Showdown in Barcelona
BMW is reinventing advertising for its sleek compact car—with a high-tech scavenger hunt
BMW reinvents the wheel of advertising for the sleek little car - with a high-tech scavenger huntBy Andreas Panzeri Mini invasion in Barcelona: 21 teams of four from 17 countries took part in a fictitious agent game for four days. The Mini mission was followed by 100 media people from all over the world. Naturally, they all drove through the city in 121 eye-catching Minis. The marketing specialists at BMW Mini expect this to have "more effect" than traditional advertising - but at the same price.
A black van skids across the pier in the port of Barcelona with screeching tires. It is followed by a police car with flashing blue lights and sirens. The police officers lay out a spike tape. The van comes to a halt with punctured tires. Then a BMW Mini spikes over a loading ramp at breakneck speed and flies 20 meters through the air over the shipping containers.
Sam Cooper gets out of the car. A wooden crate is torn out of the van's cargo area. "Who's got the code?" he shouts. Then a great roar of joy from the Germany One team. With their "secret code", they are able to save six stolen paintings by American artist Peter Halley from imminent shipment at the last second.
Around 20 camera crews storm the scene for close-ups. There is applause on the specially erected grandstand in the port of Barcelona. There, over 300 other "agents", media people and marketing specialists, are thrilled by the Mission Mini showdown. "We get more bang for our buck with this event than with traditional advertising," Michael Kirsch, Head of Public Relations at the BMW Group in Munich, is convinced.
Later, people wonder whether this event, which turned into a Hollywood-like happy ending after four days, cost three or five million francs. No matter. Mission Mini was one of the most spectacular event marketing stories to date, organized by the Munich agency Avantgarde. The PR agency Ketchum, with over 1500 employees worldwide, took care of the media marketing. Among the 100 media people flown in to Barcelona were the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Irish Times, Playboy, Max, Der Wiener, Elle, TV Spielfilm and, of course, Automobil Revue.
World attention concentrated in one place
In 17 countries from Australia and Japan to the whole of Europe and Canada, 21 teams of amateur agents were recruited. In Barcelona, the teams each captured a BMW Mini. They had to use it to search for the stolen pictures of Peter Halley, based on a script by bestselling English author Val McDermit. An office with a computer and secretary was set up for each team in the disused North Station. Every hour, the secretary informed the agents of the latest tasks via cell phone. Guided by a GPS system, the teams had to find 44 locations in this crime thriller during the subsequent high-tech scavenger hunt through the city. In bars, galleries, train stations, attics and hotel rooms, 35 professional actors played the suspects. Whoever elicited the right tips from them during the interrogation could find the key to the stolen paintings in a safe deposit box shortly before the showdown in the harbor.
The idea for Mission Mini was developed at BMW Mini in Munich. At first, they thought of a "Mini around the World" style spectacle, in which a convoy of Mini drivers would compete in a rally around the globe. It was then realized that "it would be much more effective to concentrate the event in one place and invite the whole world there," says Adrian Riesen, Head of Mini at BMW Switzerland.
Looking for role models in the Catholic Church
In Switzerland, Star TV has been selected as Mission Mini's most important media partner. The PR agency Peter Bütikofer & Company took care of the other communication tasks. The competition was advertised in lifestyle magazines such as Forecast, Massiv and Kult. Paul Grau from Star TV came up with the idea of daily reporting. Using a satellite link, a team of eight reported from Friday to Monday for 5 minutes each day in the style of a live report from Barcelona, with hourly repetitions of this program on "Star News". "With this concept, we got the maximum possible effect out of Mission Mini in Switzerland," Riesen is convinced.
More than 700 candidates registered for the casting in Switzerland. BMW Mini considers this response to be "very successful". In the much larger German market, the percentage was significantly lower at 4,200 candidates.
BMW Mini now expects even more response from the reporting from Barcelona. "If you set everything against each other, you get a good cost/benefit ratio," says Corinna Broser, Group Manager at Ketchum. No wonder: nine international TV stations such as RTL, RAI 1, ORF, N 24, ntv, TV 3 from Ireland, City TV Canada and a team from Hong Kong reported extensively from Barcelona.
Traditional advertising is more expensive, but also has clearly defined messages. The communication surrounding the Mini mission also tried to convey these messages. Even more than a message, however, the aim was to convey a special feeling for this former cult car from England, which is now naturally also associated with a new image at BMW in Munich.
Universal artist Dieter Meier from the pop group Yello, who was in Barcelona together with
The presenter Claudia Lässer, who reported for Star TV, sees such concepts as the "future of advertising". It is not just a product that is shown, but motion and emotion. "Classic advertising with advertisements and commercials is only for lazy advertisers and entrepreneurs who are too lazy to deal with a product and its significance in society," analyzed Meier in Barcelona.
And he even makes a comparison: "Advertising should take a leaf out of the book of the Catholic Church, which has been selling a completely irrational product with music, images, clothes and smells for 1500 years, which is not very far removed from hot air. Modern advertising must create an aura, which in our modern society is more important than the product itself."
A black van skids across the pier in the port of Barcelona with screeching tires. It is followed by a police car with flashing blue lights and sirens. The police officers lay out a spike tape. The van comes to a halt with punctured tires. Then a BMW Mini spikes over a loading ramp at breakneck speed and flies 20 meters through the air over the shipping containers.
Sam Cooper gets out of the car. A wooden crate is torn out of the van's cargo area. "Who's got the code?" he shouts. Then a great roar of joy from the Germany One team. With their "secret code", they are able to save six stolen paintings by American artist Peter Halley from imminent shipment at the last second.
Around 20 camera crews storm the scene for close-ups. There is applause on the specially erected grandstand in the port of Barcelona. There, over 300 other "agents", media people and marketing specialists, are thrilled by the Mission Mini showdown. "We get more bang for our buck with this event than with traditional advertising," Michael Kirsch, Head of Public Relations at the BMW Group in Munich, is convinced.
Later, people wonder whether this event, which turned into a Hollywood-like happy ending after four days, cost three or five million francs. No matter. Mission Mini was one of the most spectacular event marketing stories to date, organized by the Munich agency Avantgarde. The PR agency Ketchum, with over 1500 employees worldwide, took care of the media marketing. Among the 100 media people flown in to Barcelona were the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Irish Times, Playboy, Max, Der Wiener, Elle, TV Spielfilm and, of course, Automobil Revue.
World attention concentrated in one place
In 17 countries from Australia and Japan to the whole of Europe and Canada, 21 teams of amateur agents were recruited. In Barcelona, the teams each captured a BMW Mini. They had to use it to search for the stolen pictures of Peter Halley, based on a script by bestselling English author Val McDermit. An office with a computer and secretary was set up for each team in the disused North Station. Every hour, the secretary informed the agents of the latest tasks via cell phone. Guided by a GPS system, the teams had to find 44 locations in this crime thriller during the subsequent high-tech scavenger hunt through the city. In bars, galleries, train stations, attics and hotel rooms, 35 professional actors played the suspects. Whoever elicited the right tips from them during the interrogation could find the key to the stolen paintings in a safe deposit box shortly before the showdown in the harbor.
The idea for Mission Mini was developed at BMW Mini in Munich. At first, they thought of a "Mini around the World" style spectacle, in which a convoy of Mini drivers would compete in a rally around the globe. It was then realized that "it would be much more effective to concentrate the event in one place and invite the whole world there," says Adrian Riesen, Head of Mini at BMW Switzerland.
Looking for role models in the Catholic Church
In Switzerland, Star TV has been selected as Mission Mini's most important media partner. The PR agency Peter Bütikofer & Company took care of the other communication tasks. The competition was advertised in lifestyle magazines such as Forecast, Massiv and Kult. Paul Grau from Star TV came up with the idea of daily reporting. Using a satellite link, a team of eight reported from Friday to Monday for 5 minutes each day in the style of a live report from Barcelona, with hourly repetitions of this program on "Star News". "With this concept, we got the maximum possible effect out of Mission Mini in Switzerland," Riesen is convinced.
More than 700 candidates registered for the casting in Switzerland. BMW Mini considers this response to be "very successful". In the much larger German market, the percentage was significantly lower at 4,200 candidates.
BMW Mini now expects even more response from the reporting from Barcelona. "If you set everything against each other, you get a good cost/benefit ratio," says Corinna Broser, Group Manager at Ketchum. No wonder: nine international TV stations such as RTL, RAI 1, ORF, N 24, ntv, TV 3 from Ireland, City TV Canada and a team from Hong Kong reported extensively from Barcelona.
Traditional advertising is more expensive, but also has clearly defined messages. The communication surrounding the Mini mission also tried to convey these messages. Even more than a message, however, the aim was to convey a special feeling for this former cult car from England, which is now naturally also associated with a new image at BMW in Munich.
Universal artist Dieter Meier from the pop group Yello, who was in Barcelona together with
The presenter Claudia Lässer, who reported for Star TV, sees such concepts as the "future of advertising". It is not just a product that is shown, but motion and emotion. "Classic advertising with advertisements and commercials is only for lazy advertisers and entrepreneurs who are too lazy to deal with a product and its significance in society," analyzed Meier in Barcelona.
And he even makes a comparison: "Advertising should take a leaf out of the book of the Catholic Church, which has been selling a completely irrational product with music, images, clothes and smells for 1500 years, which is not very far removed from hot air. Modern advertising must create an aura, which in our modern society is more important than the product itself."
