Orange's colourful style

Something special happened at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) in December. Something that will be talked about for a long time to come. To the 5,000 people who were there, it will likely be remembered as the party of the year, but to the industry it was much more. It was an event that raised the bar. It provided a new benchmark and left searching questions for many companies in Thailand about their own corporate values. Never before has so much been put into an event, both creatively and financially, which was essentially a thank-you party to the staff, dealers, suppliers, partners and associates of TA Orange. The European mobile powerhouse set up in Thailand little more than a year ago with local partners Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group. Eyeing the vast potential of the Thai mobile phone sector, Orange has busied itself to prepare an assault on incumbent rivals AIS and DTAC with a full commercial launch expected by the end of the first quarter of this year. The "Get Turned On" party on December 14, 2001, was also meant to soft-launch the service internally to 60,000 employees of the CP Group. However, it proved much to be more than a launch and communicated the personality and spirit of the company. Central to this is its famous brand. Orange brand values - dynamic, friendly, honest, straightforward and refreshing - are more than words executives continually stress, they are also the drivers of its corporate philosophy and business offering. And, their internal launch/thank-you party appears testament to that. The challenge was to communicate the values and make them relevant to the local market. Armed with an undisclosed budget, but one which was described as "considerable", AV Group, the local firm that won the business, went about the task of selecting the venue. The choice came down to two places, IMPACT and BITEC. Due to the size of the event. BITEC eventually got the nod. "BITEC had a 6,000sqm temporary structure available, which was the right space for the kind of dynamic we wanted to assemble," AV Group chairman, Mr Ponlawat Sookcharus says. "It was like an aircraft hanger. It was isolated too, so you could drive right up to it. Parking, electricity, water supply and catering were all good too." AV Group creative director Mr Peter Peacock has worked on branding and creative issues for Orange since it was founded in 1994. He recently joined AV Group. "AV was slick and hard-edged in the way it presented itself too. Those are the kind of people Orange want to work with," he says. A searchlight that could be seen from 45km away panned the skies to mark the location. Upon entering, guests walked on an orange carpet through a tunnel and had their images picked up by a camera that projected it on a huge plasma screen for all to see. "It was like the Oscars. Everyone was a film star that night, their head in the clouds but feet on the ground. It was very subliminal branding," Mr Peacock ads. "We made everything on brand, down to the towels, soaps and toilet paper, but done very subtly. It could have been a club - a very sexy nightclub." Orange colours - black, white, silver and orange - were styled and discreetly integrated into all elements of the event, down to the flowers, the walls, floor and structural metal elements. Understatement was key to the communication of the brand in an environment that was imbued with all of its values. Coming into the main area, guests were handed orange jello drinks, and greeted by a visually dynamic space that was broken up by nine-metre high tubes of light with shadow dancers inside, human sculptures dressed by Bangkok's up-and-coming fashion designers, three corners of buffet-style food, a bar that changed colour according to mood, a huge chill out area in the fourth corner and an endless stream of entertainment. The light tubes were not only stunning to see, but helped to break down the space, one of the major challenges, says Mr Ponlawat. "We also needed to bring people together to the heart of the party, the dance floor, that's why we had something in all four corners," he ads. The music moved from chilled out ambient tunes played by the top performers such as DJ Mangkorn, and moved through various sets of live music, highlighted by two songs performed by TA Orange chief executive officer Mr Richard Moat, including High by the Lighthouse Family after the turning on ceremony. Thai superstar, Look Gait, led the celebrations as master of ceremonies. There was even orange snow at one point. "It was a friendly and symbolic gesture," Mr Peacock says. We wanted to make it the first time it had snowed in Bangkok. It'll be a party everyone will remember. It was so loaded with style that it could have been a Hollywood premier. "It was meant to be inspirational and motivational. It was a tribute to the people who made Orange Thailand. There was food and drink all night. No cut off. No queues. Orange does not involve themselves in that kind of event," enthuses Mr Peacock. "It was like a full-blown rock and roll concert, a club, a multi-media event, a fashion show and an international food extravaganza in one. Everything was desirable." Style, understatement and symbolism underpinned the evening, right down to going home. In an echo of an Orange branding trait of using words, people were handed a cushion on the way out in an area marked "Pillow Talk". On one side of the cushion were the words "Goodnight" and on the other "Fun Dee", written in Thai, meaning "sweet dreams". "It shows the essence and confidence of Orange," Mr Peacock ads. It also shows their intention to integrate Orange brand values into Thai culture, a goal that sits very comfortably with Mr Peacock. "In Thailand the design values are incredible. The brand is very safe in Thai hands. There is incredible the talent here. They just got it right first time."