To promote its newest collection of fashion-forward phones in Latin America, Nokia flew 50 journalists from Mexico and throughout South America to Miami Beach for a launch party at the Paris Theatre. The result was a glam-filled evening of drinking, dining, and branding. Genaro Perez-Diaz, Nokia's marketing manager for Latin America, hired Stephen Bridges of C-Com Group Public Relations to plan the event. Bridges worked with Pen Group Communications, public relations firm for Nokia Latin America.
The evening began with cocktails in the entrance of the theater, which looked pristine with all-white decor. Guests sipped Grey Goose drinks from a white and clear plexiglass bar with three rectangular ice sculptures etched with the Nokia logo. White-uniformed caterwaiters passed appetizers from Elements Event Couture Inc., including morsels of tuna on flatbread, cherry tomatoes filled with chicken salad, and mini vegetable pizza triangles.
Nokia's three new phones, whose design was influenced by the 1920s and which were created to serve more as fashion accessories than as technological necessities, were displayed not on typical lit cubes but in the hands of models wearing white Jean Harlow-inspired gowns or skimpy red and black bustiers with micro minis. The girls worked the crowd and pretended to call and text-message one another from opposite ends of the room.
To invite everyone to dinner, the models pulled aside white vinyl curtains to unveil the rest of the theater, whose usual crisp white walls and sheer panels were spruced up with hot pink lighting. Rows of long rectangular tables were fitted with white linens and adorned with silver confetti, spirals of metallic wire, and clear vases filled with neon pink stones. The company's logo was projected on the walls via moving gobos.
Elements served a three-course meal that began with black sesame and ginger-crusted shrimp. The next course was a filet mignon with black olive mashed potatoes and roasted beets, red peppers, and oven-dried tomatoes. A rich chocolate truffle torte with .phpberry coulis was served for dessert.
The after-dinner treat was an entertaining show by Parafernalia Productions. They performed more than 10 skits, each incorporating Nokia's phones into song and dance routines. From cowboys and Indians and Spanish bullfighters to belly dancers and Japanese warriors, models and dancers made their way down a catwalk that extended from the stage. Images that matched each skit were projected onto an enormous screen at the back of the stage. In the midst of each routine, the familiar Nokia ring tone was heard, and the entertainers would pull out a phone from their pockets—or cleavage—and chat on their way offstage to make way for the next skit.
The festivities ended shortly afterward, and out-of-town journalists rolled out of the theater with electronic press kits.
—Vanessa Goyanes
The evening began with cocktails in the entrance of the theater, which looked pristine with all-white decor. Guests sipped Grey Goose drinks from a white and clear plexiglass bar with three rectangular ice sculptures etched with the Nokia logo. White-uniformed caterwaiters passed appetizers from Elements Event Couture Inc., including morsels of tuna on flatbread, cherry tomatoes filled with chicken salad, and mini vegetable pizza triangles.
Nokia's three new phones, whose design was influenced by the 1920s and which were created to serve more as fashion accessories than as technological necessities, were displayed not on typical lit cubes but in the hands of models wearing white Jean Harlow-inspired gowns or skimpy red and black bustiers with micro minis. The girls worked the crowd and pretended to call and text-message one another from opposite ends of the room.
To invite everyone to dinner, the models pulled aside white vinyl curtains to unveil the rest of the theater, whose usual crisp white walls and sheer panels were spruced up with hot pink lighting. Rows of long rectangular tables were fitted with white linens and adorned with silver confetti, spirals of metallic wire, and clear vases filled with neon pink stones. The company's logo was projected on the walls via moving gobos.
Elements served a three-course meal that began with black sesame and ginger-crusted shrimp. The next course was a filet mignon with black olive mashed potatoes and roasted beets, red peppers, and oven-dried tomatoes. A rich chocolate truffle torte with .phpberry coulis was served for dessert.
The after-dinner treat was an entertaining show by Parafernalia Productions. They performed more than 10 skits, each incorporating Nokia's phones into song and dance routines. From cowboys and Indians and Spanish bullfighters to belly dancers and Japanese warriors, models and dancers made their way down a catwalk that extended from the stage. Images that matched each skit were projected onto an enormous screen at the back of the stage. In the midst of each routine, the familiar Nokia ring tone was heard, and the entertainers would pull out a phone from their pockets—or cleavage—and chat on their way offstage to make way for the next skit.
The festivities ended shortly afterward, and out-of-town journalists rolled out of the theater with electronic press kits.
—Vanessa Goyanes