Few guardianships of brands have been as successful as that of Mini under BMW. We say guardianship because it is so much more than ownership, given Mini’s unique place in British culture, the wealth of personal stories involving its cars and, as a result, the emotional investment that people place in the brand and its development.
It’s about expressing an attitude to life rather than your social status. Mini buyers don’t buy a car to go from A to B: they like the product and have a relation to it.” One of the first things she did on becoming head of Mini was to make John Cooper’s grandson, Charlie Cooper, a “brand ambassador and an integral part of the team”. Wurst says: “I’m experiencing the brand’s history as a family history as well.