Massive Mini Convoy Journeys Cross-Country
A Mini invasion is underway.
More than 3,300 Mini vehicle owners have taken to the road to drive part or all of a two-week cross-country road trip that is a part of the automaker’s Mini Takes the States rally, which shifted into first gear on Monday.
Mini kicked off the rally with a Let’s Get Up and Go beach party event at Pirate’s Cove Beach House in Monterey Beach, CA. The trip will take drivers—who pay their own way—through 19 states ending 3,123 miles later on Sept. 4 at the Lime Rock Vintage Festival in Connecticut.
The brand is using the trip to fuel brand ambassadorship and tout the arrival of 415 Mini GPs (a limited-edition high performance version of its Mini Cooper S) in the country. Forty-two owners who ordered the car agreed to pick them up during the rally (32 where the rally kicked off in Monterey, CA, and 10 when the road trip arrives in New Jersey).
Drivers will participate in free Mini-branded events such as tailgate parties, open-air music festivals and more, during the trip, which is open to Mini owners and enthusiasts.
Drivers had from early spring to last month to sign up for the road trip at MiniTakesTheStates.com. A total of 3,347 Minis registered for the drive, 175 of which signed up to travel the full length of the trip. Most learned of the event through the MiniUSA.com Web site’s exclusive owner chat rooms, and through e-mail blasts, dealerships and word-of-mouth.
More 750 Minis departed on the first leg of the 15-day trip on Monday. Participants could select any or all sections of the cross-country drive in to participate on MiniTakesTheStates.com. The Web site also lists the cities in which the rally makes stops.
Registrants received a registration kit complete with branded wristbands—one for themselves and one for their co-pilot—that entitles them to special Mini surprises and VIP access to events along the way. Each leg of the trip involves an estimated five-to-six hours of driving each day.
On day eight of the journey, Mini will bring together a group of entertainers for a Mini Music Festival in Nashville, TN. Music artist John Hiatt will headline the event. The free open-air music festival in Nashville’s Centennial Park will celebrate local music styles (including jazz, country, blues, and rock & roll). Other local bands and food vendors will also participate in the event, which is expected to draw more than 1,000 Mini enthusiasts.
The following day, Mini will host a tailgate party outside of the Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO, for the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Florida Marlins baseball game. An estimated 500 Mini owners will participate and will be treated to food from tailgating concessionaires before watching the game on giant screens. Some will be randomly chosen to receive skybox tickets to the game.
The entire event took a year to plan, said Mini spokesperson Andrew Cutler while on the Las Vegas to Flagstaff, AZ, leg of the trip.
“It’s a way for us to connect with our owners and build brand loyalty and owner loyalty by allowing these people to become ambassadors for the brand,” Cutler said. “They are the brand experts and the ones at parties that tell their friends ‘hey, check Minis out, it’s cool stuff’. That’s a level of authenticity that…you many not necessarily get with a print ad.”
Meanwhile, when the Mini convoy reaches Indianapolis, IN, more than 250 Mini owners and enthusiasts will gain access to Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hall of Fame Museum. The rally’s participants will go on a behind-the-scenes tour of the track, have access to the museum and attend a private reception. The event will conclude with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for participants to take parade laps around the speedway. Sports Illustrated magazine sponsors the stop.
On Sept. 3, the day before the event wraps up in Connecticut, drivers will participate in an official Wrap Party in Jersey City, NJ. There, with views of the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop, the rock band Everclear will headline an open-air music and art festival.
The following day, drivers will arrive to find a large hospitality tent with displays and concessions in Lakeville, CT, at the Lime Rock Vintage Festival. There, Mini owners can drive a special parade lap around the 1.53-mile Lime Rock racetrack.
Along the entire route Wired Magazine is providing a bus that offers coffee and provides drivers with Internet access and the opportunity to lounge. Meanwhile, Maxim Magazine is providing participants with two chair masseuses to help them unwind from the daily drive.
“It’s an event that no one has done before and we’re sure we’ll look back in 10 years time and say we hosted our owners,” Cutler said. “And all that effort made a lasting change for people who represent what the Mini brand stands for. It will pay dividends down the road; traditional advertising can only go so far.”
San Francisco-based R/A Performance Group handles. Woodcliff Lake, NJ-based Mini is an independent brand of the BMW Group.
