In the face of South Korea’s critical challenge of rural depopulation, the Warm Place campaign was aimed to raise interest and encourage visits to Gunwi, a quaint local city.

However, it was a challenging task to attract visits to Gunwi, a small, remote city over three hours away, particularly given that half of the population resides in urban areas. Moreover, in the post-COVID era, a trend emerged where many Koreans prefer traveling abroad over visiting local cities. This shift made traditional advertising and superficial messaging ineffective. Therefore, overcoming these challenges required an integrated channel management and thoughtful campaign design.

In the face of a rising concentration of over half of Korea's populace in the capital region, a scenario contributing to the decline of rural city economies and a pressing social challenge of dwindling populations.

How can a car brand economically contribute to regions facing extinction? This question was our starting point. Focusing on automobile’s capability to travel anywhere, we created content that would inspire visits to these at-risk areas.

The objective was to drive visits to Gunwi and contribute to regional economic revitalization.

The population concentration in Korea's capital region has significantly risen over the years, from 34% in 1975 to over 50% in 2020. This disparity between the capital and rural cities has led to various economic and social challenges, drawing national and international attention. Korea's regional imbalance is a topic of global interest, being one of the 18 out of 38 OECD countries facing such issues."

Taking inspiration from the term 'hot spots' for places that never see a decrease in visitors, we named our campaign 'Warm Place' to highlight the need for warm attention in areas facing extinction. From content showcasing Gunwi's allure, to maps detailing tourist spots and eateries, and various consumer engagement events, we successfully drew interest and voluntary visits to the region.

• Target audience : Male and female demographics aged 20-40 in South Korea

• Integration :

- MINI Korea online channels: : MINI Korea website, Instagram, YouTube

- Gunwi On & Offline municipal channels: Gunwi country website, YouTube, Instagram, offline festivals

- Digital advertising : YouTube, Instagram, Facebook

- Events : Photo verification event, Gunwi area quiz event

• Approach : To effectively engage with the Korean audience, who often perceive a physical and emotional disconnect from smaller, provincial cities like Gunwi, we named the campaign, ‘Warm Place - a term designed to evoke a sense of contrast to the more bustling ‘Hot Places’. Our strategy was to ignite a sense of curiosity and spontaneity, encouraging visits through compelling content and diverse media channels.

• Implementation :

1. 11 digital films; videos revealing the charms of Gunwi known only to those who visit.

2. MINI KOREA Instagram content; behind-the-scenes stories, photos, and other content not covered in the films.

3. Offline content; providing a Google Maps guide featuring Gunwi tourist spots and restaurants, setting up photo booths."

4. Offline vehicle test-driving; providing MINI vehicles for visitors to Gunwi."

5. Gunwi County Channels: Promoting Warm Place videos

• Timeline :

- On-air : July 5, 2023

- Paid Media : July 5, 2023, to July 31, 2023

- Contents Posting : July 5, 2023, to August 31, 2023

• Placement : Digital / OOH

• Scale :

- Mini Korea and Gunwi official channels

- OOH within a festival attended by 50,000 visitors

- 500 million KRW in digital advertising push

• Reach: Approximately 1.9 million reach

• Engagement: Organic hashtags 2,293

• Impact: 6.5% increase in Gunwi search volume, 8% increase in spending by visitors to Gunwi

• Sales : N/A

• Achievement against business targets

Koreans had a significant physical and psychological distance from the region of Gunwi, and the budget was relatively small compared to other social awareness campaigns with larger budgets.

Moreover, a campaign to raise awareness and visits regarding rural depopulation was a first in the automotive industry, so there were doubts about whether it would motivate people.

However, the integrated campaign sparked real interest and action among Koreans, and, unexpectedly, contributed to the economic revitalization of the Gunwi region during the campaign period.