This was an FYC (For Your Consideration) event, meaning the main purpose was to create a buzz in and around Los Angeles among Emmy voters to secure nominations for Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The show had previously won multiple Emmys that were supported by award-winning FYC campaigns. With this in mind, the client wanted to exceed expectations with a unique, fan-forward concept that felt different from previous campaigns and celebrated what made Season 4 unique: Midge Maisel’s return to NYC.

The final event concept and execution had to exceed the incredibly high standards of Amy Sherman-Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel showrunner, while also being true to the world created in the series. Success of the experience would be judged on trade and consumer press coverage in Los Angeles, social media chatter, and anecdotal “buzz” among Hollywood executives; all of which would cascade into driving Emmy nominations.

Since there had never been a fully-immersive experience for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel before, our concept was to recreate 1960 NYC in the middle of LA and “Maisel-ify” it, meaning we updated each element to correlate with the show. Guests were transported back in time, onto the streets of NYC, and into the series. To go beyond the expected set recreations typical of immersive TV show experiences, we activated a series of partnerships that celebrated three things everyone loves about NYC: food, entertainment, and sightseeing.

Specifically, we partnered with Russ & Daughters, the famous 106-year-old bagel and lox shop from the Lower East Side (food), Blue Note Jazz Club (entertainment), and Coney Island Historical Society (sightseeing) to create immersive vignettes for each brand. These integrated with vignettes from the series, which included a speakeasy Mahjong gambling parlor and a replica of Susie Myerson and Associates Office.

Our main goal was to capture the attention of Emmy voters, who are solely members of the Television Academy. This was a challenge as the Television Academy doesn’t allow direct outreach to its members and they aren’t allowed to self-identify. The strategy was to create something exciting that generated enough noise among Angelenos, Los Angeles press, and fans of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel so that the buzz would carry over and capture voters’ attention ahead of the Emmy voting deadline on June 19.

A driving insight was that many LA-based Emmy voters previously lived in NYC and now miss it. By aligning with landmark NYC brands like Russ & Daughters, Blue Note Jazz Club, and Coney Island, we achieved additional exposure by leveraging their social channels and built-in fandom with former New Yorkers. The result was a dynamic space that fed into that nostalgia, while celebrating The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

“Making LA Marvelous” took six weeks to execute following client approval, and four days to build-out so every inch of the 10,000 square foot space was true to the world of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s 1960s NYC.

Our design team spent hundreds of hours reviewing archival footage from NYC and working with show producers to ensure that every touchpoint in the space was accurate to the series and time period. From the period-specific décor, such as NYC lamp posts, park benches, subway tile splashes, and manhole covers on the floors, to the costumes, hair, and makeup that the 40+ actors, food vendors, greeters, and other staff adorned. No detail was spared.

Rounding out the experience were Maisel-branded tupperware giveaways, 1960s-era cars, Coney Island bites, and a bagel made with NYC water and constructed by Russ & Daughters’ fourth generation owner Nikki Russ in an architectural replica of her bagel shop.

12 Emmy nominations, bringing its four-season total to 66

135.2 MM+ earned media impressions resulting from 29 media placements including Variety, KTLA, EATER LA, TimeOut LA, LA Weekly, and Entertainment Tonight

44,782,309 organic social media impressions on Twitter, and 268,200 organic social media impressions on Instagram as a result of media, fans, unpaid influencers and 1960’s enthusiasts in Los Angeles posting about the event

20K visits to the event page over two days, with 5K+ registrations

2,300+ guests (including one who drove in from Las Vegas!)

95% positive sentiment surrounding the event

There were lines down the block of fans in period costume at 5 a.m., three hours before opening