930 in Art Deco style, would probably require millions of dollars in improvements, no matter what the new owners do with it. Keeping it as an office building would be a risky proposition at a time when New York tenants have been favoring new, amenity-packed skyscrapers at Hudson Yards on the far west side and the World Trade Center downtown. It could cost between $150 million and $250 million to make the necessary upgrades, the person said." | 