Introduction

BMW is a luxury car brand that has always been known for its high quality and innovative
designs. In recent years, the company has also become known for its savvy use of social
media in marketing campaigns.
One of BMW's most successful social media campaigns was their Twitter campaign, which
helped to increase brand awareness and engagement with their target audience.
 Setting the Stage

Before launching their Twitter campaign, BMW

conducted extensive research to better understand
their target audience and what they were looking
for in a luxury car brand.
They found that their target audience was highly
active on social media, particularly on Twitter,
and that they were looking for brands that were
innovative, stylish, and socially responsible.
 The Campaign Strategy
With this information in mind, BMW
developed a Twitter campaign that focused
on showcasing their innovative designs, stylish
aesthetics, and commitment to social
responsibility.

They used a combination of engaging tweets,

eye-catching visuals, and interactive features
to create a buzz around their brand and
encourage their followers to share their content
with their own networks.
 Results and Impact

• The Twitter campaign was a huge success

for BMW, with thousands of retweets, likes,
and shares across the platform.
• It helped to increase brand awareness and
engagement among their target audience,
and even led to an increase in sales for some
of their newer models.
BMW drives emotional appeal
for its i8 Roadster on Twitter
 30%
above Twitter Spotlight
Key Results benchmarks
45%
of the target audience
reached
21M
impressions
 The opportunity
 Twitter was the perfect platform when BMW UK looked to boost
awareness and positive emotional appeal for its i8 Roadster.

 Twitter was used to complement the broader media plan and achieve
this objective because of its popularity with BMW’s target audiences
and its ability to drive upper-funnel brand metrics. 

 Twitter’s success in delivering better video view-through rates was

also an important factor for BMW and media agency Wavemaker UK

 Overall, Twitter’s targeting ability, combined with the receptivity of its

audiences, meant BMW was confident it was the right platform for the
task to deliver its advertising, which was created by FCB Inferno.
 The strategy

 A key message for BMW UK was that the i8 Roadster is the

“perfect blend of luxury and beautiful design in an
environmentally friendly car”. 

 It targeted this message at a core group of 35+ male early-

tech adopters who value aesthetics and are prepared to pay
more for sustainable products. 

 According to Sophie Chiappe, BMW i marketing manager,

“BMW i8 Roadster is a halo model for BMW brand and our
electric range. Innovation, formats that capture the attention,
and fitting premium environment are always key points for
us when considering any digital activity, especially for this
model.”
 The success
 There was an unintended benefit. The week of activity was
the highest lead-driving week as a result of traffic driven by
Twitter.

 In the absence of a brand study, BMW UK used Twitter

analytics and was able to achieve a high positive sentiment
and create emotional appeal with the product. 

 This was one of BMW UK’s key KPIs. Two quotes

summarize this very well: “Loved this car from the first time
I set eyes on it”, and “I want one, please”.
1. Drive awareness with a Spotlight and Promoted Trend.

• The brand collaborated with Twitter to get the best out of its products and formulate a
precise audience approach. The campaign launched with a Spotlight and Promoted
Trend on the final day of the Premier League.  BMW UK chose to connect with
Premier League football as data showed Twitter would offer a marked increase in the
target audiences’ awareness. The ad formats were also perfect for delivering reach.

2. Reach your audience with In-Stream Video pre-roll.

• BMW UK followed this with In-Stream Video pre-roll, which was live for 10 days.
This was chosen to complement Spotlight activity and to stay top of mind and
timeline of the audience in a cost-efficient manner
Twitter delivers all of the
above, plus gives us the
certainty that our content
will be seen in full by the
right audience thanks to the
precise targeting options the
platform offers.

Sophie Chiappe, Marketing

Manager, BMW i
HOW BMW USED TWITTER TO EFFECTIVELY REACH OUT
TO MILLENNIALS DURING THE LAUNCH OF ITS 2 SERIES
GRAND COUPE
17M
impressions

OPPORTUNITY
The German automobile manufacturer used Twitter to 6.4M
complement its broader media plan and reach out more
effectively to its target audience for this model.
video views

BMW INDIA
While making a debut in the entry-level luxury sedan space
in India, with the launch of its 2 Series Gran Coupe in Oct
2020, BMW sought to woo millennials. 300k
engagements
STRATEGY
BMW wanted to surprise auto fans with the unexpected and the
campaign was crafted to be fun and provocative.

Rolled out in three

phases,
The highlight of this phase was
the Emoji Engine, a first-of-its-
kind in the auto category. One
simple click on the call-to-action
button returned a pre-populated
Tweet prompt featuring the car,
which could be customized and
shared.
ALL-DAY LONG BRAND
EXPOSURE
On the day of the launch, BMW
took over Twitter, using First View and
Spotlight. This enabled the premium auto
manufacturer to maximize brand exposure,
delivering a mix of first video impressions
along with additional impressions throughout
the day.
RETARGETING THE
POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
Retargeting the already engaged audience, BMW
reinforced their message by delivering additional
information to people who had engaged with their
ad. This enabled sustained awareness of the vehicle
while moving people down the funnel, using ad
products like the Website Card.
Partner with Niche influencers

To build momentum, BMW partnered

with Twitter’s Niche influencers to
promote the X2 at key cultural events
popular with its millennial target
audience, like Coachella and Fashion
Week. It used Promoted Tweets with
images to get fans excited. 
Take over Twitter with First View

On launch day, BMW took over Twitter,

pairing together two mass awareness products
to maximize reach and drive higher ad recall
— First View and Promoted Trend.

First View helped BMW maximize exposure

of its video ad in people’s timeline on launch
day.
Take over Twitter with Promoted
Trend
To drive further recall, BMW paired
First View with Promoted Trend,
featuring #ProjectUnfollow as a top
trending topic on the Explore tab. This
pairing maximized BMW’s ability to
reach its target audience on launch day.
 Retarget to reinforce brand
messaging
But it wasn’t done — BMW retargeted its audience
who engaged with its ads, providing additional
video content and driving viewers directly to
BMW’s website to learn more about the X2 or
schedule an appointment to see it.
Audience retargeting helped BMW reinforce its
message and drive awareness with its audience
throughout the year, keeping the X2 top of mind for
potential buyers who might be mulling over their
decision.
How BMW uses Twitter as one of its primary
social media marketing channels
• Engaging with followers: BMW regularly interacts with its followers on Twitter,
responding to comments and questions, and retweeting user-generated content. This
engagement helps to build a stronger relationship with its customers and increase
brand loyalty.
• Posting high-quality content: BMW posts high-quality photos and videos on Twitter
to showcase its products and services. The content is visually appealing and designed
to grab the attention of users scrolling through their Twitter feeds.
• Creating hashtags: BMW often creates hashtags for its Twitter campaigns to encourage user
engagement and generate buzz around its products. These hashtags can be used by fans to share
their experiences or thoughts about BMW, and BMW can also monitor the hashtag to see what
people are saying about the brand.
• Influencer marketing: BMW partners with influencers on Twitter to promote its products and
services. Influencers with large followings can help increase brand awareness and reach a wider
audience.
Drive awareness with a Spotlight and Promoted
Trend.

The brand collaborated with Twitter to get the best

out of its products and formulate a precise audience
approach. The campaign launched with a Spotlight
and Promoted Trend on the final day of the Premier
League. 
BMW UK chose to connect with Premier League
football as data showed Twitter would offer a
marked increase in the target audiences’ awareness.
The ad formats were also perfect for delivering
reach.
Reach your audience with In-Stream Video pre-roll.

@BMW_UK followed this with In-Stream Video pre-roll, which was live for 10 days. This was
chosen to complement Spotlight activity and to stay top of mind and timeline of the audience in a
cost-efficient manner.

The success

The results of the Spotlight exceeded Twitter benchmarks by 30% and generated 21M impressions. 
@BMW_UK was also able to reach 45% of the target audience with its pre-roll ad campaign and 2.1M
impressions.
There was an unintended benefit. The week of activity was the highest lead-driving week as a result of
traffic driven by Twitter.
In the absence of a brand study, @BMW_UK used Twitter analytics and was able to achieve a high
positive sentiment and create emotional appeal with the product. 
This was one of @BMW_UK’s key KPIs. Two quotes summaries this very well: “Loved this car from
the first time I set eyes on it”, and “I want one, please”.