Opinion: It’s Not Called MINI Cooper – It’s Called MINI!

The term MINI Cooper has become the brand name for MINI in the US and it drives us at MF crazy. Let’s back up for a moment. Most of us know that the Cooper is a model that was created by John Cooper in 1961. Born from a concept that any car enthusiast knows well; drop a big engine (in this case a less small engine) in a small car, give it some tweaks and send it to the track. This formula was eventually extended to the even hotter Cooper S. And this wasn’t just a marketing exercise. These changes were commissioned by British Motor Corporation and intended for and designed to meet the homologation rules of Group 2 rally racing.
So a MINI is a very different thing than a MINI Cooper and Cooper S (Much less a JCW). Yet to the American public there seems to be no such thing as a MINI. In fact to the unwashed masses there’s simply two kinds of MINI Coopers – a small MINI Cooper and a big MINI Cooper (the Clubman or Countryman).
These are the fundamental brand and product recognition problems that MINI USA has been dealing with over the past 16 years. Frustrating right?
The easiest and maybe smartest thing to do would be to rebrand the small MINI hatch as a MINI Cooper in the US. From there, MINI USA could simply apply the S or JCW model names to it denoting different power and trim levels. This would separate the iconic hatch from the rest of the range and connect it with the name everyone already knows. It would also make it easier to differentiate other models like the Clubman and Countryman giving them more of a unique identity.
In a sense this would embrace the US public’s perception that all small MINIs are MINI Coopers and simply allow MINI USA to use that to its advantage.
Crazy? Let us know in the comments below!
9 Comments
<p>That is brilliant!!! They can rebrand the MINI hatch as a MINI Cooper in the US and then go ahead and axe it from the lineup! No more brand confusion.</p>
<p>Maybe they should sell a model of a MINI that is not a Cooper or a Cooper S.</p>
<p>Is this really a problem? I mean, to anyone who isn’t a pedant? MINI owners and enthusiasts recognize that Cooper is a model trim (some probably even know that in Europe there are non-Cooper models). But I don’t think it’s hurting MINI sales in any way.</p>
<p>I’ve been saying this for years (to myself at least)!</p>
<p>According to several sources the fifth and final F-series “Superhero” model, the all-electric MINI, will be called MINI Cooper E.</p>
<p>I like the proposed solution.</p>
<p>Another option would be to make the vehicle bigger and drop the MINI ; )-</p>
<p>How about just writing “C”, rather than “Cooper” on all the larger models?</p>
<p>In the pic above you have a Countryman, that clearly is labeled on the back as a Cooper S. And has a MINI label on it. And a Countryman label. I see no confusion here!</p>
<p>Yeah it’d probably help if the Clubman and Countryman were called just…the Clubman and Countryman, rather than Cooper (S) Clubman and Cooper (S) Countryman. Literally every car (seemingly at least) is called a “Cooper [something]”.</p>
<p>…course as far as I recall everyone I know just calls my car a Mini, maybe include the Cooper here and there. If I get a Countryman they’ll probably just call it a Countryman.</p>