EXCLUSIVE: Automaker MINI Turns To Social Media To Thank Essential Workers Via New Video

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A European automaker looks to social media this week to thank the essential workers around the world who still go to work each day. Ready to go live April 13 , MINI USA provided Forbes with an exclusive peek at the YouTube video here.

The production is part of a shift in MINI USA’s social media strategy as the company responds to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. According to Rah Mahtani of MINI USA Marketing, the car firm will continue to speak directly to those who love to drive, whether they’re enthusiasts, would-be buyers or current MINI owners.

“We are giving them helpful tips, distracting them from the news cycle, or bringing the experience of driving to their living rooms,” Mahtani explains. “We’re a brand with a genuinely optimistic spirit and owner group, and we want to help ignite some of that spirit in the world.”

MINI’s Twitter and Instagram continue to share the #ForTheDrive hashtag to share a sense of togetherness between homebound gearheads.

“As with most brands, our social media strategy during the current COVID-19 pandemic is certainly not the strategy we planned for 2020,” Mahtani adds. “We had to take a step back and re-imagine our ideas to make sure they made sense during this difficult time and were showing the right balance of compassion while still delivering on all the things consumers expect from the MINI brand.”

The revised plan focuses on a three-phased approach over the next several months. The timing of each phase and the duration of this approach will depend on how the virus situation progresses and when business returns to normal. The three phases will be React, Respond and Recover. 

During the already enacted React phase, MINI will take a serious and empathetic tone.

“We acknowledge what is going on and that many owners and enthusiasts are feeling some type of impact, whether it be personal, professional, economical, etc. Our message has been ‘Driving can wait. Stay home and be safe.’”

The Response phase will offer support for customers to create a virtual escape from negative reports on social media.

“We want to create a small break, or #MINIBrake, in the day for our owners and enthusiasts to get away for a few minutes,” Mahtani says. “These are minor distractions like a ‘Where’s Waldo’ with a MINI.”

The Response stage will also look to bring the outdoors, indoors — sending MINI into the living room through social media.

“We’re creating 1-2-hour POV driving films of road trips across the country. They’ll have MINI engine noises and act as calming videos to play in the background while you stay home.”

Mahtani confirms that type of long form content would normally not be built into MINI’s social streams, but today’s environment has most people spending more time on social media.

“When the time is right and we’re ready to ‘Recover,’ MINI will be ready to push out the type of content consumers will be looking for in better times. We will begin to encourage our audiences to tell us what they are most excited to do back out on the road.”

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