The Awesomeness Of Small

Posted on by Ian C.

So … who still remembers the secret black box, containing the Awesomeness Of Small book? That book “secretly” contained three decoders to reveal messages in MINI advertising:
– The first used the Magic Window Decryptor, leading you to a strange website which, with a MINI VIN, took you to a Super Secret Insider page where you learned about MINI Takes The States.
– The second advert used the Super Secret Decoder, revealing letters that took you to a website which was (shockingly) soon announced on MotoringFile: MINIspygear.com; this site offered the chance to acquire a neat MINI Adventure Toggle Switch Panel Kit.

Now, the third advert has appeared – I got mine from Rolling Stone today, and here’s a scan (UPDATE: I’ve now included the decoded image too, photo’ed through the red glasses!):

The text below says “Attention non-MINI owners: This is the blurb of copy that you’re relegated to reading, instead of enjoying the hilarious and finely crafted ad above. You’re missing out. It’s really quite good. But hey, this little paragraph is yours, and no one can take that away from you. So, enjoy it. Bask in it. Relish every single word. Yeah, it may not be as fun as the ad above, but your car isn’t as fun as a MINI, so you kind of asked for it. Find your nearest dealer at MINIUSA.com” – hope it doesn’t upset too many non-MINI owners!

To decode this advert you need the Red Glasses – they reveal another message and a link to yet another website related to the Awesomeness Of Small … the message says “Congratulations. You’ve discovered a secret message. Try to play it cool. We know it’s hard with the glasses. Your next MINI confidential destination is … LET’S MOTOR”

When you follow the newest website link, you get to see a few more “trinkets” (including a fun song which I hope we will be allowed to download!). Once again, a MINI VIN will take you deeper into the website and this time you get the chance to order a Totally Awesome Medallion (Hooray – more collectibles!):


Keep watching (in a month or two?) for when I get my medallion 🙂

UPDATE:
When you decode the advert, it sends you to this AwesomenessOfSmall website, so now you can go and see what it’s all about! 😉

1,250 MINI circuits

Posted on by Ian C.

Yes, they still sell … not as fast as they used to (in the past I’ve shipped more than 50 a month, now it takes 2-3 months to ship 50) but tonight I shipped my 1,250th circuit, to Virginia. I still keep track of zip codes as well – not as slick as all the Google maps in existence now, but quite pretty:

I’m still missing Montana and West Virginia – the first MINI circuit shipped to either of those states will be at a special price …

I’ve also been experimenting with online advertising recently. I paid for a rotating banner ad on MotoringFile and noticed some increase in orders, but not much. I think my MINI circuit is just too specialized – people visiting MotoringFile probably aren’t looking for a solution to close their windows without keeping the switch held!
It’s clear that “word of mouth” is still a strong advertiser – when Gabe introduced me as a sponsor I did see an effect for a couple of days … and I’m thrilled to be featured once more in Gabes now traditional annual MotoringFile Gift Guide.

More recently, Mark Ferguson of NorthAmericanMotoring negotiated some MINI circuit advertising with me, featured as a banner on the top of the Electrical Mods section; I think this sort of “targetted” advertising should be more successful, although it’s too soon for me to see if there’s a real effect.

Finally, I’ve no idea if the R56 will finally offer auto-up windows but if not, my existing MINI circuit of course won’t work with those new cars – I have no plans to upgrade GBMINI again for now, so I won’t be able to develop anything new for that car. So don’t expect any “exciting” development update posts 😉

GP owner survey

Posted on by Ian C.

I received a new car owners survey from Maritz Research, applying to GPMINI … it’s quite fun to apply the general new car questions to the GP … Yes, I plan to do more “pleasure driving” than “transporting passengers” or “hauling large items” 😉

Number one GP feature: “Fun To Drive”; also “Spirited Performance” and “Exterior Styling” … and the MINI of Peabody experience counts too 🙂

Exterior appearance & Driving performace – truly outstanding!
Quietness inside the vehicle – not so good …

Anyone else get a new car survey?