Nokia Experience Center
Multiple mall locations
When it comes to cell phones, it’S all about minutes. Or is it?
Mobile communications provider Nokia was tired of relying on service centers to talk about its products and services with customers. It also wanted to break the current buying paradigm that had cell phone users considering first what minutes plan was right for them before picking out a phone that matched their needs.
So to break that mold, Nokia created the Nokia Experience Center, a mall kiosk-inspired space where nothing is actually sold, but rather one that gives customers a brand-centric place to make a tangible and visceral connection with Nokia products and its brand.
“The idea is that Nokia will make a big impact with customers so that they’ll seek out their products at regular cell-phone outlets and ask for them by name,” says Lynn Rosenbaum, creative director at design firm Fitch (Powell, Ohio), which worked with Nokia on the branding initiative. “This space is all about phones and features, not about service plans.”
The freestanding, glass-enclosed structure has transparent walls, a perforated ceiling and two entrances, allowing visitors to stay connected with the mall’s ambient sounds and sights while being immersed in the Nokia brand.
Reflecting the high-tech nature of the brand, as well as its European roots (parent company Nokia Corp. is based in Espoo, Finland), the space marries warm and cool tones with brushed silver finishings, warm wood flooring and colorful graphics. Undulating tables keep visitors flowing through the space and puts them in touch with phones at all angles. Internally illuminated acrylic buttons hold each phone to the table and can be turned 360 degrees, further maximizing the potential of the small space.
Every phone is live, giving visitors the chance to dial up features, snap a digital photo or check out new games, and Nokia “ambassadors” are also on hand to direct people through the experience.
“Much like Apple is more than a computer company, Nokia is more than a cell phone producer,” says Lisa Cook, Fitch’s senior strategist. “When someone pulls out a Nokia branded phone, it makes a statement about them, their tastes, their innate sense of style.”
Client: Nokia Inc., White Plains, N.Y.
Keith Nowak, media relations manager
Winston Wright, senior marketing manager
Design: Fitch, Powell, Ohio
Lynn Rosenbaum, creative director
Lisa Morales Cook, senior strategist
Randy Miller, director of implementation
Fixtures and Displays: Exhibitgroup Giltspur, Grapevine, Texas
Photography: Brandon King, Fitch, Powell, Ohio