wkdgregstenson

It’s no secret that Vegas is excited about its first professional sports team. It’s also no secret that the NHL Vegas Golden Knights are having a Cinderella story season—and as Wickeds, we support anything referencing a good Disney love story.

In honor of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, check out what our clients have been up to this season to celebrate the Knights!

The Good Knight cocktail– $12 Available only at SLS Las Vegas’ signature lobby bar, Monkey Bar throughout hockey season. In honor of the Vegas Golden Knights, this yellow-gold cocktail is made with Jack Daniels Honey, St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur, Triple Sec, two dashes of orange bitters and a splash of orange juice. The libation is shaken well, topped with club soda and an orange twist or slice.

Freed’s Bakery created a 300 lb. Golden Knights cake and delivered it to the team’s players and fans back in February for their season ticket holder event. The cake was featured on Food Network’s hit show, “Vegas Cakes.” Players including Nate Schmidt, Luca Sbisa and Jon Merill all enjoyed biting into this slice of hockey cake heaven.

Downtown hotspot, Commonwealth, hosted “A Knight With Gatsby” party to benefit the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation and the Tyler Robinson Foundation on Friday, Feb. 9 and coming up, the stylish social scene will partner with the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation to host a ‘Seersucker and Sombreros’ party in celebration of the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo on Saturday, May 5.

BEER PARK, located at Paris Las Vegas, introduced the ‘Knight Flight,’ which includes four pours of premium brews, including Joseph James Citra Rye, Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse, 10 Barrel Apocalypse IPA and Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, priced at $14. The sporty, Strip-side restaurant also offered merchandise, ticket and drink giveaways throughout the season, as well as table-top hockey games, a new addition to BEER PARK’s bar games, including billiards and oversized Jenga.

Coming up… BEER PARK will show the team’s playoff games on dozens of HDTVs throughout the venue, and all guests wearing Vegas Golden Knights merchandise will be treated to a complimentary Budweiser beer. BEER PARK offers an in-house sportsbook, making the venue one of just a few places in Las Vegas outside of casino sports books to offer live betting. The rooftop restaurant will also offer a limited amount of merchandise to hockey fans throughout the playoffs.

We’ll be cheering on our Vegas Golden Knights in Round 2 and will hopefully be throwing some Stanley Cup Celebration parties in June!!

XOXO,
WC

We Wickeds have a lot to be thankful for this year… Each other, wine, great clients, wine, Life Time memberships, a great owner and so much more wine. We also live in wonderful cities (LV & SD) full of incredible people. We are #blessed.

Here’s what we are bowing down and chowing down to this year:

Happy Thanksgiving!

XO,
Wicked Creative

2017 is off to a running start at Wicked Creative! We kicked off the new year by moving into a new office – one that feels a little more “Wicked” to all of us, with high ceilings and a mixed modern- industrial feel, along with cool “office mates” in Production Theory and Motley Brews – the producers of Great Vegas Festival of Beer. Now you know that any time you come visit us at 5765 S. Rainbow Blvd. (yes, just down the street from our former digs), we’ll have a cold one in the fridge waiting for you.

With the move came a flurry of events, including a few well-deserved promotions. Daniel Coffey joined Laura Billiter and Taylor Goldberg as an Account Executive, Lindsey Fullerton moved up to Assistant Account Executive, and, drumroll, please, we are thrilled to name Lauren Cahlan as the Director of our Las Vegas office. Now with us for five years, it’s been my pleasure to see Lauren grow from her first day on the job (she came with a list of goals for her first year…seriously) to an exceptional manager and PR professional. Congrats, Daniel, Lindsey and Lauren!

We’re also happy to share that we have expanded our expertise into a new industry – retail. Got some money in your pocket? We can help you spend it on fun things like chocolate, upscale athletic apparel and high-end furnishings, as we’ve taken on exciting projects in the past year like HEXX Chocolate & Confexxions, GRACEDBYGRIT and the grand opening of RH Las Vegas.

I’d never been much of a risk taker – which is probably why my family was in shock when I told them I wanted to move far, far away from the state I grew up in.

I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, so small we would refer to it as “The Bubble” because you couldn’t go to the grocery store or the village without seeing someone you knew. Gossip spread like wildfire (imagine that green fire in “Game of Thrones”). By the time I graduated high school, I was SO ready to get out. The senior class voted me “Most likely to move back to Greendale,” and I was not having that.

I went to college about an hour and a half from my hometown, and as much as I loved the change of scenery and the bigger city of Madison, I still felt like it wasn’t big enough or far enough. I wanted to create a name for myself. I didn’t want to be stuck in a town or city where everyone knew every detail of people’s lives.

So after countless interviews and a job I really didn’t want, I finally got a job in Vegas (yay!) and made the decision to move across the country.

I’ve learned a lot throughout this whole process, but here are the top three things I learned from my move from Wisco à Vegas.

1. Make the most of everything you experience

Since I decided to move a month after I signed the lease on my new apartment in Wisco, the process was complicated to say the least. I had to break my lease and pray that someone rented it ASAP, since I was still responsible for paying for it until someone did. On top of that, I had to pack up all my stuff, find a moving company and then pack as much stuff into my car as I could. Oh, and find someplace to live in Vegas. The 24-hour drive here was actually one of my favorite experiences to date. My mom took off work to help move me down here and we made the most out of it. Even when we were terrified driving through the snowy mountains in Colorado, we still took the time to take lots of photos and laugh at the ridiculous signs along the way. There are going to be times in life that seem stressful and some people let that stress overwhelm and encompass them; but it’s important to stay positive and make the most of every experience. Hike that ridiculously hard trail. Try that weird food. Embrace the 115-degree heat.

2. There will be some really bad days, but a lot of really good days

Moving is stressful. The process happens so quickly that it’s easy to get wrapped up in it and then all of a sudden one day it’s done and you’re stuck sitting there like, “What just happened?” That’s exactly how I felt when I took my mom to the airport. I felt lost, and for the first time it really hit me: I moved really far. So, that was a bad day. But there have been a lot of good days. My friends and family have already come to visit multiple times. I mean, it’s Vegas, how can they not? Some of my friendships back home have changed and they take a lot more effort than they did before, but it really showed me who my true friends are. One of my biggest concerns was making new friends out here, but I love my Wicked co-workers and it wasn’t long before I felt like I had my own Vegas support system. Everything seemed really scary, but I kept reminding myself of why I moved in the first place – to have a fresh start.

3. Remember that everything happens for reason

I’m so glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone and took a risk by moving here. My family was not on board at first and didn’t understand why I would want to move so far away, but it’s really helped me grow as a person and embrace my independence. I’ve made quite a few mistakes along the way, and some days I really miss home, but I believe that everything happens for a reason and at the end of the day I know moving here was the right decision.

I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to try new things and expand my horizons. I’ve already learned so much since I moved here eight months ago and I’m excited to see where this journey takes me. Cheers to many more Vegas adventures!

Tips from a PR pro and self-proclaimed style junkie on dressing fab for a busy day!

As an account coordinator at Wicked Creative, in any given day, I have to be ready for anything. While some days I never leave the office, other days I’m attending client meetings, photo shoots, and have to dash out to an event at the last minute. You would think that dressing for the part would be difficult. But for the most part, myself and the girls that I work with do a pretty ‘wicked’ job.

Transition pieces that are easily dressed up or dressed down are key. Layers are a great way to alter your look, too. A simple shift dress can go from casual to sophisticated in an instant with the addition of a structured blazer or cardigan. And never underestimate the importance of a spare pair of heels or wedges at your disposal to instantly make a relaxed look more formal.

Luckily, the industry we’re in is one that allows us to have a little more fun with our day-to-day dress than at a traditional office. At Wicked, we’re not only allowed to be creative with our work, but also, in what we choose to wear.

Until next time! XOXO
Jordan

Posted by Tyler Krochmal

A new year means new beginnings at Wicked Creative. A chance to look back on 2013, realize the position we’re in today and look ahead toward an exciting and limitless future.

For my part, 2013 at Wicked Creative was comprised of the most heart-pounding, unpredictable and rewarding seven months that I can remember. As you can read in the previous post below, I wrote a good two pages on just my first month alone – and even that was cut down significantly. I could write an entire book (and maybe I am…) on my life here thus far, and I still feel as though the best may be ahead of me. While I often miss the world of working in baseball, I wouldn’t trade in my life here and now for anything.

In an attempt to condense everything into a somewhat-readable post, I’ve picked a theme and highlighted everything NEW for Wicked and myself in the last seven months and the potential opportunities on the horizon. We’ll stick with the PG version for professionalism-sake…

NEW DIGS

It’s been a wild last year for Wicked Creative, with perhaps the biggest change being the move to a new office building in late June. The new building is located just a few doors down from the previous offices and is under our control, compared to being squeezed into our old building with a quirky cast of characters from other walks of life.

There are many perks to the new digs, including a large kitchen, numerous private offices and an executive office complete with en suite bathroom and playroom for the president of Wicked Creative, Stephanie Wilson, and her son Teo. There is also a large conference room and a nifty entrance lobby highlighted by water features.

For my part, the new office has been great and is a significant step forward for our company. While there are times we do miss Room H, the large office in our old building which held five Wickeds at a time, the new digs are cozy and everyone is still within a yell’s distance (trust me).

And yes, as the only male Wicked I did have a few glorious months of having my very own private bathroom before we rented out the other offices to realtor guys. Luckily they’re not around very often.

NEW CLIENTS
Las Vegas PR is a very fluid industry both in terms of clientele and working professionals. People come and go, just as clients do. Many clients at Wicked have been here for years, while others choose to use PR specifically for a grand opening, to promote a new outlet or to shake things up with a few months of press buzz.

I’ve had the opportunity to work on a few exciting new accounts in my time. I’ve lived around the country in Chicago, Missouri, Seattle and Miami, but never seen people flock to celebrity chefs like they do in Vegas. For whatever reason, people love them here. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Chef Carla Pellegrino from “Top Chef,” and “Throwdown with Bobby Flay;” and Chef Angelo Sosa from “Top Chef,” “Top Chef All-Stars” and “Iron Chef.” Chef Carla owns Bratalian Neapolitan Cantina in Henderson, Nev., and is currently living in Miami leading the opening of Touche Restaurant & Lounge on the roof of E11even nightclub. Chef Angelo is the co-owner of Poppy Den Asian Bistro in Tivoli Village and runs Anejo Tequileria in New York.

One of my proudest accomplishments at Wicked thus far has been helping to lead the campaign for our first resort client, Aliante Casino + Hotel + Spa. We began with Aliante in August and have since led the publicity efforts for the opening of a brand-new spa, a unique 24-hour farm-to-table café, an innovative mobile app and the celebration of their one-year ‘Independence Day’ in November. Aliante broke from a corporation in 2012 to become an independent property, and one of our biggest goals has been to separate them from their previous ownership among public perception. There is still work to be done, but we’ve accomplished a great deal in five months on the account thanks to a great team effort from everyone at the property.

Other major NEW projects for Wicked have included Chayo Mexican Kitchen + Tequila Bar and F.A.M.E. at The LINQ; an innovative party app/website called Party Petition; REVIV hangover treatment; Sami Ladeki’s Sammy’s Restaurant Bar & Grill; and The Morton Group’s La Cave Wine and Food Hideaway, La Comida and the all-new CRUSH: eat, drink, love at MGM Grand.

We also led the groundbreaking announcement for Dinner in the Sky Las Vegas, set to open in 2014. The dynamic attraction invites diners to eat at an open-air table dangling 180 feet above the ground, overlooking the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. Each 22-person table is suspended from a 200-foot steel tower, with gourmet three-course meals lasting roughly one hour.

NEW CITY: NEW POSSIBILITIES
Wicked Creative officially opened a new office in San Diego’s East Village at the tail-end of 2013, marking a major interstate expansion for the company. The new office will provide room for our quickly growing team and serve as a more central location for clients who conduct business in the Southern California area. I’ve had the opportunity of working on business development for the new office, which is certainly a new experience. This involves researching potential new clients, tracking down contact information, reaching out with pitch emails and proposals and maintaining an ever-growing spreadsheet of California clientele.

Ask anyone in Vegas about San Diego and you’ll hear nothing but glowing remarks. Vegas is known worldwide for its party scene, blazing temperatures and adult theme park atmosphere. San Diego, from what people tell me, promotes a true neighborhood feeling with an ocean climate and strong sports scene. It’s a perfect place to open a second office for Wicked Creative, and an attractive potential long-term destination for myself. I’m looking forward to road-tripping there soon to check it out.

NEW EXPERIENCES
I could write all day on the number of wild, weird and wonderful experiences I’ve had in Vegas. A few of the most memorable include:

With every new year comes new challenges, new opportunities, new relationships and new adventures. Each day is a gift, and there’s never a reason to settle or put restrictions on what you can do. If you’re thinking about doing something next week, why not do it now? Life is something that happens to us all, but it takes an active desire to really live in every moment. As my guy Will Smith says:

“Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity.”

Stay tuned for more posts about my Vegas adventures, updates on the exciting future plans of Wicked Creative, tips on surviving in an all-girl office and more.

Follow Wicked Creative on Twitter @WickedCreative, on Facebook and on Instagram.

Posted by Tyler Krochmal

Coming from three years of working in public relations for professional baseball, many people I’ve met during my first month in Las Vegas have asked a similar question: “So, what brought you out to Las Vegas?” And so far, the only answer I can come up with is a wide-eyed, “Just look at this place!”

Since getting hired at Wicked Creative, abruptly leaving Chicago and making the trek across country to Las Vegas in mid-April, I must admit I’ve been a little overwhelmed. Even though I’ve moved around a lot since college, the process is always more difficult than you expect and, since I’m planning on making this my home for the foreseeable future, it was important to get everything right.

Taking into account all of the chaos, I’ve loved every minute of the beginning of my Las Vegas PR journey. Leaving the sports world behind was tough and I’m sure I’ll miss it moving forward. But, some of the things I’ve been able to do and the people I’ve been able to meet in just a month out here is mind-blowing and it’s exciting to think of all of the opportunities and potential success that awaits me.

I’ve always believed that the best and most unique jobs are the ones that you have to work the hardest to get (and maintain). This mindset has propelled me all across the country in pursuit of extraordinary opportunities, including stops with minor league baseball teams in Seattle (2010) and South Florida (2011) and most recently a year in the major leagues with the Chicago White Sox (2012). Baseball PR is a grueling business, with the long hours that come along with a 162- game season, but the perks are there as well. Sports PR professionals don’t get into the business to make a fortune; they, including myself, put in the work because they love sports, get to interact with players/coaches on a daily basis, get to meet fascinating people and, at the end of the day, have a baseball stadium (or other arena) as an office.
So what would make me leave all of that for a career in Las Vegas? Well, here are a few highlights from my first month in the “Entertainment Capitol of the World.” You can judge for yourself if I made the right decision.
Clients
Las Vegas is home to some of the most unique dining, entertainment and nightlife destinations in the world. Only in this city can you eat at the top of the Eiffel Tower, see a dolphin show and ride an 866-foot-high roller coaster all in the same day. At Wicked Creative we promote many of the hottest venues on the Strip through press releases, social media and special events. During my first month I was able to work with clients such as Señor Frogs, TREVI, TENDER Steak & Seafood, Central Michel Richard and more.

Meetings
Before moving to Vegas, I figured there was no better place to have a work meeting than a baseball stadium. Getting to discuss ideas while overlooking the diamond and fresh-cut grass was both soothing and motivating. Yet while it pains me to admit it, that notion has been quickly toppled. As the new guy, I’ve had the opportunity to sit in on a variety of different client meetings across the city, including many of the top resorts on the Strip. I’ve attended meetings inside of a pyramid, on the streets of an ancient Roman boardwalk and sitting at the bar of one of the top party venues in the country (Señor Frogs)!

Parties
Part of working in the dining/entertainment public relations field includes staffing, organizing and publicizing different parties and special events for our clients. My first taste of this experience came on my first Friday in Vegas at a VIP patio party at Central Michel Richard restaurant (located at the entrance to Caesars Palace). Along with the others members of our PR team, I was responsible for greeting the guests, checking them in (based on our VIP list) and making sure no random, drunk tourists crashed the party (we had a few that tried).

During this event I was able to meet many of the members of media and industry leaders that I’ll be working with in the future, along with getting to know some of my Wicked co-workers a bit better. The night seemed to be an overall success, both for the restaurant and our team.

My second Central event fell on a Wednesday, and it turned out to be an unexpected adventure of a night. The event was held for select concierge teams of Vegas resorts, and once again took place on the fantastic outdoor patio. This gathering actually didn’t have much to do with us, but since Central is a client, it was important for Wicked to be there. I spent most of the evening chatting with my boss, Jennie Hendricks, and Central’s Director of Operations, Tony Fisher.

After the event I was treated to my very first Las Vegas show – Absinthe! The show is hard to describe, but was definitely a wild way kick off my Vegas entertainment experience. It also provided a great time for me to get to know my boss better; because you know what they say: nothing brings people together like cirque performers, sex jokes and lap-dance contests!

Foodie Fest
Perhaps the biggest project our team has worked on since my arrival was preparation for the 2013 Las Vegas Foodie Fest, which was held April 26-28 at the Silverton Hotel Casino. Foodie Fest is basically what it sounds like; a large food festival featuring unique food trucks from Vegas and even across the country, carnival rides, entertainment and more.

One of the biggest attractions at Foodie Fest this year was the inclusion of White Castle, which served hot sliders for the very first time in Las Vegas. White Castle is a fast food staple back in Chicago and the Midwest, but they currently don’t operate any restaurants west of Missouri. The anticipation in Vegas for these little sliders was remarkable, and there were long lines of people awaiting their Crave Cases throughout the entire weekend.

Our team kicked off the event by working a VIP/media party on Friday night, which included greeting guests, taking pictures and constantly updating social media. After the initial meet-and- greet we escorted a photographer around the entirety of the festival, gathering pictures of food trucks, carnival rides and satisfied foodies. To get certain angles and fun shots, I went with Jeff Ragazzo, our photographer, up to the top of the Ferris wheel and the giant slide. I can’t think of another job where I’d get to ride a Ferris wheel, but the shots we got from up there actually proved to be spectacular. We also ventured to the top of the slide to get additional wide shots, and then – purely for efficiency sake, of course – hopped on our potato sacks and slid our way to the bottom!

Office
As some people may have noticed, I am the only male in the Wicked Creative office. All of the girls have been extremely welcoming and friendly, even going out of there way to introduce me to other guys to hang out with (a.k.a. ‘man time’). While I’m sure it’s an adjustment for the office to suddenly have a guy around, I’m just hoping to eventually become part of the family and perhaps add a different perspective to the talented bunch.

There have been some conversations I’ve had to tune out of and references I don’t quite understand, but my first month with the women of the Wicked office have been beyond expectations.

Stay tuned for more of the sights, sounds and unique experiences of my Las Vegas journey and find out more about what it’s really like to be reppin’ a Y chromosome in the Wicked world.

I’d also like to take a moment to congratulate Lauren Hudman on her promotion and give my best wishes to Cara Zizzo and Lindsay Feldman, who left Wicked Creative to pursue other exciting career opportunities!

Posted by Hannah Rickards

Las Vegas thrives on an unparalleled ability to add pizazz to even the most mundane human experiences. For those of us who call Sin City home, lifestyles and career paths tend to be devoid of anything “routine.” Thanks to the eclectic nature of this incredible city, my livelihood has included singing, celebrities and nitro, which amazingly converge in my position as a Public Relations Account Coordinator with Wicked Creative.

If my father knew his daughter would attend college in Las Vegas, he certainly would have shipped me to a nunnery. Thankfully, to fund studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, I made my papa proud and became a singing gondolier at The Venetian. Without setting foot in Italy I mastered the art of rowing a gondola, singing Italian arias and pairing horizontal stripes with red sashes and pleated pants. The gondola paved the way to meet a myriad of people from around the world, hear an incredible amount of personal stories and witness countless weddings and engagements. Working in the heart of The Strip provides an experience unlike any other with fast-paced interaction and daily encounters with the unexpected.

Following graduation from UNLV, I began my media career as a DJ for Mix 94.1 at CBS Radio. While much joy came from giving concert tickets to enthusiastic listeners, my most memorable interactions came from interviewing Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy, giving Mat Kearney a high five and Jared Leto complimenting my dress. Every on-air shift, a radio personality must be prepared for a variety of scenarios including, but certainly not limited to, surprise band interviews, callers who curse, switchboard malfunctions and having your show kicked off the air repeatedly by National Weather Service updates.

Continuing my passion for being on-air I have hosted the webcast, “This Week at LVMS” for Las Vegas Motor Speedway since September 2009, which recently underwent a tune-up to become rebranded as, “Vegas in the Fast Lane.” My role at the track expanded to include victory lane interviews at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (where NASCAR stars Kurt and Kyle Busch began their careers) and interviews with drag racing legends inside Club Nitro during NHRA national events. The amazing position allows me to interact with some of the biggest names in the sport including John Force, Tanner Foust, Jimmie Johnson and so many more. The racing environment is completely unique; drivers are focused, fans are passionate and the unpredictable can truly happen.

Akin to working in PR, Las Vegas presents a unique set of challenges, opportunities and experiences. Thankfully, tourists are not hogging all the fun. Many careers here allow for dealings with celebrities, noteworthy job descriptions and a genuine possibility of waking up covered in glitter.