Talking about credit card late fees and interest rates isn’t the most relaxing activity, but Citigroup did its best to make the media launch of Simplicity, its new line of credit cards, as stress-free as possible. The company assembled finance and consumer journalists at the Bliss 49 spa for a short presentation, and then offered treatments to everyone to drive home the card's benefits.
"We're holding [the launch] at a spa to convey the notion of simplicity and a healthy approach to money," Citi Cards executive vice president Antony Jenkins told the small group of journalists. The idea was that the Simplicity card can help consumers "achieve balance in their lives," and to "relax, because there's no late fees," he said. No annual fees and a promise of better customer service on the phone accompanied the stress-free theme and setting.
Events East promoted this Zen approach to credit with a clean, serene look: Shelves were lined with rows of white gerbera daisies in single-stem vases filled with blue pebbles and rows of cardboard blowups of the all-white credit card. White cloth covered tables and white chairs filled out the space, where guests partook of Taste Caterers' breakfast of fruit, pastries, juice, and coffee. After a short presentation, Bliss staffers in T-shirts with the Citi logo ushered the group inside the spa for manicures, pedicures, or massages (journalists chose their treatment when they RSVP'd).
—Suzanne Ito
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"We're holding [the launch] at a spa to convey the notion of simplicity and a healthy approach to money," Citi Cards executive vice president Antony Jenkins told the small group of journalists. The idea was that the Simplicity card can help consumers "achieve balance in their lives," and to "relax, because there's no late fees," he said. No annual fees and a promise of better customer service on the phone accompanied the stress-free theme and setting.
Events East promoted this Zen approach to credit with a clean, serene look: Shelves were lined with rows of white gerbera daisies in single-stem vases filled with blue pebbles and rows of cardboard blowups of the all-white credit card. White cloth covered tables and white chairs filled out the space, where guests partook of Taste Caterers' breakfast of fruit, pastries, juice, and coffee. After a short presentation, Bliss staffers in T-shirts with the Citi logo ushered the group inside the spa for manicures, pedicures, or massages (journalists chose their treatment when they RSVP'd).
—Suzanne Ito
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For the launch of Citigroup's Simplicity credit card, Events East filled Bliss 49 with white cloth covered tables and white chairs. Vases of white gerbera daisies decorated the tables.
Shelves were lined with rows of white gerbera daisies in single-stem vases filled with blue pebbles and rows of cardboard blowups of the all-white credit card.
Guests could choose their nail polish from a small lounge dotted with pillows printed with the Citi logo.
