here’s no business like show business, but the process of rolling out a new lineup of television programs for prospective advertisers has typically been a little heavy on the “business” and a little light on the “show.” So to keep potential advertisers and members of the entertainment-industry press from mentally channel surfing to a far off place during its annual Upfront Experience event in May 2008, NBC Universal, together with Jack Morton Worldwide, had something a little more immersive in store.

More than 2,000 guests arrived at the network’s New York headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where they walked the red carpet and answered questions tossed at them from interviewers like Nancy O’Dell and folks from cable channels CNBC and Telemundo. The premiere-like entrance lent a sense of exclusivity to the event, while making attendees feel less like TV viewers and more like the stars of the show.

Once inside, visitors encountered interactive kiosks known as people totems. When activated by motion sensors, these seamless monitors — standing about 6 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide — broadcast actors and TV personalities delivering pre-taped messages to passing guests.

Meanwhile, live-action stations featured contestants from “Top Chef,” and fighters from “American Gladiator” battled amid the attendees. Static displays featured memorabilia from shows such as “Knight Rider” and “Battlestar Galactica,” giving guests a chance to get up close and personal with authentic items from their favorite NBC Universal series amid a running soundtrack of well-known TV theme songs and iconic sitcom quotes.

Jim Fenhagen, senior vice president of design for Jack Morton Worldwide in New York, described the event as “a theme-park experience of everything NBC Universal offers.” And that theme-park approach clearly paid off: Thanks, at least in part, to NBC’s decision to put the “show” back in show business, ad sales increased by 55 percent over the previous year’s Upfront event. e