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MINI Canada applauded for innovative marketing campaign
Named Automotive Client of the Year by Strategy Magazine
07/28/2003
Whitby, Ontario... MINI Canada, a division of BMW Group Canada, has been named "Top Automotive Client" in Strategy magazine's Top Clients Report 2003. The honour, bestowed annually in five categories by the editorial staff at Strategy, was awarded to MINI Canada for the company's innovative approach to producing a distinctive, compelling and sustainable brand campaign. The accolade further complements MINI's title of "2003 North American Car of the Year."
"All advertising is supposed to stand out, but only some of it does. The Strategy editorial team's top five picks of the year present five marketers who produced the most memorable, exciting and effective work in their respective categories... Unanimously, we chose MINI Cooper as the car with the most personality on the road. Two years in and their strategy is still refreshingly cool," states the editorial of the July 28, 2003 issue of the magazine.
The MINI was launched in Canada in March 2002. Through an Internet promotion entitled "Get In Line on Line", over 40% of the initial Canadian allocation of the vehicles was presold before the official release date. MINI's unconventional marketing campaign persisted as life-size MINIs appeared on billboards in downtown Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. MINIs were also caged on the streets of major Canadian cities with warnings to pedestrians "Not to tease, feed or annoy the MINI", and the smallest car on Canadian roads took on the Canadian winter in the MINI Winter Driving Challenge.
"MINI's character demanded an edgy, integrative brand campaign for the Canadian market," explains Rob Van Shaik, National Manager, MINI for BMW Group Canada. "The feedback we've received from our customers, the media, and now this award, indicates that this approach has been a tremendous success."
In Canada, MINI's advertising Agency of Record is Toronto based Taxi Advertising, while strategic media buys are coordinated through Gaggi Media.
The MINI Cooper and the MINI Cooper S are priced in Canada at $25,200 and $29,950 respectively and over 3,500 vehicles have been delivered to enthusiastic new MINI owners since the vehicle's launch in 2002.
Strategy magazine is a national business publication for marketers - a biweekly newspaper that looks at the people and strategic thinking behind Canada's marketing successes and failures. Strategy is the publication counted on by marketers to stimulate new ideas, keep them informed, identify leading talent, and help them find the most efficient and effective means of reaching their customers.
BMW Group Canada, based in Whitby, Ontario, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMW AG and is responsible for the distribution of BMW luxury performance automobiles, Sports Activity Vehicles, Motorcycles, and the 2003 North American Car of the Year - MINI. BMW Group Financial Services Canada is a division of BMW Group Canada and offers retail financing and leasing programs on new and pre-owned BMW and MINI Automobiles, as well as retail financing for new and pre-owned BMW Motorcycles. A total network of 35 independent BMW retail centres, 16 independent BMW motorcycle retailers, and 17 MINI retailers represents the BMW Group across the country.
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