There's a fascinating article at Autoweek.com about a speech that BMW AG Chairman Helmut Panke recently gave that touches on what makes a company like BMW or MINI successful. Seemingly one of his most important messages was about nurturing of brand. Here's an excerpt:

A brand is not just a label or a marketing campaign, he said. “A brand is a promise, a promise that the products of a brand provide substance, authenticity, emotional appeal and heritage.”

Panke criticized automakers that practice badge engineering: “If you put a fancy ball gown, makeup and lipstick on a dog, it will still walk like a dog and bark like a dog because, in the end, it is still a dog.”

…”We will never produce a boring car, even if this gives us a short-term opportunity for higher sales,” he vowed.

“To do so would cause our brands to lose their clear profile, and this loss of profile to our brands and their products would do much greater harm in the long run than any possible short-term gain.”

You can read the entire article here.

Analysis:

These words should come to no surprise as BMW and now MINI have demonstrated this kind of thinking behind much of everything they do. The success of the MINI brand in just under two years in the US is amazing, made even more so when you consider MINIUSA's very limited budget over this time period. While there is important work to be done to maintain this high level of success MINI has wisely put themselves in a position to grow and be very successful in the years ahead. I think it's quite reassuring to see this success and hear this message both from a current owners point of a view and a from someone who is considering a purchase.