Branding = Story | You’ve heard about Harleys, now read about the MINI

I hesitated to post this, what with all the material about ‘manifesting a car’ from Dr. Joe Vitale’s site these days…I just didn’t want to send the wrong message. (Not that there’s ANYthing wrong with manifesting a car, it’s just not my point here.)

But I will admit, if I’ve ever taken pleasure at the sight of a car (how odd that sounds…) it’s the MINI Cooper that does it for me. I think it was the showroom floor in Yaletown, Vancouver, or maybe my mom’s description of a MINI parade – apparently 7 MINI’s fit across the width of a regular street – one with just four lanes. CUTE, right?

Funnily enough, my friend Jan MacGregor bought one just when I started taking notice, so I’ve been living vicariously since. She recently sent me a copy of a follow-up letter from the MINI Dealership after she received her MINI, and it reminded me a lot of the mystique surrounding Harley Davidson.

MINI doesn’t get as much press as Harley – its brand isn’t as in your face or, I believe, as old as the Harley brand. But have a read of the contents of the follow up and see whether you see any commonalities – this is a brand story at work, honeys!

—-begin text of letter, set on Motor City MINI letterhead ——-

Dear Mini Cooper,

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you. My name is William Donohue, and I am the Service Director at Motor City Mini.

I am sure that you and your new owner are getting acquainted and wanted to let you know that if you have any service questions or if you are in need of any adjustments, please do not hesitate to contact me. Also, I would appreciate an email or phone call from your owner with your name so that we can update our records.

My primary goal is to make sure that you and your owner are enjoying trouble free motoring! You can reach me by email at xxxxxx or by phone at xxxxxxx.

Sincerely,

——end letter—–

What kind of response is engendered by this kind of story, you ask? I know you’re likely not in car sales. But I think a cool question to ask, as seems to be the theme this week, is “where is the emotional resonance in what you do sell; the service or product you do provide, and what is the story you can tell around it?”

Although I’m no branding maven, I mean, it’s not my ‘schtick,’ but my friend and colleague Suzanne Falter-Barns definitely is, and I’ve been excited by some of the neat mileage she’s been able to get out of these things called ‘brands’ on behalf of her clients.

And I’m particularly enchanted by looking at them from an ‘easy, peasy’ non-big-blue, corporate viewpoint. Call them “small-scale big brands,” perhaps.

So what happens when a brand generates a deep emotional response? A response from a new MINI owner that goes like this:

—–begin reply to the above letter—–

Hello William,

My name is Chili.

My new owner and I are having a great time. Reka (Yorkshire Terrier) and Mac (YorkiePoo) love riding behind my owner in their cushy bed. They have a 360 view so don’t miss a thing.

My owner has been treating me very well. She’s washed me several times with tender loving care. I think she gets a bit upset when I go out and get dirty. She doesn’t like those bugs that hit the windshield when we’re cruisin.

Lots of family came to town this past weekend. They were checking me out. I could tell some of them wantd to take me for a ride but she wouldn’t let them. Guess I’m pretty special since the only person that got to drive me was her son, John.

He was impressed with my interior, loved the way I handle the road, and he had the damn Harmon Kardon radio cranked so loud I could hardly manoever. I heard him say ‘Good choice Mom’ when he got out at the airport. Guess I made a really good impression and maybe we’ll have another Mini in the family, soon.

Thanks for getting me so nicely decked out for my owner. Sure is great to be in my new home.

Chili MacGregor

——end reply—-

I’m sure there’s something of a Mini in my future, whether that’s ownership by choice or not, not sure.

What I do know is what I’m doing next in business will be coloured and shaped, molded and influenced by the example the MINI brand sets. In a crowded, largely ‘so-what’ market where ‘we sell cars’ is the benchmark mission statement, the Mini gets marks from me for making meaning where most people thought there wasn’t any.

What brand story rocks your world, and what can you learn from it?

P.S. “Hey Andrea, what’s with the ‘non-commitment’ to manifesting a Mini for yourself” you ask?Observant reader, you! Interesting question though. Let me try this angle for an answer:

I was asked last week if I meditate. And my answer in the end was, “actually I try to spend most of my awake time in a meditative state” and “I don’t have a very conscious process of it, I usually meditate on feeling states.”

Which, it turns out, is also where I spend most of my ‘creative manifestation’ energy. My list of things I’d like to create deliberately aren’t usually things. It may sound odd, but true. I don’t live like a monk, nor would I wish to, but I do subscribe to the greater truth that resounds like a gong every time I encounter it…this lovely gem from comedian Steven Wright:

“You can’t have everything, where would you put it?”

To which I’d riff:

“Well, you could have everyThing, but why would you want to?”

So that’s the theme for the day: Harleys, Minis and manifestation. What’s on your mind?

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