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andiero & Marlyn Bandiero
THE LITERARY GLOBAL BOOK AWARDS
MartinBodek
Jeannee Sacken
Jelly Roll
BAFTA Film Awards
STARS inDIOR
GlennClose
Greta Gerwig
Carey Mulligan
Rosamund Pike
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS
Rachel Zegler
Jimmy Diele
GavinB. Keilly
Robert Craig
Yara Estrada Lowe
Steve Lichtenstein
De de Cox
ScooterRay Minyard
MatthewCampbell
StephenJ.Devaney’s
LaShana Hicks
Dr. Milicent Driver
Dr. Iris Wright’s
Dr. Constance Leyland
Dr. Vernessa Blackwell
JeanPeelen
Carolee Rainey
Dominique Benedict
Laurie Towers
2024 Oscar NomineesLuncheon
Nominees for the 96th Oscars® were celebrated at a luncheon held at the Beverly Hilton, Monday, February 12, 2024. The 96th Oscars will air on Sunday, March 10, live on ABC. Pictured: Erik Aadahl, Luisa Abel, Tom Ackerley, Trish Adlesic, Maite Alberdi, Raney Aronson-Rath, Jon BaPste, Suzi BaRersby, John BaRsek, J.A. Bayona, KaoutherBen Hania, AnneRe Bening, Nicky Bentham, Pablo Berger, Fred Berner, Theo Bialek, Emily Blunt, Brad Booker, Kris Bowers, Robbie Brenner, Sterling K. Brown, Nick Bruno, Samy Burch, Chris Burdon, Johnnie Burn, Willie Burton, Moses Bwayo, Samuel Caron, Ilker Çatak, Stephane CereY, Nadim Cheikhrouha, Mstyslav Chernov, S. Leo Chiang, Nazrin Choudhury, Simone Coco, Bradley Cooper, Jay Cooper, Neil Corbould, Ibon Cormenzana, Dave Crossman, Sam Davis, Ruth De Jong, Colman Domingo, Robert Downey, Jr, Amy Durning, Jacqueline Durran, Billie Eilish, Ignasi Estapé, Jerskin Fendrix, America Ferrera, Jack Fisk, MaReo Garrone, ScoR George, Greta Gerwig, Paul GiamaY, Amit R. Gicelter, Lily Gladstone, Ludwig Göransson, Ryan Gosling, Sarah Greenwood, ElliGriff, Ed Guiney, Arthur Harari, Misan Harriman, Karen Hartley Thomas, Shona Heath, David Hemingson, Charley Henley, Jerusha Hess, David Heyman, David Hinojosa, Kazu Hiro, John Hoffman, Sandra Hüller, Cord Jefferson, Jermaine Johnson, Mark Johnson, Tal Kantor, Nikos Karamigios, Laura Karpman, Claire Kaufman, Ashra Kelly-Blue, Richard King, Pamela Koffler, KrisPe MacoskoKrieger, Edward Lachman, JenniferLame, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ben LeClair, MaRhew LibaPque, Ana LópezPuigcerver, Phil Lord, Andrew Lowe, Marie-Ange Luciani, Daniel Lupi, David Marf, Luc-Ewen MarPn-Fenouillet, Yorgos Mavropsaridis, Arthur Max, Lori McCoyBell, Sara McFarlane, Tony McNamara, Alex Mechanik, Christopher Miller, Ellen Mirojnick, Michelle Mizner, Steve A. Morrow, Carey Mulligan, Dave Mullins, Chris Munro, Cillian Murphy, Lasse Lyskjær Noer, Tatsuji Nojima, Christopher Nolan, ChrisPan Norlyk, Finneas O'Connell, Kevin O'Connell, David Oppenheim, Tom Ozanich, Nisha Pahuja, Amy Pascal, Kemp Powers, James Price, Rodrigo Prieto, Ben Proudfoot, Troy Quane, Steven Rales, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Denise Ream, Vincent René-LorPe, Montse Ribé, Marc Rius, Gary A. Rizzo, Margot Robbie, Andrew Roberts, Mark Ronson, CharlesRoven, Jason Ruder, Mark Ruffalo, Karen Ryan, Thelma Schoonmaker, MarPn Scorsese, ChristopherSharp, Kiyoko Shibuya, Josh Singer, Peter Sohn, Celine Song, KaPe Spencer, Steven Spielberg, Nadia Stacey, Emma Stone, Jeffrey Sutherland, MasakiTakahashi, Sandra Tapia Diaz, Kevin Tent, David Thion, Bradley Thomas, Emma Thomas,JusPn K. Thompson, JusPne Triet, Jean Tsien, ChrisPne Turner, ChrisPne Vachon, Ethan Van der Ryn, Hoyte van Hoytema, Ian Voigt, Holly Waddington, Alexis Wajsbrot, Sean Wang, Diane Warren, Wim Wenders, Jacqueline West, Josh Weston, Tarn Willers, Guy Williams, Adam Willis, Dan Wilson, James Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Takashi Yamazaki, Janty Yates, Julie Zackary, and Dean Zupancic
©Red Silk Carpet February 2024- All Rights Reserved Al B
February 2024 COVER STORY
Gavin B. Keilly , Founder and CEO of GBK, a Luxury Lifestyle Gifting and Special Events Company
By Jules Lava llee
©Red Silk Carpet February 2024- All Rights Reserved
Gavin and Angela Bassett
Adam Levine and Gavin
Gavin with New Edition (above)
Gavin with Mark Hammil Star Wars
Gavin B. Keilly, Founder and CEO of GBK (gbkbrandbar.com), a luxury lifestyle gifting and special events company, specializing in entertainment marketing integration. Founded in 2000, GBK consists of four distinct divisions: GBK Luxury Gift Lounges; GBK Events/ Launch Parties; GBK Charitable Consulting and GBK Public Relations/ Marketing Services. Though separate, each entity is interconnected, allowing clients/ brands a full range of marketing services and benefits. GBK is a company dedicated to giving each client customized marketing options with high quality and tailor-made services. GBK has a proven track record for attracting a celebrity clientele such as Neil Patrick Harris, Jennifer Aniston, Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, Anthony Anderson, Forrest Whitaker, Leonardo DiCaprio, H.E.R, Rhianna, and Ryan Seacrest, (just to name a few).
GBK has taken part in such highprofile events as Gifting Lounges prior to the Oscars, Emmys, Emmy, Golden Globes, backstage at the CNN Hero Awards, BETs 10th Annual GLAAD Awards, Sundance, Cannes, and the list goes on. Gavin has also been seen on CNN, CBS NEWS, NBC Morning Show, MSNBC, FOX, EXTRA, and various other shows. GBK and Gavin have also been featured in Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, People Magazine, US Weekly, In Style, USA Today, New York Times, CNN.com, and many nationally read publications.
Gavin was one of the first companies to actually come up with the gift suite concept. LA Times has referred to GBK as “The Gift Bag King,” and others referred to GBK as “Giving Back Kindly” for all his charitable work. Today, GBK produces gift suites prior to all the big award shows, gifts totaling upwards of $100,000 per bag. GBK also generates over 100 MILLION Media Impressions for their brands at every event they create. Gavin has mastered getting brands the ultimate amount of impressions and thinking outside the “cube.” This business is truly about creating the “Win-WinWin.” The celebrity wins because they get a phenomenal amount of fantastic gifts, including vacations, jewels, the latest fashion, and plenty of the coolest gadgets on the market, the Vendor (GBK’s client) also wins, as they get a photo with each celebrity and their product that they can use in their internal marketing material, social media, and most importantly the ability to submit it to press outlets, and the charities win because they have the opportunity to garner additional exposure and revenue.
When did your gift for product marketing begin?
My start was actually marketing homemade chocolate chip cookies when I was 12 years old. If you are talking about product placement with the celebrities, that started a little over 20 years ago when I did an event with the Osbourne Family and Ozzy put a Baume & Mercier watch in his mouth. I got that placed in People Magazine and US Weekly.
I realized that I could help brands grow by introducing them to celebrities and would help them get a tremendous amount of exposure not only in person, but in the press.
What do you love the most when working with brands and celebrities?
I love seeing the “RESULTS” from brands participating in our Luxury Gift Lounge. This ranges from simply generating over 200 Million Media Impressions by participating in one event to seeing a brand get picked up by Neiman Marcus, Sax 5th Ave, Sephora, or BEVMO. The aspects I love about working with celebrities are numerous. I love watching the smile on their faces when they connect with an actor they haven’t seen in a while at one of my lounges. I also love watching the way they engage with the brands and show them they care. Finally, I love their appreciation. They genuinely are appreciative for all these gifts, which in reality we are just giving them in appreciation of “their” accomplishments throughout the year.
How has the industry changed?
The gifting industry has only changed for the better with social media getting more prevalent. Now the talent, as well as the brands, can post or do a story to give even more exposure to various products that people may have never seen before.
©Red Silk Carpet February 2024- All Rights Reserved
What makes a good product to show to celebs?
There are so many amazing products. It could be something unique that they have never seen before like an avocado sock that ripens an avocado overnight, a beautiful handbag, skincare that actually works, beautiful candles, high-quality jewelry , but most importantly products that make a difference in their day-to-day life that maybe they haven’t thought of or don’t presently own. I always test everything first before allowing them to be at one of my events.
What products are celebs looking for?
The Celebrities don’t really have any expectations when they come to the lounge. That is why they are always excited when they leave with $50,000+ of items that are useful. I think that is the key. They definitely are looking for items that are useful. That said, they are always looking for a great “getaway” vacation, somewhere they can relax, as they are typically working 12-14 hours when on set or on tour.
How important has “authentic collaboration” been to your success?
This is incredibly important. This is one of the reasons social media is important. Many celebrities post after they use a product or visit a particular property. Authenticity truly SELLS a product and I think consumers these days know the difference between an “ad” and
when someone truly loves what they are showing on their Instagram.
Can you share a product that you instantly knew was a winner?
There have been so many. It definitely has to do with the packaging and the quality of the product. This has ranged from El Cristiano Tequila, California Caviar, 3 LAB Cosmetics, Revitalash, Portovino wine bag, and even inexpensive products, like YASSI Butta, Yoga Toes, and POOPH and CARE A2 Baby Formula.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I care more about the celebrity having a good experience at my lounge before the money that I make from producing these lounges. If it is a product that I KNOW the celebrity is going to like the brand and the owner may not have a big budget, I will either give them a huge discount or take a small percentage of the company to let them play with GBK. Also, I thoroughly enjoy giving back in any way I can.
Why do you do what you do?
I truly believe that brands can take their product to the next level by participating in one or two events of my events. They not only end up with 50-60 photos with top talent, but they have the opportunity to build relationships and maybe get an investor or a celebrity spokesperson. Most importantly, they can garner a
tremendous amount of exposure, via all the press outlets that cover our events.
You are a true philanthropist. Please share some of the organizations that you support.
We support NUMEROUS Organizations, as there are so many great causes making a difference in so many lives. A few that I donate to on a regular basis are: Food on Foot, Educating Young Minds, City Of Hope, Race to Erase, Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation, George Lopez Foundation, and Make a Wish Foundation. I learned at an early age that one gets more out of giving than receiving. It simply feels good!
For new brands, what is your advice to open doors with celebrities?
As I have been in this business for over 20 years, I am a little biased, but I truly do believe participating in one of our gift lounges is a phenomenal way to meet anywhere between 40-70 celebrities, depending on the event. For new brands, I would suggest smaller events, like a celebrity golf tournament, as I am able to work with them on price. It’s a great entrée into the gifting arena where you can still walk away with a lot of great photos and start to build relationships.
www.gbkbrandbar.com
@GBKBRANDBAR
©Red Silk Carpet February 2024- All Rights Reserved
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