Mini lines up agencies for first electric car marketing push

The BMW-owned brand unveiled a design concept last year for the new Mini Electric, its first fully battery-powered model.

German creative shop Jung von Matt, Mini's lead global agency, is pitching for the new brief, against Anomaly, Droga5 London and We Are Pi. 

Jung von Matt created last year’s "The faith of a few" brand campaign, which told the story of legendary Mini Cooper creator John Cooper. 

BMW has described the Mini Electric, due for production in 2019, as having a "powerful electric motor", Campaign’s sister magazine AutoCar reported last year. The electric motor will be built in Germany before being shipped to Mini’s plant in Oxford, UK, for assembly. 

A spokesman for BMW Mini told the Oxford Mail this month that Mini had sold nearly 1,000 units of its first electrified vehicle, the Countryman Plug-in Hybrid, since it was launched in June last year, which had raised expectations that the fully electric Mini will be a success. 

Sales of the existing Mini dropped by 1.2% in 2017 to 68,166, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. 

The Mini Electric will also represent a major design shift for the car marque, which has entered its third decade as a BMW brand, AutoCar reported.

BMW did not return a request for comment from Campaign.