MINI Traffic Lights
MINI Austria
Issue 38 | March 2016
Agency
Demner, Merlicek & Bergmann, Vienna
Creative Team
Creative Director Francesco Bestagno Art Director Marian Grabmayer Copywriter Isabelle Stadler Final Art Work Aron Cserveny
Production Team
Production Company Gewista Urban Media
Other Credits
Account Supervisor Christin Herrnberger Account Management Markus Dammelhart
Date
April 2015
Background
MINI wanted to create a spectacular ambient idea for their new MINI Cooper. This was a real challenge because the budget was quite limited.
Idea
In order to remind drivers of the playfulness and agility of the classic MINI, scrolling billboards were created at busy traffic intersections in Vienna. These were synchronised to the traffic lights next to them. Every time the lights changed, the MINI in the billboard changed. The lights went from red to orange to green, the cars went from Blazing Red to Volcanic Orange to British Racing Green.
In what was usually a dull situation, drivers were kept fully engaged while they waited for the lights (and car) to go green.
Results
The campaign was a complete success. Local media coverage began immediately and so did social media. The MINI rolling boards rapidly became the talk of the town, leading to a 27% increase in MINI test-drives in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Our Thoughts
'Right time, right place, right message' sounds simple enough. So does the concept of targeting consumers at the moments that matter. Easier said than done. What No.1 Austrian agency DMB have done is look the other way through the prism and ask, what are the moments of minimal importance and how can MINI insert itself into them. Waiting for the lights to change, that's when the average motorist in Vienna might pick their nose, gaze into space, be more disengaged than at any other moment in the day. And now they don't.
Simple. And simply brilliant.