NOKIA | NYC EXPERIENTIAL EVENT WITH JACK MORTON WORLDWIDE

Jack Morton Worldwide was my first REAL JOB in NYC. Yes, I had a decently paid internship at GM R*Works in Rye, NY for a semester or so, but when I got offered a job, I just couldn’t see moving upstate for the job (they were moving further from the city). I knew of Jack Morton because they had done a killer election year campaign activation in Rockefeller Center and I had gone to it and then signed up for their white papers. One day, I read this really insightful white paper from their Senior Strategist, Liz Bingham. She was whip smart. I wanted to work with her. I got her contact info (much harder in 2004 than it is now, I swear) and wrote her a note saying how much I loved the white paper. I asked her who I should stalk..I mean, write… to try to get a job in Account Management. And then I did everything in my power to get a job there. I wrote everyone. I applied to every job (not just on the account side). I broke a heel once in the city grates on my way to the interview and bought a pair of (TERRIBLE and CHEAP) shoes to throw on, on my way up the elevator from the crappy shoe store on the ground floor of the office building.

I stood in awe during my interview. Their office was BRANDED. It looked exactly how I would’ve imagined. It told a story. It felt like an agency in new york freaking city. It was bright orange and modern— the lamps were cool, the chairs were cooler. I loved it. I got the job. I was going to be an Account Coordinator on Nokia. Oh la la. A global brand. An electronics brand. A brand that loved music, pop culture and experiences. I was in heaven.

My boss was straight out of a movie. Gorgeous. Successful. Cute husband. Killer heels. Smart. Ballsy. I wanted to grow up and be here someday. Well someday came quicker than I thought because she had to take maternity leave a few months into my job. She trusted me though, and gave me the chance to step up. I was in charge of executing an influencer (brand ambassadors or celebrities we called them then) event for Nokia at Sky Studios, a super posh rooftop lounge space downtown. Coordinating all of the PR, media, day-of events, music, florals, bohemian pillows, chair rentals, wireless printer set ups where you could use wifi to send pictures from the phones to print (at the time this was HUGE)…I became the main client contact (clients were in Finland and senior and baddass)— essentially she gave me her job. And while I was totally freaking out inside I loved every second of it and totally pulled it off.