If I Were You, BMW
Seven Days Later
I’d give BMW’s design critics the keys.
Independent, unsolicited idea. Not commissioned, approved or endorsed by BMW. This is a proposal, not an announced programme.
- BRAND
- BMW
- STATUS
- Independent, unsolicited idea
The Idea
CONTEXT: New BMW designs can provoke an immediate argument. Sometimes the opinion changes after people spend time with the car. I’d give BMW’s design critics the keys. Seven days in the car they criticised. Their first opinion and their considered verdict, both published.
Seven Days Later
Live with the car. Revisit the comment. Invite genuine, willing design sceptics to use that BMW for an ordinary week. Record their first reaction before handing over the keys. Return to the same questions seven days later. Let daily use enter a debate that often begins with a photograph.
The Experiment
Ask two questions. Keep both answers. Has your view of the design changed? What did driving it add? The proportions in daylight. The view when you walk back to the car. The feeling from the driver’s seat. I want to hear what mattered to that person.
The Important Part
Leave the “still hate it” people in. The campaign only earns trust if people can keep their original opinion. Publish the critical verdicts alongside the positive ones. A week with a BMW might change someone’s mind. It might also make their criticism more specific.
The Value
Let the car join the conversation. BMW already offers test drives. I’d turn an extended experience into an honest campaign about first impressions and considered opinions. Participants get time to form a view. Everyone watching gets a more useful argument. Seven days later: what do you think now?
Want to make it happen?
A starting point for a conversation.