Posted February 3, 200817 yr EPE Had The Biggest Year Ever Elvis Presley Enterprises had its "biggest year ever" in 2007, according to Scott Williams, EPE's director of marketing who spoke in Tupelo Friday. He's gave a run-through of the organization's activities for the past year. What made 2007 stand out, Williams said, was the successful brand partnerships. He cited the partnership with Reese's for a Collector Edition Peanut Butter & Banana Creme version of its peanut butter cup. Other successful partnerships in 2007 included Harley-Davidson, Budweiser, Sports Illustrated, Tennessee Tourism and American Idol. Another standout partnership, according to Williams, was with NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt Jr. "The only fans I can think of who are bigger than Elvis fans are NASCAR fans," Williams said with a quick laugh. The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest, of which Tupelo hosted one of the preliminary rounds, contributed to the year's success as well. Tupelo, being the birthplace of Elvis, was selected again to host a preliminary round at the Tupelo Elvis Festival June 6-8. Williams said EPE used Tupelo last year as the model for a lot of the smaller towns that were hosting qualifying rounds. He also showed a video about the contest, which featured Tupelo's winner Brandon Bennett. The finals were held in Memphis during Elvis Week 2007 and sold out the Cannon Center.Business also was good at Graceland and the surrounding properties in Memphis. Williams said about 600,000 people buy a ticket to tour the house each year, and another several thousand visit just to shop or do the free walk-up to the house. And Williams said he only expects business in the Elvis world to get better. "The magic of Elvis is still growing as more younger fans discover Elvis," he said. About one-third of visitors to Graceland are younger than 34 and 75 percent of Graceland tourists are visiting for the first time. "According to all of our research, it's growing and growing," he said. "The more than you guys can do to celebrate and bring awareness, the better it is for all of us." EPE's goal is to preserve, protect and enhance the legacy of Elvis. It is a subsidiary of CKX Inc., a publicly traded company that also includes American Idol and Muhammad Ali.
February 5, 200817 yr I just wish they'd forget all the tacky stuff and the ETA's and concentrate on Elvis and his music B) Notice there was no mention of the sell out concerts at the Fed-Ex :blink: Now that was one fantastic night that I'll never forget for as long as I live :wub: More news from EPE B) EPE acquisitions continue around Graceland: Elvis World's Bill E. Burk reports: EPE continues buying up every inch of land within sight of Graceland. Last two purchases have been apartment complexes on the hill behind the shops, giving Graceland now over 100 acres in the area -- bigger than the Memphis Zoo! ALL of announced plans have "Elvis"connected things (hotel<s>, restaurants, shops, visitors center, parking) being re-located to the east side of EP Blvd., leaving a vast amount of acreage on the west side unannounced. The name "Disney" keeps getting mentioned more and more and time passes. Until EPE gets its hands on the Boulevard Souvenirs property, don't expect a lot of work to get started on the east side ... but 2009 seems to be the target date for opening all these things. Source : EIN It's gonna be huge. I just hope it's all done tastefully and Graceland itself remains untouched B)
February 5, 200817 yr Author I am sure they wouldn't touch Graceland, there would be uproar if they did. :arrr:
February 8, 200817 yr Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. purchased 1032 Craft Road in Whitehaven for nearly $1.58 million from Michael E. Reed. EPE purchased the property as part of its $250 million redevelopment of the Graceland visitor center. The property at 1032 Craft Road is an apartment building on 5 acres. EPE purchased the property for its land value and will tear down the 88-unit apartment building that was built in 1963. The land sold for about $315,000 per acre. EPE’s parent company, CKX, plans to own more than 105 acres that surround Graceland. It plans to build new hotels and improve the public spaces around Graceland. For instance, the existing 128-room Heartbreak Hotel will be raised and in its place will be a much larger convention hotel on the Graceland side of Elvis Presley Boulevard. Furthermore, the existing visitor center will be raised and replaced with one seven times the size of Graceland. Source: epgold.com / Published by: ElvisMatters - Peter Verbruggen .
February 13, 200817 yr New Exhibits Installation At Graceland EPE announced the installation of new exhibits at Graceland. To help share the excitement of this transformation and installation of three new exhibits, Graceland Archives Director, Angie Marchese, will be posting blog entries in the news section of elvis.com.. From the EPE site: This spring, you'll see a whole new look to the shopping center just to the north of the entrance to the Graceland parking area. In addition to Souvenirs of Elvis, the Graceland Harley-Davidson Shop and the Rock 'n' Roll Café, the Graceland Crossing shopping center will also be the home of the '68 Special exhibit and shop and The Private Presley exhibit. Also new to this area is the Everything Elvis shop which will offer a great selection of Elvis gifts and merchandise. A kick-off event is planned for late March. February 12, 2008 Hey everybody, there is plenty of activity at Graceland these days, especially in Archives, wow, we are all on the move. We are starting the transformation and creation of three new exhibit areas that are sure to knock your socks off, or my archival gloves, when you see them! We just put the final touches on the new VIP Tour exhibit yesterday. We dug deep into the Graceland Archives for this re-vamp of the VIP Tour exhibit area. For the first time ever we are displaying the living room furniture from Elvis and Priscilla's honeymoon hideaway in Palm Springs, truly a blast from the past with this vintage furniture display. Another favorite of mine in this exhibit is a collection of photos from the first-ever professional photo shoot with Elvis. In 1955 Elvis posed for William Speers here in Memphis and this portion of the VIP exhibit allows visitors to see the original proofs from that shoot that have Elvis’ handwriting on the back, indicating his favorites. I would write more, but it is back to work for me and the Archives staff. Check back soon for more updates in our news blog. Be sure to check out exclusive pictures of the new VIP Tour exhibit at Elvis Insiders. Not an Elvis Insider, join today! When you join The Official Elvis Insiders, you’ll receive discounts and get access to rarely seen Elvis Presley photos, Graceland artifacts, Elvis video clips and rare documents from the Graceland archives are just a few of the exclusive items you'll have access to as an Official Elvis Insider. Angie February 13, 2008 It’s another day and a different side of the street. We are now over at Graceland Crossing working on the installation Private Presley. Before we could even start thinking about putting up camouflage netting and exhibit text panels, we first had to de-install the Elvis After Dark exhibit, hopefully you all had the chance to see it. Oh my, that was a job. Following typical Graceland Archives protocol, all of the artifacts were delicately packed away in acid free tissue and boxes, then loaded onto a truck and back to storage until they are needed. Now the space is ready for a new coat of paint, Army Green of course, then it’s off to the races for our Archives staff. We have three days to turn this space into Private Presley. Looks like a mess right now but we are starting to get a feel of what it will look like as test paint and camouflage nets are going up on the walls as we speak, it’s all coming together nicely, and the good news is that it’s still on schedule! Source: EPE / Updated: Feb 13, 2008 Pics from Insiders of the new exhibits B) http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader1.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader2.jpg
February 14, 200817 yr FEBRUARY 13, 2008 Less the 48 hours to go. Things here at Private Presley are going along smoothly. Just a few more photos and a couple more yards of netting to hang and we can start dressing mannequins. Was going through some of our Army documents to pick some out for exhibit and found a letter sent to Vernon and Elvis from Elvis's grandfather Jesse. He basically catches them up on what was going on state side in Louisville . Also found a rough draft of a article from Family Circle titled "Has the Army Changed Elvis?" It was really cool to read a first hand account from Elvis's troop leader in Germany. Now comes the task of deciding what documents to use and how they fit into the story. While working on the text for the exhibit I realized the like this year, 1960 was a leap year. How? Elvis's last day in was Feb. 29,1960. Well, better get the white gloves on and get back to work. Angie http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader4.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader5.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader6.jpg
February 15, 200817 yr Author FEBRUARY 13, 2008 Less the 48 hours to go. Things here at Private Presley are going along smoothly. Just a few more photos and a couple more yards of netting to hang and we can start dressing mannequins. Was going through some of our Army documents to pick some out for exhibit and found a letter sent to Vernon and Elvis from Elvis's grandfather Jesse. He basically catches them up on what was going on state side in Louisville . Also found a rough draft of a article from Family Circle titled "Has the Army Changed Elvis?" It was really cool to read a first hand account from Elvis's troop leader in Germany. Now comes the task of deciding what documents to use and how they fit into the story. While working on the text for the exhibit I realized the like this year, 1960 was a leap year. How? Elvis's last day in was Feb. 29,1960. Well, better get the white gloves on and get back to work. Angie http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader4.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader5.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader6.jpg I would love that Jacket with his name on it, that is wicked :cheer:
February 15, 200817 yr It sure is :cheer: We could pop in on over our leather gear :whip: :yahoo: Here's some more pics of the preparation for the exhibit :dance: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader7.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader8.jpg http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y48/elvis1959/loader9.jpg
February 16, 200817 yr Author wow, can you imaging getting your hands on all that stuff, how wicked woud that be? :cheer: :yahoo:
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