MINI stands out with 'not normal' experiences

Joss Davidge, business director of brand experience agency BEcause, continues his weekly search for great marketing ideas.

This week he looks at three stunts from MINI’s ‘Not Normal’ campaign.

MINI has kicked off its latest marketing campaign with an assortment of fun and out of the ordinary stunts, designed to position the marque as ‘Not Normal’ and to engage people with the brand’s fun ethos. The full-throttle campaign has got people talking across the world by embracing a range of tactics aimed at winning over the hearts and minds of its fun-seeking target audience.

This week I thought I’d highlight three stunts that I’ve come across so far; although I’m sure there are a host more to come from BMW’s iconic car so see this is only the beginning.

MINI Crowdsourced Images

In a bid to celebrate the ‘inventiveness at the heart of the MINI brand’ the marque turned to crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining services, ideas or content by gathering contributions from a community. Over the past few years I have seen several brands turn to their fans, loyalists and the wider pubic and ask for their help and in turn building great relationship that encourage consumers to feel part of the brand. In early August MINI launched a search for unusual fan images and creations that are inspired by the car, these were then displayed on billboards celebrating not only the car but also its ‘Not Normal’ fans.

MINI Art Beat

MINI has also created the MINI Art Beat, a Cooper Countryman covered in 48,000 LED lights. The eye-catching vehicle lit up London streets earlier in the month. People could send in images and video to the dedicated Facebook page and they would appear in lights on the car. The two-week activation got hundreds of people talking both online and off.

MINI Rollercoaster

In a third ‘Not Normal’ spot here is a great idea from Canada. Three MINI’s were converted into a ‘MINI Rollercoaster’, that toured the streets of Toronto. The customised cars featured rooftop seating that were filled with people clasping Theme Park favourites such as candy floss and stuffed animals. The rollercoaster MINI’s were also accompanied by a custom soundtrack, that combined clunking rollercoaster sounds with a head-turning beat. There are some great reactions from public as it cruised through downtown Toronto.

Read more from Joss Davidge in our Clubhouse.