MINImalism
Posted by Alvin Diec on March 24, 2011
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What is Mini? It’s small, as defined by its name. It’s an urban vehicle – easy to maneuver, easy to park, good on gas. It’s the pleasure of driving (“Let’s Motor”) packaged in an iconic, bright-eyed, athletic design.
Mini has spent almost a decade branding itself as the opposite of the auto industry. A bright spot in a sea of inefficient, boring, unwieldy vehicles. It’s a Yaris that can sell at a premium.
They even invented a philosophy of sorts, MINIMALISM: “We have always been about using less. We were small when everyone else was going big.”
So what happens when Mini becomes big? Four doors, all-wheel-drive, and starting at almost thirty grand? Enter the Mini Countryman, a compact SUV built to fill white space. Crossovers are popular right now, and Mini figures they could easily sell tens of thousands more cars.
The Countryman is pretty. It’s amazing how the designers were able to translate the iconic Mini aesthetic into a larger package. It looks tougher and better proportioned than the elongated Clubman. And from accounts I’ve read, it sacrifices a little bit of the famous Mini dynamics but still drives much better than your typical CUV.
But how does it affect the brand? The brand that defines itself: Mini. Is it better to walk away from short-term sales in order to protect the meaning, the essence of a brand?
Auto-journalist Dan Neil wrote:
I understand. It’s hard to resist. Brand is something soft and squishy and metaphorical; whereas shareholders are all too real. And I have no doubt BMW-Mini can deposit a truckload of data in my yard to document the existence of unrequited customers who love Mini but need a bigger vehicle. Still, I say, let them remain unrequited.
The question isn’t, “could they?” It’s “should they?”
Alana Dy
Becky O'Mara
Blake Howard
Craig Johnson
Dustin Britt
Jason Orme
John Bowles
Staci Janik
6 Comments
"That is such a good question Alvin. "Should" is so subjective. Do I think selling a "mini" SUV goes against their brand. Maybe. Is their brand that tied up in just the size of their car, or in the experience of doing business with them at all levels of customer interaction.
Should they do it? Without knowing their long term strategy, that's hard to say. I don't think one SUV line will hurt the "Mini" brand. And if it yields enough at the bottom line, more power to them.
But if they start releasing more and more "big" cars, then the question arises, are they looking to change their brand altogether.
Have you done any research on how the Porche SUVs have done? I haven't, but seems like an analogous situation worth exploring."
- Ron Dawson
"Both the Porsche Cayenne and Panamera are brisk sellers. Porsche's sports cars are such niche products, they need a couple accessible vehicles to turn profit in order to EXIST and thus be able to sell us the fun stuff. I don't necessarily agree with it (for selfish reasons), but I can see the reasoning.
Mini is a little different. They sell mainstream cars. Coopers are in demand and still remain king of resale. Mini's trying to fill white space. They could do this by moving down instead of up (i.e. scooters, electrics – which are both in concept stages) and stay true to brand.
Because Mini is such a tightly defined brand, it is easier to scrutinize. It isn't as malleable as a large automaker like a Ford or a Honda. Mini exists as automotive counterprogramming, which means it had already put a stake in the ground even before the first car was sold."
- Alvin Diec
"I wouldn't categorize a Countryman as an SUV. The Countryman is only slightly larger but more importantly, much more practical than a regular MINI. It has room for a family or outdoor gear. It's more ideal for long-trips than a Mini Cooper, where you are limited in space. Almost all of the MINI characteristics are there, leaving the Mini brand intact. Four-doors doesn't change the brand, it makes the car more ideal for a market they couldn't reach before.
Thanks for posting this."
- Fernando Godina
"I don't claim to be a Mini fanatic or even very knowledgeable about their brand. I have always considered the Mini to be a smaller alternative to driving an average sized car. I think of the Countryman as a smaller alternative to driving an average sized SUV. Perhaps their brand position is simply to give customers a Mini-alternative: something more compact than what they would have otherwise purchased.
Regardless of their reasoning, I like the move. It is risky and bold. I hope the marketplace rewards them.
Nice blog- thought provoking."
- Dwain
"I think the real question is: Can MINI still keep the essence of it's brand and have more than one car. To me the answer is yes. The MINI isn't a single automobile, it's a 2-point promise. Small, and anti-auto industry.
If being the smallest was the MINI promise, it would already be a loser. There are many, many ( or is that mini, mini) cars that are smaller. There were lots of smaller cars the day they decided to bring it back. So MINI only needs to be small to keep the promise. In this case they are saying "look at how small an SUV can be and still do everything it needs to do." Pretty much like the original MINI. They are just taking on a different category this time. First passenger cars, now SUVs.
The other aspect is that it needs to give the industry the finger. This is actually harder, because the industry sucks less than it did 10 years ago.
Except in the SUV space. In the SUV space, suck abounds. Enter MINI. They barely have to try to give the SUV market the finger.
Small, and gives the industry the finger. I think the Countryman scores on both counts. Will it sell? No way to know for sure. But I think it's on-brand."
- Mike Landman
"[...] MINImalism | Thoughts From A Brand Identity House | Matchstic It's more ideal for long-trips than a Mini Cooper, where you are limited in space. Almost all of the MINI characteristics are there, leaving the Mini brand intact. Four-doors doesn't change the brand, it makes the car more ideal for a . [...]"
- Limited Mini Brand