By Sandi Masori in Beverly Hills, California
From the outside, a celebrity gifting suite can sound a little silly. People imagine stars wandering from table to table, collecting free products, smiling for photos, and moving on. And they would not be wrong.
Heather Marianna (publicity photo)
However, after spending time at Heather Marianna’s pre-Oscar’s celebrity gifting suite, “A Toast to Hollywood,” I came away with the sense that the event is also very much about connection, strategy, and giving brands a shot at being seen in a crowded world.
Actress Carolyn Hennesy, who among her many credits has spent more than 45 years in the role of Diane Miller in General Hospital, put the mood of the event simply: “A great gifting suite makes everyone feel like an A-lister!” She is a celebrity ambassador for the American Humane Association.
Kate Linder and Sandi Masori (Photo: Jennie Edwards)
(As a side note, I was really excited to see Hennesy, having worked with her on the upcoming Indie comedy Concert Heroes written and produced by San Diego Jewish community member Steve Mark).
Like Hennesy, Kate Linder, who has spent 43 years in the role of Esther Valentine in The Young and the Restless, has ongoing tikkun olam projects. The Jewish actress is a spokesperson for ALS and is a strong supporter of the USO.
Marianna, who is a member of the Las Vegas Jewish community, and who now runs the event, told me what makes her suite different is that it really starts before the main event day. The night before, sponsors gather for a meetup with food, drinks, and time to network with one another. She said that is often where a lot of real business begins, before the cameras start flashing and before the room gets crowded.
That sponsor-first mindset shows up again on event day. Marianna said she makes sure vendors have breakfast available while they are still setting up, because once the suite opens, many of them are too busy to nosh. That may not sound glamorous, but it says something about how she sees the event.
Marianna said the most recent event brought in about 398 people total, including sponsors, staff, celebrities, media, and plus-ones. Of those, she estimated about 145 celebrities and 40 media outlets came through for gifting. That is a lot of traffic for emerging brands trying to make an impression in a short amount of time.
What stood out to me was the range of products and services. There were beauty brands, wellness brands, service-based businesses, books, health activations (a suite to get Botox even!), and a few tables that made you stop and ask questions.
One of those belonged to Gold Naturals, a CBD company that said it makes its products in-house and focuses on formulas aimed at real-life problems like sleep, stress, and muscle relief. In a follow-up conversation, the company also spoke about drawing on Israeli cannabis research as part of its formulation process, which gave that table an additional point of interest for me.
Another striking thing about the event was that many of the sponsors were not there just to hand out samples. They were there to test messages, make contacts, and see how their work landed in person.
Author, speaker, SDSU student, and Jewish community member Avery Crumrine said the real value was not just the setting, but the conversations. For her, the event was a chance to be around people who understood what it takes to keep building something before it is fully established, and to see that her message resonated.
Another SD Jewish community member, Stacey Lauren, founder of Do The Thing and The Billion Dollar Impact, described a more concrete result. She said the suite opened the door to real conversations and helped move forward her plans for The Billion Dollar Impact, a project built around celebrity interviews and fundraising for causes they care about. She said she had already lined up three celebrities for the project.
That seems to be the larger idea behind the event. The goal is not simply to hand someone a product and hope for the best. It is to create a moment that can keep working afterward through press, photos, relationships, and follow-up.
Marianna was blunt about that. She said she is not interested in taking money from brands if the event is not a good fit for them. She also said her return rate is high, with many sponsors coming back for additional events. In fact, 80 percent of the vendors have already committed to reprising their booth at the gifting suite for the Emmys in September. Whether that is because of the celebrities, the media exposure, the networking, or just the overall feel of the room, it suggests that people believe they are getting something of value.
There is a human side to the event that can get lost when people reduce it to free products and red-carpet photos.
During the red-carpet interviews, I asked people how they practice tikkun olam, to help heal the world. A few understood the Hebrew expression. Actress and Jewish community member Becca Brazil, who I have worked with on TEDx San Diego, said she wants to inspire people and believes the world gets better when people help each other instead of focusing only on themselves. Another attendee spoke about using film to help people get more in touch with themselves and their inner lives.
King Moore and Sandi Masori. (Photo: Jennie Edwards)
A young performer, 10- year-old King Moore, talked about building a charitable project that supports young artists and children in need. (Keep an eye on that kid, not only is he a go-getter beyond his years, he’s also quite the charmer, telling this writer that she looked 25 and not old enough to have a 25 year old son. Of course I swooned and congratulated his dad on a job well done.)
The pre-teen singer/ actor created the Kicks 2 Grow Foundation, which provides children in 10 counties with clothing and other essential items.
The “Toast to Hollywood” event is carefully curated. Marianna said she does not invite “influencers.” Her preference is for television personalities, celebrities, and media, because she believes that gives sponsors stronger long-term value. Whether one agrees with that or not, it is clearly part of the event’s identity.
Besides being a fun view of how the other half lives, when it comes down to it, “A Toast to Hollywood” really met the needs of the various groups who attended. The sponsors got visibility, notoriety and some celebrity endorsements. The celebrities got all kinds of swag. And the media got both swag and stories – a win-win-win for all.
If you want to learn more about the gifting suites or want to reservea table, click here.
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Associate Editor Sandi Masori is a theater and food reviewer for San Diego Jewish World. She also helps people self-publish and dabbles in video production.