Lexus premiered its new luxury sedan with a private event at Social Miami, the restaurant inside the Sagamore Hotel. Despite rainy weather that forced the event indoors and postponed a Franco De Vita concert, 800 people attended throughout the night and few were let down by the festivities.
"We had been keeping track of the weather all day," said Maile Rodriguez of Roc Media, the public relations firm that promoted and designed the event. Blame it on the rain or not, but minimal decor was set up in the back patio of the hotel, just in case.
Pulp Group built a poolside stage for De Vita's performance that guests could view up close or while sitting on white-canopied cabanas complete with flat screens displaying Lexus commercials. Lexus also branded any area it could find, from the floor of the pool and back wall of the hotel to the front entrance and check-in area. Four on-site vehicles (an ES 350, an IS 350, and two RX trucks) provided more exposure for the company.
Social Miami prepared several hors d'oeuvres that were butler-passed throughout the evening, such as shredded beef empanadas, crab cheddar and jack, and coconut lobster tail. A bar, sponsored by Ketel One, included soft drinks, mineral waters, house wines, beers, and deluxe drinks and mixers. The waitresses, bar staff, and servers were all wearing Lexus-branded t-shirts, as were the valets.
Just as the launch was livening up, rain poured down and everyone sought shelter within the hotel or under the back patio's roof. Not letting the rain dampen their evening, guests kept socializing, ordering drinks, taking pictures, and trying to appear on local entertainment channel MegaTV. People were having such a good time, in fact, that the event went way past the expected 11 PM finale. Organizers decided that De Vita's performance would be rescheduled for a future Lexus event, but no specifics were mentioned.
—Albert del Toral
Photos: Ralph Notaro/NDM Images.