While Branded Entertainment has already become an integral part of the advertising industry in the US (its volume currently amounts around US$ 3.6bn), it is still in its infancy in Germany (€ 60m). One of the main reasons for this situation is the legal framework. While targeted advertisement is possible for money without restrictions in the US, there is a clear distinction between programmes and advertisement in Germany.In 2010, there was an amendment of the Inter-Länder Treaty on broadcasting that now makes product placement and branded entertainment possible in Germany’s entertainment media, although product placement is subject to compulsory labelling. However, the potential of branded entertainment is far from being exhausted.

With the unusual event concept of the Pavilion 21 MINI Opera Space, MINI mainly addressed the creative class and intended to intensify the connection to postmodern trendsetters, journalists and important customers. The idea of a temporary and architecturally striking building like the Pavilion 21 MINI Opera Space, designed by a top architectural firm, was one of the main ideas to attract people’s interest. Another one was the exceptional combination of events that took place over 1 month. In order to raise the scope and reach the global MINI community, the project was also connected to the internet platform minispace.com/pavillon21.

Due to both its central location on a main square in the middle of the city and its exceptional and exclusive concept, Pavilion 21 reached utmost attention. Every single event counted a constantly high number of around 400 visitors (some of the events being restricted to this number) that encountered the MINI brand. Thanks to the cooperation between MINI and the Bavarian State Opera, even new target groups got in touch with the MINI brand world.To raise maximum awareness by the urban audience, the event had already been communicated in the run-up on the MINI website www.minispace.com. During the event period, blog entries on a daily basis, photo galleries and online videos reported on the different events and provided the MINI community with a real-time insight into what actually happened in and around Pavilion 21. Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz and Stumbleupon were used by the MINI website to offer the users a feedback channel and an interactive community platform.