MINI WOW EFFECT.
MINI HK Advertising design Promotion design Pitching experiencing Real client project
BMW MINI Cooper is a global brand and has 50 years of history behind the fun and exciting premium small car. The brief is to create a 3D object with WOW effect for MINI which can become a public relation news and word of mouth in a success measurement. The budget for this project is around HK$100,000. The design should deliver an inner smile on people’s face to show MINI is optimistic and fun.
Project Duration // 9 weeks
2009 November
Group Project (4 in a group)
One of the three final ideas was chosen for real life exacution, which is the HAPPIEST BITS EXHIBITION held in April 2010.
The design has to associate with either one of the theme in the following: “MINI 50 years”, “Experience the world of MINI”, and “MINI has big global community”. Although MINI is classless for all age groups, the current core target group is between 26-45 years old.
Research stage After research and analysis at the beginning stage, we came up with several initial directions: 1. MINI is the best choice of your second car. 2. MINI helps you to step out. 3. MINI is an encouragement, for example, the star sticker for children. 4. MINI is a pressure reliever. (MINI is a dream to escape the realistic life.) 5. MINI is classless, everyone can drive MINI without inhamonious. 6. MINI colours your life. (MINI can be customised in many colours.) 7. MINI has the strong connection to driver, so it has the potential to create their own story. (Base on the product design.) 8. First car provide function, second car provide joy. (First car is function prioritize, second car is emotional prioritize.)
Direction confirm We have created four directions which help us elaborate into more ideas. 1. MINI has a history, MINI is fun. 2. MINI helps you step out of your regular life. 3. MINI makes you happier. 4. MINI allows you to enjoy the “driving experience”. Ideas diversify—16 ideas Considering and bringing these directions into concepts, we explore and think thoroughly to fulfill the requirements on the brief and to successfully attract the target group. Idea 01—Hong Kong icons mix with MINI Direction 1: MINI is connected to the HK icons by the original colour of MINI. An exhibition which shows the HK icons mixed with MINI elements, like colour or wheel. Idea 02—The Secret of Power Direction 1: There is fun and history inside a MINI. Place a MINI on the CBD street which the head cover is opened with an engine formed with old and traditional toys. Idea 03—MINI car happiest exhibition Direction 1: We want to bring out MINI is as fun as HK people’s happiest memory by holding an exhibition. All the MINIs are painted with the graphics of HK old objects. Idea 04—Have a laugh, Have a MINI Direction 1: MINI makes HK laugh. Corporate with HK comedy stars and design MINI-like monitors that broadcast comedy, and place them at busy bus stops. Idea 05—Facade of building Direction 2: MINI driver drivers in different way.
Idea 06—Flash mob
Idea 11—Playtime never ends
Direction 2: Whenever and whereever you
Direction 3: Everything is as fun as toy in
drive a MINI, you feel like playing games.
the world of MINI. Put a tilted shift lens
Flash mob events happen on CBD.
telescope the stree, people look through it curiously and they see the toy world.
Idea 07—MINI playground Direction 3: MNI generates happiness.
Idea 12—3D drawings
Deconstruct a MINI into parts and form the
Direction 4: MINI can go everywhere. 3D
pieces into a playground.
drawings painted all over the street.
Idea 08—Board game event Direction 3: Driving a MINI is like playing games in the public. Hold a event on Victoria Park. The MINI drivers play the chess board by driving their own MINI. There are also MINI provided for non MINI drivers. Idea 09—Every part is fun
Idea 13—MINI book MINI is a collectable. Publish a book that contains 50 world famous MINI celebrity drivers’ feeling and comments of MINI. Idea 14—Catch MINI in Hong Kong Hold a competition that requests the target audiences to take photos of MINI.
Direction 3: We can play with every part of
Idea 15—Toy car
the MINI. Deconstruct a MINI into parts and
MINI is like the dream toy car in your child
force fit them with the playing tools.
life. Create MINI toy car product to associate
Idea 10—MINI car playground
audiences’ “dream car” to MINI.
Direction 3: Every road becomes the
Idea 16—Queer eye of car
playground of MINI. Create installations of
Enjoy your car. Grate a group of people like
MINI and playground to create scenes that
the Queer eye show to help people decorate
MINI is playing around the city.
their MINI.
Interim Presentation—6 ideas During the interim presentation, we eliminated the 16 ideas and elaborated 6 of the them. Idea 1—Step out of your regular life A MINI is located on the exterior of a commercial building. Windows and doors are able to connect with MINI for accessibility to outdoor. It creates an unexpected way to step out from work. In addition, perfomance of STEP OUT would be organised in three time slots. Idea 2—Flash mob Flash mob would be presented in various time and venues. We also associated this idea with East Asian Games, as it is a hot topic in the coming December 2009. We suggested three ideas inspired from different athletic games. An official website would be published to gather all videos and pictures that have been taken. The website would also provides information of the next flash mob activities. Idea 3—Happiest Bits The happy moments from our childhood are usually quite memorable. The feelings are strong when these moments flash back to mind. We are thinking it is MINI’s 50 years old birthday and we can recall our happiest bits with MINI. By sharing the bits with MINI and our audience, we decide to hold an extraordinary exhibition to revive our HK’s memorable happiness. Idea 4—The hidden world Scratch out the fun of MINI world underneath. There is always description about another world. We have thought of using 3D drawings in a public space. The floor drawing would be demonstrating another world of MINI underground.
Idea 5—MINI drivers’ playground Every road is a playground in MINI drivers’ eyes. We would select a road ad turn it into a playground element. We imitate the road as a slide where drivers feel like they are rushing down with fun. Idea 6—Powered by fun What really keeps you energetic for the whole day? Would it be a cup of coffee or some afternoon naps? What about a whole year of energy or even 50 years? Based on MINI’s 50 ears, we thought of using historical and classical toys that HK people are familar and form a MINI Toy Engine. The MINI would park on the street. Staff would raise questions to audiences about the engine. Audiences would receive small gifts from MINI if they are able to answer the questions. Gifts can be some small accessories that are designed in relating to MINI elements.
Final Presentation The client chose three ideas after the interim presentation. We then modify and extend them. Calculate the budget and present the final three ideas to the client. IDEA 1—Happiest Bits Exhibition We remember happy moments from our childhood, and they are usually quite memorable. The feelings are strong when these moments come back to mind. The taste of rabbit creamy candy, the melody of the Mister Softee ice cream car, and the child who plays with you on the school bus are the bits and what are included in our childhood life. We design to have four MINI decorated in four different patterns from the objects we most familar with in our childhood. These four objects included the Nanny Van, Paper Cup, Mister Softee Ice Cream Car, and Rabbit Creamy Candy. Associating with the four MINI, there would be the real objects place beside them, to indicate and recall the memory and feeling of our childhood. In order to well express the feelings and concept of MINI, we have linked the MINI with our childhood memory. These four feelings become four important elements, WARM, SWEET, FUN, and CHEERFUL.
For location, we would consider Festival Walk as the most ideal place to show our exhibits. The venue has a suitable image to MINI and convenient to target our audience. Budget Plan Indicative Total Cost: HK$ 168,200 per week
IDEA 2—Discover the hidden world Making it more viral and interactive, we have refined this idea after interim presentation. We will be finding an artist to paint the 3-dimensional drawing. A 3D underground MINI world painting would be printed out into a sticker format and placed in the public. Associating with the painting, we decide to locate a MINI at the beginning of the painting in a slanted angle that people can be sitting on the MINI and experience driving into the underground world. People can take photos and upload them to certain media for higher exposure. The ideal location would be the front door open area of Habour City which is close to Star Ferry. Budget Plan Indicative Total Cost: HK$ 41,300 per week
IDEA 3—Powered by fun We have changed a little on the way of executing this idea. We have thought of holding a live show of forming a toy engine with traditional toys. Inviting volunteering celebrities to share their stories of their favourite childhood toys from the toy engine is an additional activity to be done throughout the show. The use of celebrities is ideal to raise awareness in public through media. In order to increase awareness and social value, we have decided to implement the action of donating money to charity while building the toy engine. Money would go to a children organization and the donation would use to build something FUN for the homeless and needy children, such as building a playground. The whole process would be uploaded to the internet and also for the pictures that can be browsed by people from all around the world.
The ideal location for this event would be the centre area of Harbour City. The shopping centre shares the similar target audience with MINI. In addition, Toy’s Story 3 will be a hot topic as it will be launching in June 2010. Associating with the movie can create awareness in the public with relating to the topic of toys.
Budget plan Indicative Total Cost: HK$ 61,000 per week
Additional Idea for Christmas Thinking of Christmas, it reminds us the chocolate calendar that we received from our parents when we were young. The Christmas advert calendar is something that is fun and excited about. The process of waiting to open another window on the box is remarkable as curiousity always make us want to move forward and see what’s inside. It matches MINI with the elements of warm, fun, and exciting. Here are the ideas we have thought we can put into those boxes of the calendar: // Christmas decorations // Chocolate // Candy cane // Accessories for cars // Gingerbread man // Christmas hats // LED // Stickers // Coupons & event tickets // MINI toys
HAPPIEST BITS EXHIBITION Exhibition design real life exacution branding, visual to venue design
An extension from the cooperative project in September 2009 with MINI Hong Kong. One of the three final ideas, Happiest Bits Art Exhibition, was chosen to be exacuted. We have to work on every aspect by ourselves and bargain with the clients from venue booking, visual design, venue design to opening rundown, media coverage and follow ups.
Project Duration // 4 months
2009 December
Group Project (3 in a group)
Project organized by MINI Hong Kong and co-organized by School of Design, Poly U Appreciation in Excellent Design from MINI HK
Venue booking We approved different shopping malls and seek for available schedule for the exhibition in December 2009. Time is running short already to book a venue within few months time. Festival walk in Kowloon Tong was in great interest in our proposal and could give us a schedule in mid-April, right after easter.
Venue deisgn We have our initial presentation to the clients on the event layout and visual design. We are lucky to be approved on this first presentation. Some refining was done later with the MINI contractor and Festival Walk. The event layout was designed to target on all age group and the characteristics of the mall.
Event plan and props dimensions refine A few times of amendments are made to match the safety of the venue and budget of this project.
The four MINI exhibits Finalization of the graphic design and the model of the MINI. We have to check for the patent of the graphics also. Soon, the graphic stickers for sticking on the four MINI have to been made and print out.
Visual image design The clients like the idea of small little graphics on the poster and the frame after the initial presentation. For the second critique, we proposed a alightly different layout and colour combinations which is more eye-catching and attractive to audience. For further more refine, we worked on the hierarchy, font, colours, alignments and poster sizes.
Final image poster 20’’ x 30’’ offset printing, black ink on yellow paper The final image had been refined more than 10 times in order to satisfy the CI of MINI, School of Design and our will.
Postcard, souvenir cards, web banners, web button and guestbook Varies media layout designs can soon be produce right after we confirmed the poster design. Exhibition descriptions and the four MINI concept descriptions are also composed within 2 weeks afterwards.
HAPPIEST BITS EXHIBITION 14-20 April 2010 Festival Walk, Kowloon Tong Opening ceremony 14 April 2010, 14:00 When have you thought about your childhood last time? This exhibition is a celebration of MINI 50th years old last year. By mixing Hong Kong culture with MINI, a British heritage brand, together, we pick four little yet happy stories which every Hong Kong people came across in their childhood for the theme of this exhibition - Happiest Bits Exhibition. We high-jacked the related objects onto the four MINI and set up some props near by to let audience recall their happy moments and have fun with MINI.
HAPIEST BITS EXHIBITION II @ POLY U 10-14 May 2010 We have the exhibition hold again in Poly U podium to let those who missed the show last time can see the MINI again.
HAPPIEST BITS III PARADE Since a lot of audience that had come to the exhibiiton gave us feedback on how nice would it be to see those MINI on the street afterwards. We request MINI HK to hold a parade as a round-up of the HAPPIEST BITS campaign. The parade hold the next day after the exhibition in Poly U. The parade covered roads in Tsim Sha Tsui, West Kowloon and Causeway Bay. It created great noise in a saturday afternoon.
Media coverage The exhibition was a huge success and create a great impact to the society. Varies of media had reported on our exhibition. They include: Oriental Daily Apple Daily Sing Tao Ming Pao Fruit Daily City Magazine Carplus Magazine Esquire Magazine IDN Blog IDN Magazine Hinge Architecture Design Magazine iMotor Online Car Magazine Yahoo News 903 Radio GC Media Teamwork Online School of Design Blog MINI Space Blog MINI Hong Kong Blog Facebook Japan Car Magazine
Impact Different photo blogs were created on the internet from people that came to the show. Similar car campaigns and visual appeared after we hold the first exhibition in Festival Walk.