Karma Automotive LLC in Costa Mesa is taking its 2017 Revero on a Driven by Intention tour, giving prospective owners a chance to experience the $130,000 sports car.
The latest stops included Detroit, “the birthplace of automobiles,” Beverly Hills and Chicago. The automaker commissioned several pieces from British photographer Atton Conrad to be displayed with the Revero on the tour.
The Revero, powered by electricity, gas and solar energy, also made a pit stop at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego. Karma, owned by Wanxiang Group Corp. in China, was the sponsor of “Monte Carlo: Bollywood,” the museum’s 40th annual benefit.
Karma’s cars are made at its 556,000-square-foot facility in Moreno Valley. The automaker has more than 700 employees and plans to increase that number to about 1,000 as part of a pending move to new headquarters in Irvine.
Surfing Sponsorship Ends
The 31st Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational event, held last February at Waimea Bay in Hawaii, was the last for the Huntington Beach-based footwear and apparel company.
The family of Eddie Aikau, who was one of the best big-wave riders in the world, wasn’t able to reach a deal with Quiksilver Inc., which had sponsored the contest since its inception in 1985 and “was prepared to commit to a long-term sponsorship of the event.”
Quiksilver’s “multiple offers of substantially increased monetary support for future events were declined by agents of the Aikau family over months of negotiations,” the company said in a statement.
The contest, which requires 30-foot waves for an eight-hour period, has been held only seven times. Surfers including Denton Miyamura, Kelly Slater, Bruce Irons, Greg Long and John John Florence have competed in it.
Quiksilver, “out of its deep respect for Hawaiian heritage and the memory of Eddie,” said it will offer the Aikau family its permit to run the event for the 2016-17 season, as the deadline to apply for the new one passed last year.
Digital-First Approach
The fifth annual Integrated Marketing Forum, scheduled for Nov. 11 at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, will focus on a “digital-first” approach to business operations, research and development, customer service, branding and marketing.
The speaker lineup includes Elizabeth Krause, vice president of global e-business at Costa Mesa-based Volcom Inc., Andrew Leonard, brand development manager at Google Inc., and Paul Meyers, Pabst Blue Ribbon’s director of digital marketing and social media. There also will be a dedicated panel on virtual reality technology and demos for those attending.
Digital marketing agency Rhythm in Irvine is hosting the event, which is being sponsored by Adestra, BDS Marketing, Vitamin T, Doing Good Works, Allura Printing, Group Y Network, Social Media Examiner, MarketingProfs, PR Newswire, Hughes Marino, OCTANe, OC Ad Federation and the Orange County American Marketing Association.Â
Podcast Debut
The Now Hear This Podcast Festival, held last month at Anaheim Marriott, featured NPR’s newest addition, the “How I Built This” podcast “about innovators, entrepreneurs, and idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built.”
The show’s host, Guy Raz, interviewed Ethan Brown, founder and chief executive of El Segundo-based Beyond Meat. Former guests include Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Sara Blakely of Spanx and Airbnb’s Joe Gebbia. The downside: No Orange County entrepreneurs will be featured in the November and December episodes, according to the producers.
Bits & Pieces
AutoAlert LLC, an Irvine-based data mining and sales lead-generation company, acquired the Ready Group LLC in Hingham, Mass., and its subsidiary, DirectAlert, on undisclosed terms. … SetSchedule LLC, an Irvine-based company that matches real estate agents with homeowners and investors actively looking to buy and sell, hosted a Viva Las Vegas Holidays party benefitting the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. … Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing at California Avocado Commission in Irvine, received a Robert L. Carey Leadership Award, which honors people who’ve “demonstrated outstanding leadership skills and an exceptional commitment to Produce Marketing Association and the produce industry.”
