Daily Front Row

2010 May 19

Expansion at Van Wyck & Van Wyck

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Bronson van Wyck
CHANCE YEH/PatrickMcMullan.com View Gallery

(NEW YORK) When the Clintons (or any other prominent family, for that matter) plan a major festivity, they call Van Wyck & Van Wyck. Over the years, the firm has created a highly regarded name for itself, raking in top clients and producing lavish, beautifully orchestrated events. Van Wyck & Van Wyck, founded in Los Angeles in 1999 by mother and son duo Mary Lynn and Bronson van Wyck, has seen an immense amount of success since its inception over a decade ago. The event design production firm serves a slew of private, corporate and non-profit clients including The White House, Mercedes-Benz, Hearst Corporation and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Additionally, the family team has formidable party-planning skills and have hosted private soirees for Hillary and Bill Clinton, Wendi and Rupert Murdoch, Samantha Boardman Rosen and Aby Rosen, Richard Meier and Daphne Guinness, among many others.

Recently, the company formed a new Brand Experience Division, which plans to partner with in-house teams and agencies. Bronson van Wyck and his team have realized for years the integral role events play in their overall marketing efforts, and now more and more people are opening their eyes to the power of events and its pivotal part in advertising and consumer outreach. “Over the past four or five years, we've specialized, as a part of our business, in creating events that serve as platforms for a communication, whereby the people who come to the event will leave feeling a certain way about the brand, charity or political candidate," said Bronson van Wyck. "Meaning they may want to purchase the product or write a story about or tell their friends about it. The measurable results side of it is becoming more and more important.”

That's where the newly created Brand Experience Division comes in. “We want to be able to have a devoted group in our organization who can respond to their needs," van Wyck continued. He tapped Ryan Jordan, formerly of Harrison & Shriftman, to lead the team as Director of Brand Experience and Eleanor Tapia, formerly an assistant at InStyle, to join the division as well. “For some clients, we do 8-10 events a year, and so we work with them on an ongoing basis," van Wyck explained. "We meet regularly to discuss where we are and where we’d like to go. The department will push forward with more and more of this close, integrated and collaborative partnership with clients.” The company is also renewing its focus on its global operations and event services. Currently, approximately half of its business is based in New York.
EMILY POPP