BMW uses Instagram for a family reunion

“A Yas Marina M4 reunites two brothers on the California coastline.” That’s the description behind a new Instagram account – BMWRoadTrip – backed by BMW of North America. The new social account tells the story of two brothers – Adam and Sam Hurly – who reunited after three years for a scenic drive in California.

“We know our BMW USA audience loves car photography and performance driving and this second channel serves as a storytelling platform in a way we haven’t really used it before, said Peter Harmata, digital innovations manager at BMW of North America. “These kinds of stories can now live exclusively independent from our everyday feed while still providing a unique, compelling experience that our fans can easily follow and come back to whenever they want.”

There was comfort in having guardrails at Twin Peaks. Next, we headed up the switchbacks of Mt. Tamalpais, where there is no fence. Instead, I got to put myself and the car to the test.

A photo posted by BMW Road Trip (@bmwroadtrip) on Jul 29, 2016 at 10:41am PDT

“The goal for the channel isn’t necessarily followers,” Harmata said. “Instead, it provides a canvas to spotlight the BMW-rich car community in California all through the driving experience of an M4. Most importantly, if a user toggles over to feed view, he or she can read the entire story front to back. In grid view, it’s an easily digestible visual story mapped back to a book-like spine on the left.”

The two brothers will embark on their journey in San Francisco with the final destination set for San Diego. The account will share photos and videos of their daily driving experience and the beautiful Yas Marina Blue M4.

The creation of the new account coincides with the launch of the Instagram Stories, a clone of Snapchat’s Stories feature, allowing you to post 24-hour ephemeral photo and video slideshows that disappear.

So began the long drive, the prescriptive, head-clearing kind. Since we had spent the last three days together—with eight more on deck—we didn’t need to chatter our way down the highway. So we coasted.

A photo posted by BMW Road Trip (@bmwroadtrip) on Jul 29, 2016 at 10:09am PDT

“BMW has passionate fans whose lives revolve around their love of the drive and, ultimately, their BMWs,” Mr. Harmata said. “By spotlighting these enthusiasts, their stories and connections with their vehicles, we can highlight BMW’s engineering, innovations and features in a natural way.

“Our goal is to educate consumers and convey the enjoyment of driving a BMW in a more authentic way that hopefully comes across more as a story than a sales pitch.”

Now with the ability to attach stories to the daily way of consuming Instagram media, BMW might be onto something.

[Source: LuxuryDaily]