Today’s New York Times has some further details about MINI’s recent agency selection:
>Butler, Shine is known for its offbeat campaigns for marketers like Converse footwear, Leap Wireless and Ubi Soft Entertainment, which have a substantial presence in new media. For instance, a recent campaign for Converse, part of Nike, gained considerable attention for inviting consumers to enter a contest by sending video clips they created to a special Web site – in effect, having them produce the brand’s commercials.
>”The Converse work was something that really attracted us,” said Jim McDowell, vice president for Mini at Mini USA in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., part of the BMW North America division of BMW.
>Butler, Shine, which was opened in 1993 by former employees of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, gained the Sun Microsystems account in February. During the dot-com boom, Butler, Shine worked on brands like Business 2.0 magazine and E-Stamp. In another sign of the agency’s technological bent, its blog (influxinsights.com) posted its 600th article on Wednesday.
You can read on below:
[ Small Tech-Astute Agency Wins a Small-Car Account ] NYT (reg. required)
NUFFSED. That was a kool way to let them know they had won.
$40 million a year – that’s more than $1,000 per vehicle spent on advertising. Out of curiosity, how does that compare to what other mfrs. spend per vehicle on their marketing campaigns?
I hope they let MINI owners submit their own ads – I’d love to see what the fanatics in the community come up with.
Dah!!! Hiring a $40 million dollar a year design firm and using owners ideas to advertise the MINI?
BMW/MINI could pay Gabe, lets say $10 million a year, and use the MOTORINGFILE and its readers ideas. Four times cheaper plus good taste.
LOL!!!!
I’d take 5 mil.
I’m wearing Chucks right now, the same color and style I wore a decade ago because they re-released the <em>One Star</em> line for a limited time last year. I drive a MINI Cooper S. I wear the same shoes and drive the same car these folks will be marketing, every day. These folks should offer me a job!
Butler, Shine – you want me! Ask Gabe for my e-mail addy. And I’m only half kidding about that.
That can’t be right – at $1000 per car that would imply that annual production was 40,000. Recent article states sales were 190,000 annually.
I thought so too, but I used the #’s from <a href="http://www.gbmini.net/sales.shtml" rel="nofollow">Ian’s sales figures</a> which show 38K MINI’s sold this year.
<blockquote>That can’t be right – at $1000 per car that would imply that annual production was 40,000. Recent article states sales were 190,000 annually.</blockquote>
There are two sales figures reported on MotoringFile every month. One that is MINI USA specific and one that is MINI worldwide.
MINI USA projects its sales to be around 40,000 annually (up from 20k originally). MINI Worldwide expects something just shy of 200,000.
ok – so is the $40 mil the US budget or the world wide budget?
<blockquote>ok – so is the $40 mil the US budget or the world wide budget?</blockquote>
$40 million is roughly what MINI USA will be spending next year on advertising.
What MINI worldwide spends, I have no idea.
Ah! Thanks Gabe!! Good clarification. I wonder how that compares to say GM or Ford – probably a good deal for MINI.
From Autoweek –
“Mark LaNeve, GM vice president for North American vehicle sales, service and marketing, declined to comment on GM’s spending plans for next year. He has said GM’s ad budget for 2005 is 10 percent higher than it was in 2004; that would mean about $2.75 billion in ad spending this year.
In 2004, GM spent $2.51 billion in measured media advertising, according to TNS Media Intelligence.”
Maybe GM should spend some money on designers that could design something better than the Malibu, Cobalt and others. Their trucks must be the only thing that keeps them afloat, and they had better watch out for Toyota and Nissan in those area. I’m surprised they don’t screw up some of the foreign car companies they own.
GM….Generally Mundane…but then I like eggs.
<blockquote>In 2004, GM spent $2.51 billion in measured media advertising, according to TNS Media Intelligence.</blockquote>
… and …
<blockquote>GM made 8.99 million cars and trucks in 2004 ([via](<a href="http://news.techwhack.com/2508/211133-toyota-might-top-general-motors-sales-in-usa/" rel="nofollow ugc">http://news.techwhack.com/2508/211133-toyota-might-top-general-motors-sales-in-usa/</a>))</blockquote>
So …
(2.51*1000)/8.99is $279.20 spent for every car made in ’04 (dunno how many were actually sold, however).Sure seems like MINI’s spending a lot on advertising. I would gladly have paid a grand less for my MCS. Honestly, despite how “cool” their advertising is, how much does that really help their sales? Is their ad agency responsible for coming up with the cool little things I get from MINI every year? What about the billboards I see occasionally in town? What does MINI USA actually get for their 40 mil?
<blockquote>Is their ad agency responsible for coming up with the cool little things I get from MINI every year? What about the billboards I see occasionally in town? What does MINI USA actually get for their 40 mil?</blockquote>
All of the above plus a lot more.
<a href="http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=47095" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=47095</a>
BMW MINI’S $24 MILLION AD ACCOUNT GOES TO BUTLER SHINE
Blalor………..
I haven’t seen a billboard for at least 9 months, maybe longer, here in Pasadena Ca. I wish I had gotten a pic of the 1st one they put up on the 210 Frwy in Irwindale with the wind swept dimensional palm trees a few years back. I haven’t seen a TV commercial in at least the same amount of time. Must be money spent in smaller markets or something? Good Question. Seems a lot of money for some funky postcards and CCC stuff but I’m sure it’s well spent somewhere. Can’t be the apparel as I think most of it sucks, even though I have a lot of it… according to my family who call me Mr. MINI.
Anybody have a pic of the billboard I described above.
<blockquote>All of the above plus a lot more.</blockquote>
A grand per car still seems really freaking high…