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1. 16-24 October, 2011. Gurgaon, India.
Guest Count: 1000+.

2. With BMW holding on to its No. 1 position in the luxury brand market, it was very
keen to look at an event experience for the launch of its rugged SUV X3 brand that
would shake up the industry and clearly demonstrate its market leadership.
SYNOPSIS
An off-beat event idea, never done before, at least in India, an event experience
that had everyone mesmerised and a post-event media blitz that saw the media
going gaga for weeks even after the launch experience got over. An “Xperience”
that will be etched in the minds for a long, long time, surely!
EVENT

3. Global auto major BMW has been driving change in a highly competitive
marketplace through continually enhancing the aspirational driving experience.
Founded in 1917, the BMW Group is now one of the ten largest car manufacturers
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in the world and, with its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands, possesses three of
the strongest premium brands in the car industry.
Indeed, the BMW brand is often cited as one of the ‘best’ in the world and the
company continues to launch a stream of innovative products through enthralling
on-ground experiences for its prospective buyers.
A first-of-its-kind event for BMW in India, the BMW Xperience involved two broad
aspects. One was to create a 10-obstacle track for the test drive that showcased
THE
each of the xDrive features and off-road capabilities.
The other was the X3 launch event which took place in a 55m x 30m x 9m hangar
that was specially created within the 60-feet deep excavated site!

4. The main launch event saw participation of over a thousand VIPs, future prospects,
BMW owners and ten Facebook contest winners.
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The media session next day saw a turnout of over 250 scribes, reporters and
photographers (spanning national as well as regional press, electronic as well as
internet media) from across India.
The event was recreated over the next eight days that enabled batches of
prospective customers to take test drives. This extended period saw a total
participation of more than 400 prospects.
16 – 24 October 2011. A total of nine days in all. And over 1000 ecstatic guests!
THE

5. The event objectives. And how we met them!
With BMW holding on to its No. 1 position in the luxury car market, it was very keen to look at an event
experience for the launch of its rugged SUV X3 brand that would shake up the industry and clearly demonstrate
its market leadership.
It is also relevant to mention at this point that traditionally, BMW does not believe in doing hotel-ballroom
QUESTIONS
events and invariably prefers an off-beat location. Finding such a location was a challenge in itself in Delhi NCR
that offers almost zero options other than hotels or at best a Golf Club lawn.
THE FOUR
Realising the challenge, BMW opened this event to a multi-agency pitch for the first time in almost 5 years of its
existence in this country.
We decided that if we could find a great venue, we were more than half-way there. And when we found an
abandoned site spread over 32 acres excavated till 60 feet below the ground, we knew we had a killer of a
venue!
An off-beat location to make people sit up and take notice, an event experience designed to endear through
engagement. In short, a shake-up act!
The rest, as they say, is history. How else does one describe an event 60 feet down under which had a specially
created, expansive 10-acre, 10-obstacle test track (Experience Zone), dramatic reveal of the track through a live
feed, a spectacular, high-energy performance by Australian troupe Raw Bang announcing the reveal of the X3
that actually left the amazed spectators thirsting for a personal test-drive experience!

6. Challenges encountered. And surmounted!
The event team on the site surmounted several daunting challenges to create what was a first-of-its-kind
live experience in India.
The fact that there was no access to the site did not deter us and we actually built a road leading down to
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the bottom of the venue.
The vagaries of nature stepped in to add their own challenges, with the heaviest rainfall in the last 59 years
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in the region that transformed the venue into a virtual lake. Nearly two hundred 6000-litre tankers were
pressed into service to drain the water out! The terrain itself proved rather hostile as it often sank
because of the sheer weight put on top of it and hence had to be reinforced. The team also had to contend
with mounds of flying dust through the entire duration of the preparation of the venue.
4600 cubic metres of earth was used to shore up an area of 115 metres by 40 metres in order to create a
level, raised area to set up the hangar. Almost 1500 cubic metres of earth was used to create the ten acre,
ten-obstacle test track, which was demanding enough to be completed only with the xDrive. Experts from
Thailand were contracted to create the marvel that the test track actually turned out to be. Six heavy
earth-moving machines were pressed into service continuously for close to sixty days to create the
unusual launch venue, which also involved the movement of over 240 dumper-loads of earth.

7. What makes this event unique, distinctive &
professionally executed
An off-beat location and a unique and first-of-its-kind launch idea, exploited to the max. How else can one
describe this shake-up act sixty feet below ground level spread over thirty two acres of land that simply
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awed each guest!
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The BMW Xperience was a first-of-its-kind launch event in the history of the Indian automobile industry
and it actually has been unofficially acknowledged in the industry circles as a shake-up act.
The media coverage that the event received was actually quite spectacular and we had a client who was
literally over the moon with the results of what he later admitted was a risk that even his boss was not
keen on taking!
Factors that contributed to the uniqueness of this event:
A hawk’s eye for detailing. Stage-wise briefings; we actually structured the live experience into multiple
subsets, with teams dedicated to each subset. Right from the venue entry point to the personalised shuttle
of guests down to the main event area and the actual event experience, each touch-point was transformed
into a seamless experience of delight for the esteemed guests. The video should say it all!!!

8. Demonstration of value for budget spent
In this part of the world, more than a habit, it is almost a custom to negotiate in any
business transaction and strike a mutually beneficial bargain.
The BMW Xperience event is a perfect demonstration of this hard fact. On the one
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level, we managed to elicit reasonable concessions from our vendor partners. The
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off-beat venue, itself, was made available to us at a highly attractive budget, given
our close ties with the owners.
On the other level, for the actual budget spent, we managed to get more than 1000
future BMW prospects from across the country to congregate at the event venue
and actually experience the X3 first hand, a feat in its own right! A similar scenario
might not have been possible in an above-the-line communication exercise which,
anyways, would entail substantially higher investments sans the first-hand
experience!

9. Printed materials – Entrance signage
BRANDING &
SIGNAGE

10. Printed materials – Entrance wall
BRANDING &
SIGNAGE

11. Printed materials – Drop-off backdrop
BRANDING &
SIGNAGE

12. Printed materials – Patio wall
BRANDING &
SIGNAGE

13. Printed materials – Reception wall
BRANDING &
SIGNAGE

14. Printed materials – Roadside signage
BRANDING &
SIGNAGE

15. Printed materials – Track signage
BRANDING &
SIGNAGE

16. Printed materials – Track map
BRANDING &
SIGNAGE

17. Printed materials – Bar counter 1
BRANDING &
SIGNAGE

18. Printed materials – Bar counter 2
BRANDING &
SIGNAGE

19. PROMOTIONAL
MATERIALS
Invite

20. PROMOTIONAL
MATERIALS
Invite

21. The daunting 32-acre venue, 60
feet down under and the
specially laid 10-acre test track
PHOTOGRAPHS
SUPPORTING

22. The strikingly lit event entry
point with the guest reception
marquee in the backdrop
PHOTOGRAPHS
SUPPORTING

23. Road specially built to descend
60 feet down under!
PHOTOGRAPHS
SUPPORTING

24. The special BMW shuttle cars
to drive the guests down to
the main event area
PHOTOGRAPHS
SUPPORTING

25. Raw Bang’s spectacular
performance and the dramatic
reveal of the test-track live
from the Experience Zone
PHOTOGRAPHS
SUPPORTING

26. A guest negotiates one of the
obstacles at the test-track
PHOTOGRAPHS
SUPPORTING

27. The thirty–foot high uphill
challenge
PHOTOGRAPHS
SUPPORTING

28. The making of the event:
The venue in its raw form
PHOTOGRAPHS
SUPPORTING

29. The making of the event:
The venue after the first clean-
up
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30. The making of the event:
The test-track being created
PHOTOGRAPHS
SUPPORTING

31. The making of the event:
The event hangar under
construction
PHOTOGRAPHS
SUPPORTING

32. Media coverage
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In the press
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33. Media coverage
PHOTOGRAPHS
Online buzz
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