While other brands spent millions on marketing electric cars, we wanted our campaign to be just like our EVs - innovative, efficient and zero waste. To minimize spillover, we went where EV patrons already were - on Google Maps looking for public charging stations in Dubai. Rather than invite people to our dealership, we brought the experience to them with 300 virtual showrooms. Where they could digitally view the cars inside-out and even book test drives.

All this with zero dollars, 3 fully-charged BMW EVs and a smartphone.

Despite being a global leader in the adoption of electrification in recent years, the UAE’s public charging infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the rising number of electric vehicles – with only about 300 stations scattered across Dubai for almost all electric cars to share. Moreover, the long driving distances make it essential for EV owners to charge their vehicles at least twice a week on average. This is a source of anxiety for potential customers wanting to make the switch, with proximity to public charging stations being a crucial factor.

And as the last ones to enter the EV market, BMW had an important point to prove.

In the UAE, an emerging EV market, public charging stations are the primary source of energy. This makes proximity to them a key consideration for potential customers to make the switch – to a point where the first thing they do is look for charging stations near them, even before they visit the dealership.

Being the last ones to enter a highly competitive EV market, we wanted to capture people’s attention in a way that’s truly breakthrough. Most of all, we wanted our EV launch campaign to align with our sustainability commitment – to utilize resources in the most efficient way without compromising impact.

With other EV brands already in the UAE market, BMW had to act quickly and smartly to build affinity and consideration among EV patrons. Given that our EVs were all about zero waste, efficiency and innovation, we wanted our launch campaign to be a fitting one. So we minimized spillover by going where EV owners already were, and photobombed public charging stations with our cars - creating 300 virtual showrooms across Dubai.

Rather than tell people that our EVs were in the showroom, we took the experience to them and cheekily laid all doubts to rest.

We wanted to direct our campaign to existing and potential EV owners – a category that comprises nearly 70% of UAE residents. And with minimum spillover.

While our competitors were investing millions in advertising their electric cars, we identified new advertising real estate in the form of Google Maps listings that was completely free and open to everyone. All it took was a few BMW EVs, a list of public charging stations in Dubai and a smartphone, to make our cars the headliners across the city – capturing the attention of millions.

Recognizing that proximity to public charging stations was a key consideration, we took our EVs where the purchase decision was really made. Presenting BMW iJACK – turning Google Maps into the largest network of virtual showrooms by seeding BMW electric cars in the pictures listed by visitors.

In a guerrilla effort to launch our electric range, we took our beamers and photobombed all of Dubai’s 300 EV charging stations in broad daylight. So each time anyone looked for charging stations near them, our EVs showed up – making BMW top of mind. By integrating QR codes into the photos, we transformed automotive purchase into a completely digital experience.

We tried to keep it low-key, but then people took notice – including the region’s leading motoring channel, ArabGT. The iJack garnered over 2 million views organically on Google Maps, significantly driving consideration for BMW EVs. It also boosted test drives by 400% - with 2 out of 5 bookings from our virtual showrooms.

While our competitors spent millions on marketing their electric cars, we stayed true to our commitment of utilizing resources effectively – and spent zero dollars to get earned media worth 2.2 million dollars. From stealth to sophistication, BMW iJACK has come a long way in setting a new benchmark for how automotive brands spend their money.

We wanted our campaign to be just like our EVs - an efficient and optimized use of resources with zero waste. We went where EV patrons already were - public charging stations in Dubai. We created 300 virtual showrooms where they could digitally view the cars inside-out, and even book test drives directly.

All this with zero dollars, 3 fully-charged BMW EVs and a smartphone.