BMW Flaunts Sustainability

By Rachel Lamb

   German automaker BMW is promoting its electric i3 and i8 models through a solo sponsorship of the AOL Editions application for the iPad, linking consumers to branded content such as videos, images

and the Web site

The Editions app is a daily magazine curated with reader-specific material. BMW is the first and only sponsor for the app, which is free in Apple’s App Store.

“Mobile is a natural channel for an auto brand like BMW,” said Mack McKelvey, senior vice president of Millennial Media, Baltimore, MD. “Mobile also presents opportunities for advertisers like BMW to engage consumers in a variety of ways.

“By tweaking their campaign goals, targeting and creative, BMW can not only reach prospective car buyers, but they can also run campaigns simply to increase brand affinity, or remind consumers to take their car in for maintenance,” she said.

Ms. McKelvey is not affiliated with BMW, but agreed to comment as an expert on mobile ads.

Neither BMW nor AOL was able to respond by press deadline.

The BMW i3 generates output of 170 horsepower and accelerates 0-60 miles per hour in under four seconds, and 0-100 miles per hour in under eight seconds.

The electric motor is designed for operation in an urban environment.

The BMW i8 is a sportscar meant to drive outside of an urban environment. Its high-performance three-cylinder combustion engine produces 220 horsepower and has an acceleration of 0-62 in under five seconds.

Both of the vehicles were designed for high-performance with greater efficiency than non-electric vehicles.

The lines’ engines use electric current rather than fossil fuel, so no climate-harming gases are generated and released into the air.

Ultimate sustainability machine
The same BMW ad is available in each section of the magazine, which is split into top news, local news, technology, business, entertainment and sports.

The top portion of the ad shows two BMW i3 and i8 concept vehicles against a city background.

Luxury Daily