CHICAGO On Thursday night, searchlights shone over the Shedd Aquarium, where Proximo spirits hosted a launch party for the Kraken. A new black-spiced rum that hit the market this week, the Kraken is named after a mythical sea monster. Planners wanted the product's launch party to have a fittingly oceanic vibe, which started with a costumed deep-sea diver who greeted guests as they entered the aquarium. 

Inside the venue, Platinum Events' five illuminated bars shone in blue, and colorful gobos cast wave patterns on the marble floors. Parts of the aquarium remained open so guests could check out tanks of exotic fish as they sipped Kraken cocktails, and servers from the Shedd's in-house catering division made the rounds with seafood appetizers.

Lit with the Kraken logo, a fog wall separated the rotunda from the Caribbean Reef fish tank. "We designed it so that guests would literally walk through the logo," said Justin Jacobson, president of Platinum Events, which produced the soiree. "Product launches are all about the branding, but we wanted to do it tastefully, so the brand was in guests' faces but not shoved down their throats—no pun intended, considering it was a beverage launch."

Jacobson, who began his company in Miami before bringing it to Chicago, said that he wanted to bring a bit of "South Beach flair" to the event. At the check-in table, models doled out wrist bands in sparkly cocktail dresses and silk neck scarves emblazoned with the Kraken logo. DJ Slym filled the rotunda with upbeat party tunes from artists such as Lady Gaga, and Platinum's dance crew put on a performance replete with break-dance moves and back flips.

The happening drew around 600 guests. "We did have a target audience of 21-to-32-year-old males," said Lindsey Huff, Proximo's area manager for Illinois, "but this in an inclusive product. Anyone and everyone can drink this rum, so we had an inclusive guest list." Included on that list: management and sales reps from the brand's distributor, the Wirtz Beverage Group, local bar owners, Huff's counterparts in other Midwestern states, members of the local media, and "people who are out and about in Chicago," she said.