Zug. The Other MINI.

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1 2009 Gold Effie Winner Zug. The Other MINI. Category: Automotive Brand/Client: MINI Cooper Primary Agency: Butler Shine Stern & Partners Strategic Challenge For seven years, the MINI brand had fueled industry-leading growth with one model the MINI Cooper in two styles, hardtop and convertible. Launching the Clubman in 2008 provided the unique opportunity to reinvigorate the MINI brand among trendsetters and early adopters. Because of its great success, the MINI Cooper, while iconic and endearing, was becoming far more familiar and less edgy. Maybe too familiar. This was especially true in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, where it s normal to see 20 or more a day. Given this increased visibility, the Clubman needed to be disruptive. The Clubman is bigger than the Cooper and has more utility. Sounds great, right? Except functionality is primarily rational, not emotional. Plus, with just 9 added, the Clubman would disappoint people who were mainly attracted by increased size. At the risk of watering down MINI s fiercely emotional brand, the Clubman identity could not be based on its expanded size alone. Very few people in the U.S. were familiar with the Clubman s predecessor, the Traveler. It was critical that people understood the Clubman was an additional model, not an update to the Cooper. The Clubman needed to be seen as the new member of an already eccentric family. Lastly, the Clubman would never be the volume driver for MINI. Therefore, in addition to launching a new car, we needed to create interest in both the hardtop and the convertible as well. Of course, we were also facing more competition than ever in the only growing segment of the car industry.

2 Objectives 1) Build consideration of the Clubman, especially among trendsetters. 2) Increase perceptions of key differentiators for MINI: unique, distinctive and a car with personality. 3) Sell out of Clubman and lift MINI sales overall. The Big Idea The Clubman is its own breed and a very different MINI: odd, enigmatic and polarizing. In February 2006, MINI conducted initial product design clinics. The recurring reaction to the Clubman was It s not a MINI. This sentiment was repeated by MINI owners, MINI prospects and competitive car owners alike. They called it a bastard child, said it had no right to be a MINI and that it doesn t belong. It was clear that MINI had broken the mold again and that the Clubman had the potential to be disruptive. Why? Its design made some people uncomfortable. It broke from MINI s iconic shape. It was unbalanced (with only one coach door), it was elongated and it was unfamiliar. The design elements that were the most differentiating and the most essential to the Clubman s uniqueness were also the most polarizing: the coach door and the split rear barn doors. The Clubman increased perceptions of MINI as unconventional. It was clear that the Clubman would need to carve out its own unique territory it was truly odd and enigmatic. When people personified it, the Clubman was definitely someone who wouldn t be easily ignored: Free-thinking, different, not run of the mill. Talks loud and has a distinct point of view. Fast, clever and carrying an attitude. Has a lot of spunk. (Source: MINI Global Research, Product Clinics, February 2006) With the goal of building Clubman into its own icon, we set forth to give it its own character, its own depth, its own story, even its own language. Targeting trendsetters was a critical part of refreshing and recharging the MINI brand. We wanted to get the right 1,000 people in the Clubman first. Individualistic, design-oriented, expressive and playful. People who are actively engaged in art, culture, music, design, architecture, style, film and new technologies. People who reject convention and resist being easily defined. People who trust their intuition, instincts, gut feelings and visceral reactions to shape their attitudes and behaviors. We knew that to attract these trendsetters, Clubman needed to be a bit polarizing, not everyone s darling. We wanted to create an idiosyncratic character for the Clubman that was open to

3 interpretation. Bringing the Idea to Life When MINI launched the Cooper hardtop, it zigged. With the convertible, it zagged. What do you do when you ve already zigged and zagged? Simple. You Zug. And the Clubman is definitely Zug. Zug runs from the status quo. Zug is fringestream. Zug will try anything once. Zug makes it up as it goes. Zug is unapologetically unapologetic. Zug is a noun, a verb and an adjective. To Zug is to be unlike others. Creative and media worked together to build Zug s unpredictable and enigmatic nature. Beginning on February 1 st, two weeks before the Clubman launch, teaser outdoor appeared in key influencer markets. The teasers simply said Zig and Zag. Zig Zag was everywhere on steps, on posters, on walls, on bus shelters, in transit stations. No logo, no overt branding. The public responded with blog discussions and Flickr postings, ranging from utter confusion to adoration. Then, on launch day (February 16 th ), the outdoor postings expanded and the Clubman joined the family as Zug. The Other MINI. That same day, the new trio hit the streets with vehicle caravans (Zig, Zag and Zug) cruising through high-traffic areas, local landmarks and hip neighborhoods to let people get a first glimpse of the Clubman. Unexpected print executions followed, including a triple cover of the New Yorker, a gatefold cover of XLR8R, and integrated content within Intersection and Seed magazines. The Book of ZUG detailed the Clubman dogma and was distributed in Anthem, Fader, Paper, Paste, Esquire, SPIN, WIRED and various car magazines. This Zug philosophy was bolstered by national television spots that highlighted the unique design and performance of the Clubman. In "Pinball," the MINI Clubman is positioned with its split rear barn doors used as the flippers that prevent a pinball from going into the game's goal. The Pinball concept was also adapted in online ad units and gaming applications, including one for the Wii. In "Clubmanitis," a physician examining the inner ear of a young boy finds a MINI Clubman racing inside his patient's head. The Clubman print and outdoor took a more edgy tone than usual for MINI, with headlines like Baby Got Back, Badonkatrunk and Someone s Been Sleeping Around. Meanwhile, we partnered with tastemaker publications like BPM, Juxtapoz, Metropop, Swindle and Vice to create relevance with trendsetters. A multi-page print concept featured a series of otherwise normal families, each with one eccentric, oddball kid that is ultimately akin to the Clubman. Headlines read: The Other Neidermeyer, The Other Fitzpatrick, The Other Peterman and ultimately, The Other MINI. Music-based videos that featured the Clubman in eye-catching and artistic scenarios were seeded on tastemaker sites. The concepts mirrored the trends in art that trendsetters were creating themselves handcrafted, irreverent and playful. Finally, a series of viral videos evoked childhood memories of Sesame Street with the game One of These Things. One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn t belong. Can you guess which thing is not like the other, before we finish this song? Of course, the answer always leads to MINI Clubman. The Other MINI.

4 Communications Touch Points TV Spots Branded Content Sponsorship Product placement Radio Spots Merchandising Program/content Print Trade/Professional Newspaper Consumer Magazine Print partnership Direct Mail PR Events Packaging Product Design Cinema Interactive Online Ads Web site Viral video Video skins/bugs Social Networking sites Podcasts Gaming Mobile Phone Other OOH Airport Transit Billboard Place Based Other Trade Shows Sponsorship Retail Experience POP Video In-Store Merchandizing Sales Promotion Retailtainment Guerrilla Street Teams Tagging Wraps Buzz Marketing Ambient Media Sampling/Trial Consumer Involvement WOM Consumer Generated Viral Other Additional Marketing Components: N/A Reach: National Total Media Expenditure: $10-20 million Results 1) Build consideration of the Clubman, especially among trendsetters. During the launch campaign, MINI increased significantly (+36%) as a top-of-mind first choice for people planning to buy a small car. 1 This increase was almost entirely driven by the Clubman, which reached 3% unaided consideration within five months of launch. For context: Audi, Scion, Smart, Mazda and Subaru all have less top-of-mind consideration than the Clubman alone. In addition, trendsetters were 54% more likely to consider the Clubman than non-trendsetters. 2

5 2) Increase perceptions of key differentiators for MINI: unique, distinctive, and a car with personality. Among those that were aware of the Zig Zag Zug campaign, key descriptions of MINI were significantly stronger than among those who were not aware. 3 Car with personality (+18 pts.) Unique (+14 pts.) Distinctive (+12 pts.) This was reinforced qualitatively in post-launch focus groups when the Clubman was described as: It s its own thing. There s nothing else that s really like it. In a league of its own. 4 3) Sell out of Clubman and lift MINI sales overall. Within three months of the launch, the Clubman waitlist grew to four months long. MINI reached an unprecedented number of pre-orders for the Clubman: 90% of the Clubman models on their way to the U.S. were special-ordered by customers. 5 Fueled by the Clubman, MINI sales reached historic levels. During the Clubman launch (January June 2008), MINI experienced growth of +40%, while the total industry was in severe decline. 6 Although sales of small cars were also growing, MINI far outpaced them. Sources for Results: 1 Harris Interactive, MINI Tracking Study, Q Q2 2008, Unaided Consideration 2 Harris Interactive, MINI Tracking Study, Q2 2008, Unaided Consideration 3 Harris Interactive, MINI Tracking Study, Q2 2008, Top Box responses 4 MINI USA Focus Groups

6 5 MINI USA Internal Sales Data 6 Polk 2008, Jan-Jun 2008 monthly sales vs. average monthly sales for Jan-Jun 2007 Anything else going on that might have helped drive results? Although rising gas prices were the backdrop for the entire small car industry growth, the Clubman hit its full stride well before gas prices hit their peak prices in June and July Unlike the Prius sales, which spiked and declined in sync with gas prices, MINI s growth was steady and consistent. Also, MINI outpaced total small car industry growth and brands that had equal (if not better) opportunity to capitalize on the market trends.