How else can I shoot a car commercial? If you want to let the audience see the suspense, mystery and plot from a 10-minute short film, and reveal the brand's sense of luxury, this MINI commercial may be a good answer.
The story takes place at a noodle shop – it looks like pyrotechnics and a little bit of a "big hidden in the city" jianghu dojo. As the owner of the MINI car, Richie suddenly visited the legendary "lost noodles" on a rainy night with the intention of kicking the museum, and the manager Lao Gai is also a powerful character, and his way of receiving customers is very special, he must first listen to the customer's story, and guess the customer's taste to make a bowl of noodles. If the taste is right and the hearts are connected, the old guy will change the car.
【Obsession】
Obsession
Lao Gai recalled how he learned about tim, Feng Wei, Anny Fan, and He Weiwei's noodles, and changed their unique MINI that best matched their personality.
The story begins with the anger and impulsiveness of the kicker Richie, and ends with his reconciliation and restart. In the end, he saw that the people in lao Gai's mouth were engaged in a warm life with their respective MINIs, and finally understood that the charm of each MINI was not only the car, but also the people behind them, because they all had an obsessive love.
The entire project containing this commercial film is actually around the concept of "mini love", which is also the new brand strategy released by MINI in China, and the chineseization of MINI's global brand strategy.
From "MINI" to "mini" is not only a simple translation, but more importantly, it is to connect consumers - in the "fan, you, so, love" four words, the four words of the ups and downs, the consumer's personality and preferences are highlighted.
"Many people buy MINI not only as a car, but also as a way of life, and the car itself is also a kind of thing that carries personal emotions, preferences, tastes and attitudes, and is the bearer and refraction of his love and life experience." Anomaly, its advertising creative agency, explains that the entire advertising film is figuratively expressed, telling you that the charm of MINI is actually the obsession of the owner, which also happens to be the spirit of "mini love".
In the view of Qi Tianzuo, the director of the advertising film, the reason why this rather humanistic spirit film presents a sense of jianghu is that in his understanding, the car is like a human weapon. "As for people, the car is like a weapon to a chivalrous person, it is a guy who walks the world, so 'the unity of man and car' is like the state of 'unity of man and sword'."
For example, He Weiwei, who is full of white hair in the film, "In the past 60 years, I am a car, old, the steering wheel I want to hold by myself", she holds the steering wheel that the old cover has installed for her and is the same age as herself. This is a nearly 70-year-old person who puts aside the shackles after experiencing the world, still does not change his passion and love, and bravely grasps his life in his hands.
He Weiwei
For example, Anny Fan, a fashionista who shuttles between the runway and in front of the camera every day, likes pet dogs, and her way to change the car is to add a seat belt with a dog print pattern - safety customization, fashion exclusive.
ANNA FAN
For example, the car owners who show their obsession with racing cars and changing cars in the film, in the words of the film director Qi Tianzuo, is "the obsession of this part of the people is the embodiment of a true idealist, and they are always obsessed with their own interests and hobbies, and they do not seek answers." ”
Dreamer ALI
Old cover
What differentiates MINI from other car brands?
This 62-year-old car has been full of personality and legend since its birth. When it was born in 1959, it became famous in the automotive industry for its ability to dig up a lot of ride space in a very small size. The genius designer and "father of MINI" Isgonis first drew a great idea on napkins, which also made this car with pure British genes gradually develop from the original national car into a fashion label.
It can be said that MINI is not a car brand that wins the price war, and many of its consumers are paying for a uniqueness.
The uniqueness that MINI sells is intuitively reflected in its vintage bodywork, iconic design elements, the transformation of sufficiently personalized livery, and the brand culture expressed by advertising and creativity. In other words, while MINI sells cars, it also makes its consumers willing to accept the feelings and lifestyles it represents.
Image source: Weibo@MINI China
Just like the classic marketing theory "no one likes to preach, but everyone likes to listen to stories", MINI's storytelling marketing method makes brands and consumers more like storytellers and listeners, or even co-creators of brand culture, which also helps to shape MINI's brand equity and user stickiness.
Looking back at past marketing cases, you will find that based on the unique brand history and tonality, storytelling has always been a masterpiece of MINI.
For example, make a movie featuring 7 founders, including Zhuang Songxian, founder of carving time café, Mao Jihong, founder of the clothing brand "Exception", founder of the public space "Fangsuo", and Qian Xiaohua, founder of Pioneer Bookstore; open a "nomadic hotel" where you drive to the scenery to encourage people to maintain curiosity, continuous exploration and growth; for example, in the building in the old city of Shanghai, cross-border construction of a shared space to display the MINI brand.
This is very different from previous car advertisements. "At present, the content of many advertisements is only a hard promotion, and only when the brand's own spirit is strong enough, it has the opportunity to communicate with consumers' feelings and life stories." Director Qi Tianzuo said.
The reason why MINI can freely jump out of the industry, expand business boundaries, and accumulate enough brand assets to tell stories, more importantly, is the circle to which its consumer groups belong, as well as the brand culture of co-creating content with car owners.
At the heart of storytelling is people. For MINI, it is its owners who have shaped the background and soul of the brand spirit.
In 2019, MINI launched the world's first "THE COOPERS" social platform exclusive to MINI car owners, encouraging car owners to create their own content and be the spokesperson for MINI. As of 2021, the platform-wide community has more than 1.6 million members.
Chinese consumers are becoming one of the most valued groups in MINI.
China has become MINI's fastest growing market in the world. According to the financial report data, in the first three quarters of 2021, MINI's sales in the Chinese market increased by 22.5% year-on-year. Among them, the sales volume of MINI sub-brand JOHN COOPERWORKS soared by 148% year-on-year.
In addition, statistics show that the average age of MINI owners in the UK is 50 years old, the whole of Europe is 40 years old, and the average age of Chinese MINI car owners is the lowest - 33 years old. From the perspective of user portraits, the core consumer group of MINI in China aged 25-39 is a group of people mainly in the urban middle class, with occupations in different fields such as artists, doctors, entrepreneurs, etc., and the commonality of this group of people is that they are more emotional and creative, and they are more pursuing the texture of life.
It is not difficult to understand why it is different from the advertisement at the beginning of the article - it is based on the real story of the owner and let the owner himself star. This form of "car owner movie" is not only another innovation of the MINI car owner creativity community, but also the first time in China's automobile marketing.
"The owners we selected include both men and women, as well as elderly people, which basically constitutes a portrait of a contemporary Chinese MINI consumer." Director Qi Tianzuo said, "It has both the vertical line of the times and the cross-section of different industries. The characters presented in the film are very thoughtful and independent personalities, and in the brand spirit we understand, whether it is life or work, independent personality is very critical. ”
It is also this group of car owners who love life and have enough pursuits in taste and interest, together with the brand, to tell the story of MINI's "mini love" with sound and color.