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Steven Althaus's moment of digital truth came this past spring. BMW's global director of brand management stood in front of top management, telling them the automaker was about to use a drift mob to help market their new car, the M325i.
Five professional drivers were set to go behind the wheel of the M325is and drift--or drive at high speeds, hit the brakes, and turn the steering wheel to spin the car abruptly--around a traffic circle in Cape Town, South Africa. Their aim was to simulate a flash mob; a staged but seemingly spontaneous performance.
BMW executives fired off questions to Althaus that veered toward disbelief. “I presented the idea of a drift mob and they said: 'Is this really going to work?' I had to say, ‘I don’t know. Nobody’s done it before,’” Althaus recalls....
BMW had a handle on traditional social media marketing, but it took a risk on a drift mob to reach new audiences. Here's how it paid off. Recommended reading for digital PR, social marketing and marketing pros 9/10