BMW Introduces Joy to its Olympic Marketing Efforts

New “Story of Joy” Campaign Taps into Human Side of Brand and Provides Platform for Automaker’s Future Global Communications

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – February 12, 2010…  BMW of North America today launched its largest brand awareness campaign in its history – “Story of Joy.”  The campaign will break during the Opening Ceremony of the XXI Winter Olympic Games and continues at a pace heavy enough to make BMW the largest luxury automotive spender of the Games.  “Story of Joy” will serve as the umbrella for the automaker’s global communications.

 “Story of Joy” introduces a new creative aesthetic characterized by strong, colorful images often conveying people and their experiences with the subtlest of references to BMW products punctuated by various three-word headlines leading off with “Joy Is…”

The new campaign from BMW and its global creative partner, Austin-Texas-based GSD&M Idea City, media buying agency Universal McCann of New York City, and interactive agency Dotglu of New York City, represents the largest, most comprehensive marketing initiative in the company’s history and incorporates a number of innovative elements across television, digital, mobile and out-of-home platforms.   An advertising first for this groundbreaking campaign is BMW’s use of MSN’s new proprietary enhanced video capabilities for a nine-video panel homepage takeover in mid-February.
 
“The ‘Story of Joy’ encapsulates the sentiment shared throughout BMW that we are more than a car company.  We are creators of joy,” said Jack Pitney, Vice President, Marketing, BMW of North America.  “All of our efforts in engineering, design and technology are about one thing, which is creating moments of joy.  Given recent trends in consumer mindsets, the campaign refocuses BMW on the joy of driving and sharing those moments in an upbeat, humanized and refreshing fashion.”

The campaign heavily incorporates high-impact television placements to run on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the Academy Awards.  Additionally, throughout NBC’s two-week televised coverage of the Winter Games, BMW will be the sole automotive sponsor of the network’s “Olympic Moments of Joy” segments highlighting the triumphant tales of real-life Olympic athletes as they unfold.  

The first of two television spots, a 60-second piece entitled “Story of Joy,” will make its debut on NBC February 12th during Opening Ceremony of the Winter Games.  The piece opens with a detail shot of BMW’s signature kidney-shaped grille and moves into quick-cutting “snapshots,” from contemporary and vintage video footage, creating a collage of people experiencing joyful moments of life with the products that illicit them.  The voice over that closes the spot states, “We realized a long time ago that what you make people feel is just as important as what you make.  And at BMW we don’t just make cars.  We make joy.”

The 60-second “Tunnel” spot, which will premiere on February 15th, depicts the futuristic-looking BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept Vehicle driving through a dark tunnel, its image giving way to glimpses of vehicles in BMW’s product line-up as it darts in and out of shadows.  At the other end of the tunnel, the entire product portfolio emerges into full daylight and the video cuts to smiling drivers behind the wheels.  A voice over intones, “Every BMW is created with EfficientDynamics – technologies that maximize the joy of driving and make us the most fuel-efficient luxury car company in America.”

Multiple digital platforms and executions are also central to the “Story of Joy” campaign.  In an exclusive arrangement with MSN, BMW will mount a homepage takeover on February 15th distinguishing the automaker as the first advertiser to employ the web site’s new proprietary enhanced video capabilities.   The new MSN technology creates a 3-D-like display which allows users to access any of the nine BMW-sponsored “Golden Moments of Joy” video panels directly from the homepage.  The interactive video panel is expected to attract nearly 125 million users in its one-day homepage takeover.

Additionally, beginning with the Olympic Games, BMW’s partnership with NBC extends to NBCOlympics.com with “Golden Moments of Joy,” a section of the web site that will feature all the Gold Medal moments, through a combination of video and still pictures framed by BMW banners, for each day of competition.   Similarly, a mobile version of the site, also carrying BMW banners, will render the “Golden Moments of Joy” content easily accessible through mobile devices.  Also starting in April, a “Story of Joy” experience micro-site, at bmwusa.com/JOY will run unscripted BMW-produced content highlighting real-life tales of BMW enthusiasts and owners.

The campaign’s targeted print buy revolves around custom creative treatments for Vanity Fair’s March “Hollywood” issue, a four-page spread featuring vintage images of Elvis posed with his BMW 507 and the headline “Joy Is Timeless.”

High-impact out-of-home in New York City, Los Angeles and Spartanburg, South Carolina, home of BMW’s North American Manufacturing Plant and Performance Driving School, during the months of February and March round out the campaign.

 BMW Group in America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes.  The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 335 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 142 BMW motorcycle retailers, 90 MINI passenger car dealers, and 31 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:
www.bmwgroupna.com
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Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address: www.press.bmwna.com.  Additional information, images and video may be found at www.bmwusanews.com. Broadcast quality video footage is also available via The NewsMarket at www.thenewsmarket.com.

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GSD&M Idea City
GSD&M Idea City is a leading marketing communications and advertising company that has helped grow some of the world’s most successful brands.  For more information, go to www.IdeaCity.com.  GSD&M is part of Omnicom Group, Inc.  (NYSE: OMCE).

UM
UM is a global marketing communications agency that represent’s the world’s leading marketers and strategic thinkers for many highly regarded clients.  As part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, UM has 151 offices in 130 countries and employs 3,600 creative thinkers and doers. With the mantra, “Yes &,” UM offers a full spectrum of media services and is able to tap into a number of exclusive partner agencies so they deliver the most surprising results to clients. They recently were awarded “Media Agency of the Year” by Adweek/Mediaweek and named to the 2009 “A-list” by Advertising Age.  For more information, go to http://umww.com/.
 
kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners
kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners, a member of the MDC Partners network, is a leading integrated creative advertising and marketing services organization with $700 million in billings and 300 employees.  Based in New York, the agency is dedicated to providing high value creativity that drives financial performance for their clients.  The kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners group includes: kirshenbaum bond senecal advertising, Dotglu, LIME pr + promotions, The Media Kitchen and Company C.  For more information, go to http://www.kbsp.com.

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