A startrescue.co.uk story...

Here’s a little tale for you about blogging and the way social media is shaping the car industry. At the Geneva Motor Show I was chatting with the man from MINI who is in charge of brand management. It’s his job to work out which direction the company should go, in terms what products will wear the famous winged roundel. He told me there is a member of his team whose sole job is to monitor internet blogs about MINI. With close to 100 to keep an eye on it’s a full-time role. This person looks at what fans are writing about and feeds that back into the MINI machine. As to where the brand should go, cars are just the start. There will probably be a pick-up truck at some point, but after that the MINI man confirmed there could easily be push-bikes, scooters and electrical products. The sky’s the limit if the business case stacks up and enthusiasts will buy it. He highlights the case of MINI wellies, which have recently been launched. They were suggested by bloggers so the company decided to make and sell them. Amazing.