Client BMW Group Italia
Location Itinerant
Typology of the project and activity Automotive - Strategy and Solutions - Coordination and Management - Sets and Shows - Organizing Office and Press Office
Objectives
- To create a comprehensive initiative for promoting the entire range of BMW roadster and cabrio cars of the 1 Series Cabrio LCI, Z4 Roadster, 3 Series Cabrio, and 6 Series Cabrio models
- To ensure appropriate visibility for the BMW brand and to collect a high number of leads through booking and performing test drives (at least 500)
- To operate in chief Italian maritime sites, in centrally-located areas with high visibility, concentrating activities on the days of Friday/Saturday/Sunday and offering the possibility of evening test drives, as well
- To create stands consistent with the values of the BMW brand and capable of guaranteeing a superior experience both in welcoming visitors and in carrying out activities
- In terms of Communications, to employ a BTL plan of operations (DEM, Facebook, Internet, etc.); activities of communication/ marketing/ promotion/ local visibility; and a test drive booking system via the web/telephone contact
Strategic guidelines
To create an exclusive test drive experience, by invitation only, but with high visibility.
To involve the target audience with the requested profile ahead of time in select venues in the test drive cities, inviting and assisting potential participants to register on the event's minisite and book a test drive.
To promote a presence in select venues, engaging in one to one contact to facilitate registration/contacts via the Internet. To create an event minisite for managing bookings (including an iPad application).
To create, in addition to digital save-the-dates, an originally designed invitation as an access 'key' to the event (to be delivered personally).
Action
MAC Group won a BMW Group Italia SpA call for bids from among 5 agencies selected for the national promotional Road Show of the 1-Series Cabrio LCI, Z4 Roadster, 3-Series Cabrio, and 6-Series Cabrio models. MAC's project guaranteed coverage East to West and North to South throughout Italy, in a Coast to Coast initiative where professional drivers assisted the public and prospective clients in discovering the capabilities of the BMW Cabrio models currently available.
The tour unwound in 6 stops with BMW corners staged in busy, main squares from which test drives set out in the communities of Sestri Levante, Lignano Sabbiadoro, Forte Dei Marmi, Milano Marittima, San Felice Circeo, and Pescara. In the landmark cities of Treviso, Bologna, Florence, Rome, and Pescara, meanwhile, support operations and prospective client recruitment activities were carried out.
Five cars were made available for the test drives organized for prospective clients, which could be performed Friday through Sunday. Test drives lasted a total of 45 minutes, with the support of 5 professional drivers to allow for them to be carried out simultaneously. The drivers assisted prospective clients during the test drives by providing a targeted description of the cars and how to optimize their potential while driving. The 40-minute drives followed guided, panoramic roads that offered a sporty route to maximize the models' potential.
MAC Group handled the creation of an Internet minisite www.coast2coast.bmw.it, as a point of reference for the road show's activities.
Initial contact took place through the use of MAC Group's own database of select, high-profile automobile Collectors located in the test drive areas and larger reference cities.
In addition, participation of the 'Giovani Imprenditori di Confindustria' ('Young Entrepreneurs of Confindustria') was arranged via a direct invitation contacting members in the tour areas.
Recruitment was carried out by a personal assistant equipped with an iPad, who engaged potential participants and guided them through registration on the minisite,helping them choose the best time for their test drive (Tuesday through Saturday: throughout the day in Yacht / Golf / Tennis Clubs and Hotels; in the evening, in select venues and clubs).
Alternatively, invitations were delivered to potential participants in the form of a 'key' that they could use to access the minisite or present at the test drive areas and register on-site.
Lastly, a number of invitations were entrusted to the managers of select venues, granting them 'keys' for their own 'aficionados' clientele (Tuesday through Saturday).
MAC Group managed the event in its entirety, including organizing the Tour's technical/logistical aspects, planning for the service's needs, and managing set-up of the corners projected for each location.
The numbers
- 744 test drives carried out (vs. 500 set as the goal)
- 6 stops
- 5 BMWs for test driving
- 2 designated individuals for registrations
- 6 personal assistants
- 5 professional drivers
- 2 coordinators
