BMW strengthens co-creation communication at IAA Mobility 2021: brand and its ambassadors produce content together and engage in discussion with their community.

Munich. BMW is setting new standards in co-creation communication at the IAA Mobility 2021. At the trade fair, the brand brings together a global network of ambassadors with a total range of more than 100 million followers to collaborate on creative content and ideas. “The automotive industry is currently engaged in a global transformation. BMW itself is undergoing a process of rejuvenation and finding new forms of communication. Partnership with BMW co-creators supports this change,” explains Stefan Ponikva, Head of Brand Communication and Experience.

For BMW, the IAA Mobility 2021 is all about electromobility and the circular economy. BMW has become a driver of innovation in both these areas and is seeking to engage in debate on these subjects with existing target groups as well as new ones. Getting young people excited about the mobility of tomorrow is very important to BMW. One promising way to achieve this is through co-creation. Credible collaborations between the brand and its ambassadors are key to authentic storytelling. Co-creation builds on long-term and trusting cooperation with personalities and opinion leaders from various sectors of society such as art, music, fashion, lifestyle, sustainability and technology.

BMW has already been very successful in the past with this approach, and it is something that has been boosted by the pandemic: as part of the #NextGen campaign 2020, BMW generated over 300 million impressions on social media through strategic collaborations. Highlights include the co-creation with Dude with Sign on the sustainable BMW i series, a virtual MINI Vision Car for a virtual influencer, a YouTube talk show with Alex Hirschi aka Supercar Blondie and a 3D print premiere of the BMW iX.

Creative content and high-reach social media activities are being developed for the IAA Mobility 2021 in collaboration with opinion leaders

At the IAA Mobility 2021, BMW turns its attention even more to the needs and preferences of a digital audience. The co-creators provide a plausible presentation to their digital target groups of what the circular economy is all about and how BMW is making use of it to become even more sustainable. Co-creation involves partnership with BMW on an equal footing, whereby the ambassadors themselves take the lead in (co-)producing the content: “We actively involve them in the design of communication so as to open up new perspectives not only for the BMW brand, but also for our partners and their audience. In this way, we’re establishing BMW as a relationship brand and expanding co-creation as a strategic component of BMW brand management,” says Stefan Ponikva.

A good example of creative collaboration is the cooperation with sustainability ambassador and journalist Gemma Styles. She will be discussing the urgency of sustainable innovations and technologies with BMW CEO Oliver Zipse at the presentation of the “BMW iVision Circular”. “I really enjoyed working with BMW on such an important and challenging issue. BMW was totally open to co-creation and feedback. It’s great to see a major brand showing authentic interest in a more sustainable future – and I learned a lot, too.” The meeting in Munich will also be used by some of the opinion leaders involved for the exclusive production of social media content featuring the two BMW electrically powered vehicles BMW iX and BMW i4 as well as the digital IAA experience of BMW JOYTOPIA.

The international co-creator community includes other well-known personalities such as Academy Award winner Hans Zimmer, music producer Steve Aoki and Brooklyn Beckham. Commenting on his collaboration with BMW, the British photographer and Gen Z advocate says: “The years I’ve spent with BMW have been a wonderful partnership. With its forward-thinking design and innovative ideas, BMW embodies exactly what it means to be an automobile brand. As a BMW global partner and co-creator, I really enjoy sharing the brand’s stories through my own eyes.” The co-creators also include highly acclaimed newcomers such as singer Zoe Wees, skateboarder Nyjah Huston, actor Luka Sabbat, Alex Hirschi – also known as Supercar Blondie, longstanding brand ambassador Lena Gercke and well-known TikToker Younes Zarou.