It’s not every day that a car brand launches a new addition to its fleet, which is why the introduction of MINI’s latest model to South African audiences, the Coupé, called for a stylish celebration. VWV was mandated with conceptualising and producing a launch event that would make a MAXI impression. Taking into account the MINI brand personality – avant garde, pioneering and quirky, VWV set up an experience targeted at the high-end brand users and tech-savvy, with a focus on the upper LSM male population.
In line with the Coupé’s strap-line: ‘Another Day. Another Adventure’, the event was themed around the ultimate buccaneer, James Bond. Invitations, extended to a wingman, were sent in the form of a forthcoming movie trailer. In good spirits, the attendees arrived ‘dressed to kill’ and ready for action at Johannesburg’s trendy Circle Bar in Rosebank – the rendezvous point for a slick security check-in. It was here where attending guests were given a Bond-style martini and their secret agent status for the evening. Each received an iPod Touch, complete with an audio briefing of the evening’s proceedings.
On arrival the launch video was revealed by means of a secret security code required to be broken, to access the clip on the iPod Touch. Agents were also given access to a map on their iPod Touch of the JIMS to explore at their leisure.
VWV’s executive creative producer, Dean McKain said, “An important element of the launch was the use of technology which amplified the brand experience; another was that the agents would be privy to the JIMS before it was open to the public – lending an air of exclusivity.” It was also at the show, where the agents embarked on a ‘secret assignment’. Instructed to find a QR (Quick Response) code in an unknown location on the car – the most imaginative being inside the petrol cap – once found the iPod Touch would scan the code and if the word ‘adventure’ was revealed an iPad II was up for grabs. The QR codes also served as a clever marketing device giving vehicle specifications and price lists to those engaging with the codes.
To ensure the agents remained engaged throughout the evening they were tasked with another challenge – that of filming a one minute adventure on the MINI set using the IPod Touch. The best of these videos have been uploaded to the MINI Facebook page, where the public has been invited to vote for their favourite clip. “The integration of digital technology was appropriate for engaging the tech savvy audience and underpinned MINI’s positioning as a forward thinking brand,” said McKain.
In true style, the evening’s brand ambassadors, DJ Fresh, Euphonik and the band Good Luck donned their tuxedos for the evening and kept the agents entertained over cocktails and canapés.
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