Who wants to be normal? Apparently, MINI owners are among those desiring to be different and unique – not normal! These owners embrace their differences, yet still manage to form a somewhat cohesive group (is that normal?), bonding over their shared love of their MINI and motoring experience.
Recently in London, MINI used a creative campaign to spot its cars, then snap pictures and post them on digital billboards located around the city. The company trained people as spotters, then placed them by the roadside to identify MINIs and craft fun, unique messages to the drivers. Some of the messages included “Hey cream MINI, what’s your secret?” and “Hello red MINI driver!”
Pictures were snapped and fed in real-time to the nearby billboards for the MINI drivers to view. And if that wasn’t enough to reward the not-normal MINI owners, they were also invited via billboard to stop in at the nearby gas station for treats such as smoothies and bacon sandwiches. Being not-normal definitely gets attention and for nearly 1,500 MINI drivers, it was a great ride.
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Bring up MINI’s Web site and review the messages: www.miniusa.com
- Next, show the video of the billboard stunt: http://youtu.be/e5bEB0tmMQI
- What are the important elements for the billboard campaign? List considerations that MINI had to incorporate into the messages and execution.
- Divide students into teams. Have each team select a product that could use a “not normal” campaign.
- Each team should develop a campaign similar to the MINI campaign. Factors to consider: brand, target market, message, and geography.
Source: Ad Age Daily, Brandchannel.com, 9/5/13
