Irvine-based JetSuite Inc., the fourth largest private jet charter company in the U.S. based on hours flown, marked Super Bowl 50 by offering $50 “Suite-Deals”—its empty flights on Feb. 6 and 7 were sold for $50. Clients pay $3,000 to $6,000 an hour on average for the charter, depending on jet size.
JetSuite’s planes stay where they land until they’re needed, and the company usually offers $536 deals to its Facebook fans to hop on last-minute flights that would otherwise be traveling empty to pick up a client at another location.
The company also started a service to Havana, Cuba. A one-way flight from New York for an entire six-passenger jet costs about $20,000.
JetSuite, whose investors include Zappos.com Chief Executive Tony Hsieh, JetBlue founder David Neeleman and private equity investor Art Sandberg, operates out of John Wayne Airport and had $65 million in 2014 revenue.
No Smoking
Vans Inc. in Cypress is supporting The Truth nonprofit organization and its “Finish It” campaign, whose aim is to “empower smokers and nonsmokers alike to make this the generation that ends tobacco use.”
The footwear and apparel manufacturer released a limited-edition shoe designed by Brooklyn-based graphic artist Kevin Lyons. His “iconic monsters” shout messages about ending smoking for good, including, “We that generation” and “Let’s Make History!”
The Truth plans to join the Vans Warped Tour this summer in select cities across the country.
E-Sports Heroes
Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc. is bringing back the “Heroes of the Dorm” video game tournament that offers the winning team free tuition for the rest of their college careers. The students will compete in “Heroes of the Storm,” an online game that features “iconic” Blizzard characters from “Warcraft,” “StarCraft” and “Diablo.”
“It’s inspiring to see players from last year’s championship team, the UC Berkeley Golden Bears, now thriving in pro esports careers,” Blizzard co-founder and Chief Executive Mike Morhaime said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing how this year’s competitors shape the future of competitive gaming.”
Beef It Up
Tustin-based alPunto Advertising, the agency of record for the California Beef Council in Sacramento, developed a Spanish language, retailer-focused marketing plan that included more than 310 sampling events in the El Super, Superior and Northgate markets, radio ads featuring KLVE personality Argelia Atilano, and product placement on TV and digital/social media programs.
The agency’s “laser focus on sales increases” delivered “double-digit increases in beef movement in spite of higher prices versus 2014,” according to alPunto Vice President and Chief Strategist Enrique Turégano.
Dew Tour
PepsiCo Americas Beverages tapped El Segundo-based TEN: The Enthusiast Network, which runs about a third of its operations out of Santa Ana, to stage Dew Tour’s two annual events. TEN will also produce content to be distributed on NBC Sports, dewtour.com and its own digital media properties, including GrindTV.com, Transworld Skateboarding and Snowboarder, “while also working with endemic media and all the national media to help raise the digital awareness of the Dew Tour,” according to Norb Garrett, executive vice president of TEN’s Sports and Entertainment Group.
“We are very excited about the partnership,” he said, adding that it’s the “largest scale” experiential production “we’ve taken on as a business. But we’ve been building up to this with our (Oakley) Lowers Pro surf event.”
PepsiCo., based in Purchase, N.Y., produces Mountain Dew soda, the namesake sponsor of the Dew Tour.
Bits & Pieces
Quiksilver Inc. in Huntington Beach, expected to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month, said it spent $69 million, $78 million and $93 million on promotion and advertising in fiscal years 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. … Newport Beach-based ChopShop Entertainment Inc. will return as a sponsor of the Newport Beach Film Festival’s Youth Film Showcase, which is open to filmmakers younger than 18. … Boudin Bakery in San Francisco hired Santa Ana-based Powerhouse Public Relations LLC to provide a wide scope of media relations and strategic communications support for the brand’s fast-casual restaurants throughout Southern California. … Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be the first production shot on Irvine-based RED Digital Cinema Camera Co.’s new WEAPON 8K camera.
