Notorious Beam Team

Here is the latest deisgner collaboration between Karim Rashid and Veuve Cliquot. Setting the standard in the drinks world for collabroations that are both practical/functional as well as being visually stunning and PR worthy. Who wouldn't want a pink champagne bucket/chandelier.

As pointed on Where's the Sausage in relation to previous collaborations:

"Secondary packaging. Snore, right? Boring boxes. Catatonic cartons. Well, not if you're champagne brand Veuve Clicquot.

They have turned secondary packaging into an artform and this has played an important role in making the most stylish champagne. More importantly, its also helped them become the world's number 2 premium champagne, with a 23% share of the all-important US market.

On New Year's eve I tried out the box that turns magically into an ice bucket, and it actually works! A remarkable bit of packagaing design, with plastic seals to make it watertight. The Paint Box has four mini bottles in a funky yellow ice bucket that looks like a paint can. And the limited edition version of La Grande Dame by Andre Putman would make the perfect present for someone (very) special."

Here's some quotes from the Media Kit that Nourinda sent me:

"Veuve Clicquot Rosé inspires Karim Rashid:

Globalight is an innovative and unique reinterpretation of a chandelier. For a moment… so romantic… so rosé… so Veuve Clicquot

Created by Karim Rashid, the limited-edition Veuve Clicquot Globalight is an invitation to romanticism. This ultra contemporary chandelier creates a soft pink halo of light and a dream like atmosphere wherever it goes. It transforms an intimate candle lit dinner between partners or friends. It keeps Veuve Clicquot Rosé at the ideal temperature for 2 hours.

Veuve Clicquot Globalight is a state-of-the-art technology and design piece. The highly sophisticated system provides light without warming the lamp and transferring heat to the bottle of champagne. Zumbotel, a world expert in lighting, has conceived and manufactured this unique and complex technology. The pink light is the heart of this unique piece and it creates a romantic ambiance wherever it goes.

The wine has a luminous colour with an attractive pink hue. The wine works its magic - this delectably full champagne can be enjoyed as a true delicacy. A deliciously fruity wine in early bloom, this is a wonderful aperitif to be shared as a twosome or simply with friends. Its superb rosé colour adds a daring, contemporary and romantic touch!

“When Veuve Clicquot asked me to design a new project for their champagne, to continue the sensual integration of the immaterial and the material as I had done with the Loveseat, I immediately drew an elliptical scribble around the VC rose bottle as if to denote the intent – this is what I must do – and thought how could I bring light and champagne together? – and suddenly realized that my scribble was the idea in itself – ‘surround the bottle with illumination’ – embrace the bottle with a dynamic energetic magnetism – encapsulate the bottle with warmth, so I literally made an elliptical object and designed Globalight – like a purse, or a handbag, the ovaloid vignettes the champagne – lights it, glorifies it, and embraces the fabulous pleasurable experience of drinking my favorite champagne."



And here is what Veuve say about Karim Rashid

"A world renowned designer, an iconic creator of design and light pieces, and a source of daring, playful, minimalism and sensual inspiration – Karim Rashid collaborates with the House of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin for the second time. Following the release of the “Veuve Clicquot Loveseat”, Karim Rashid drew inspiration from Veuve Clicquot Rosé to create “Globalight”, a multi functional design object representing modern romanticism.

An award winning English-Egyptian artist living in New-York, Karim Rashid is a leading figure in the fields of product and interior design, furniture, lighting and art. His work is in the permanent collections of 15 Museums world wide including MoMA in NY."

It's a win-win-win-win for Rashid, Veuve, the trade and consumers. It premiumises Veuve, gains awareness and desire for their trendy rose and gets a lot of talkability. Coolhunting is covering it so chances are it will appear in Sunday Supplements and so forth in the run up to Spring and Summer. Perfect.

From Coolhunting:

"Limited to a run of 500 (only 50 of those will be available for the U.S. market), the Globalight will be available on Eclicquot in May for $4,000."

In addition, tactically Nourinda's emails were very clever. The story was embargoed until Wednesday. But a few bloggers broke this just because bloggers like to break rules. Much better to say not to do something because bloggers are likely to do the opposite. So then she sent an email out lifting the embargo and opened the blogging floodgates. Very clever online PR.

Bloggers were sent 5 key visuals shown in this post as well as a "media kit" featuring a beautfully presented rationale for the design. Good learnings for everyone at Beam about how to do online PR and luxury marketing.

For other Veuve designer collaboration posts click here for the Porsche design work and here for the Karim Rashid loveseat.

And I've just noticed that there is a proper review of the Veueve design theme on NotCot - so take a look.

And you have to have a look at their design workshop microsite which is very slick - and seems very genuine. Reminds of the Audi design studio.