not-normal

According to the Automotive News MINI is expanding the Not Normal marketing campaign that was introduced earlier this year buy its agency BSSP. Given all the recent small car competition MINI is looking to turn up the dial a bit to gain more of the public’s attention. According the Automotive News:

>Mini is fighting back with new executions in its “Not normal” campaign from Butler Shine, Stern & Partners, Sausalito, Calif. — the creative strategy that allowed the agency to hold onto the account after the automaker’s review in 2012. The idea is to push its peculiarity and stand out from brands like Chevrolet’s Spark, which outsold Mini in July of this year according to Automotive News’ DataCenter.

>The younger, offbeat car buyers Mini targets don’t like traditional advertising. So Mini has always relied on clever stunts and event marketing, inviting fans to experience its brands at events where they feel comfortable and via social media.

>”You won’t find us a lot on TV,” said Mr. Salkowsky, because experiential and non-traditional marketing is “really the Mini way.”

>It’s also a lot less expensive. The small, independent brand under the BMW Group umbrella spent less than $20 million on traditional media in 2012, according to Kantar Media. That’s a pittance compared to the budget of competitors, such as Fiat, which spent nearly $80 million in 2012.

Look for this renewed focus to culminate in something big for the F56 launch late this winter.