From MINIUSA PR:

One year after the MINI brand was launched in the U.S., its brand awareness has more than quadrupled and sales have exceeded expectations by fifty percent, according to Jack Pitney, General Manager for MINI USA, in a speech to the Automotive Press Association in Detroit today.

Brand Awareness Quadrupled in 18 Months
In the fall of 2001, MINI brand awareness was just 12 percent, Pitney said. After going on sale in March 2002, brand awareness had grown to 53 percent by December 2002 — a substantial feat considering the brand was launched without a national television campaign, often considered a crucial element in successfully launching an automotive brand.

Innovative Marketing Helped Establish the Brand
“Rather than implement the traditional advertising blitz associated with launches, the company relied on “out-of-the-box” thinking and grass roots tactics to generate groundbreaking buzz,” Pitney said. “While low brand awareness in this market presented a challenge, it also gave us the luxury of starting with a clean slate.”

“It was important for us to identify the MINI customer,” Pitney said, “since MINI's appeal is not limited to a demographic boundary. Instead, MINI customers have similar psychographic qualities – what we call the “MINI mindset,” and our marketing had to be relevant to all of them. The youngest MINI buyer is 15 and the oldest one 97!”

“We aim to emulate MINI's icon status in the UK,” continued Pitney. “The best way to do that is to have it rub against popular American icons.” MINI's 2003 ad campaign has the car in the getup of popular automotive TV icons of the 70's and 80's including Knight Rider's K.I.T.T, The Partridge Family bus, The Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee and Starsky and Hutch's signature red and white Ford Grand Tourino.

MINI launched in March of 2002 with a modest sales target of 20,000 units in that year. By the end of March 2003, the brand had seen sales for just over 30,000 cars. In addition to being named North American Car of the Year, MINI has received more than 30 other awards.

Well done MINIUSA!