A MINI love affair

Posted by Christine Rosher on 23 May 2011 | 0 Comments

Tags: brand, brand values

MINI is a brand that warms my heart. For years I’ve spotted the original and new MINIs on the street, collected beautifully designed brochures, queued for hours to see MINI stunt demonstrations at motor shows and bought the t-shirt.

When I finally put my money where my mouth was and bought a MINI Cooper a few years ago, I named her Millie (after my Dad’s MINI) and polished her lovingly. And for the last 6 years I’ve been amazed how she spreads the love. I often get a smile and a wave from small children, fellow MINI owners and even aspiring MINI owners. One day I returned to my car to find an invitation from a complete stranger to join a convoy to a wedding. Curiosity got the better of me and I went along, met the other MINIs and found myself delivering the groom to the church. Millie even posed for the wedding photographs!

What is it about the MINI brand that brings out this kind of behaviour in people? Many brands can only dream of the kind of brand advocates that MINI inspires. Creating such brand community, such a strong connection between brand and customer, requires perfectly planned and absolute consistent customer experience across multiple touch points and channels. The closer the match of brand values with customer values, the stronger the advocacy.

My ‘fellowship’ of MINI is the culmination of my Dad’s MINI stories, The Italian Job, Mr Bean, the MINI celebrity challenge, and all the other references I’ve built up over the years, added to BMW’s update of the brand, ad campaigns, motor show presence, dealership experience and unwavering dedication to great design. No surprise that my own values are deeply embedded in great design and attention to detail.

But MINI can’t rest on its laurels. BMW continues to evolve the brand alongside the consumer, with new and expanded model offerings, fresh marketing and a more mature tone that loses none of the cheekiness that has been built over the last decade. BMWs aim to help MINI stay on top of new competition and relevant to its target market. Last month BMW brought the base model MINI Ray to Australia to directly strengthen competition with the similarly retro-inspired Fiat 500 and the raft of small car competitors. This year, MINI is making a comeback on the international rally circuit with the not-so-MINI Countryman.

Can MINI brand love continue to the next generation? I certainly think so!