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Technology Stocks : Nokia (NOK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: AL H who wrote (474)	12/18/1997 11:47:00 AM
From: AL H	Respond to of 34857

Nokia has Strong Connections in Nokia Sugar Bowl Teams' Home States NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 1997--When the 1998 Nokia Sugar Bowl kicks off on January 1 in New Orleans, many of the fans and TV viewers from the states of Ohio and Florida will recognize the game's title sponsor, Nokia (NYSE:NOKA - news), based on the company's connection to their local communities. Nokia supplies cellular and personal communications services (PCS) phones and network equipment to markets in both states and employs thousands of people in two facilities in Florida. Squaring off in the Louisiana Superdome to determine the 1998 Nokia Sugar Bowl champion will be the Ohio State Buckeyes -- the first Big Ten Conference team to appear in the Sugar Bowl since Michigan in 1984 -- and the returning Florida State Seminoles of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Nokia, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, keeps its U.S. sales headquarters in Tampa, Fla., and has a phone accessories manufacturing/sales plant in Melbourne, Fla. Nokia analog and digital cellular phones are sold through cellular service providers and retailers throughout Florida. In addition, Nokia supplies network infrastructure and phones for Aerial Communications' all-digital PCS network in cities including Tampa, St. Petersburg and Orlando, and PCS phones for Powertel PCS, which supplies service in Florida State's hometown of Tallahassee. In Ohio State's hometown of Columbus, consumers can use their Nokia phones on Aerial's Nokia-supplied PCS network. Nokia cellular phones are sold statewide. Nokia (pronounced NOK-ee-ah) is a leader in digital technologies including mobile phones, wireless telecommunications networks and computer display monitors with 1996 net sales of $8.5 billion. The company signed a three-year deal to sponsor the Nokia Sugar Bowl in 1995 with the stated goal of increasing brand recognition in the United States for its wireless phone equipment. Nokia's commitment to this national sports event, in addition to a new nationwide print and TV advertising campaign, has resulted in a continued increase among consumers of the company's name and its products. Matt Wisk, Nokia's vice president of customer marketing in the U.S., says college football delivers Nokia's message to a prime audience, both college-educated consumers and influential young consumers. ''The build-up to the college bowl games goes on throughout the entire college season, and the final payoff comes on January 1 when more than 20 million homes will be tuned into the Nokia Sugar Bowl,'' he said. Nokia is leveraging its role as the title sponsor by developing a nationwide sweepstakes, which will culminate on national TV during halftime of the Nokia Sugar Bowl game. This year's ''Million Dollar Toss'' contest features four giant phones placed at different distances (4, 6, 8 and 12 yards) on the field. The contestant will be given 30 seconds to throw a football through a hole in each of the first three phones, collecting prize money after each successful toss. After successfully making the first three tosses, the contestant then has one chance to throw at the $1 million phone. ABC will televise the dramatic conclusion during a three-minute segment that will air during halftime of the game. ''The sweepstakes cost us a lot less than we'll get back in consumer value,'' said Wisk. ''And if someone makes it the 'Million Dollar Toss' -- which we're rooting for -- then the sky's the limit in terms of recognition for Nokia.''