PJA Blog: The Complex Brand

MINI Cooper updated the whole search process after Crispin Porter ‘fired’ them to take on VW. Some of what Jim McDowell, head of MINI USA, did to shake things up with the 4 finalists (50 agencies, 8 got questionnaires, 4 got into finals):

• Weekend boot camp for the four finalists, requiring the agencies to perform in front of each other. Agencies had to create name tags on the spot, then answered questions that tested their improv skills
• Each time went out for drives in rainy weather in MINIs to gather ideas for a scrapbook. One team was arrested. Another dropped out at this stage.
• The finalist process lasted 2 months. Each agency was treated as if they already had the business.
• The winning team, Butler Shine, created a video and uploaded it to the Web for the client. The new work breaks in spring.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 30th, 2006 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.