BMW jumps on the Facebook craze to promote the X1

The German-manufacturer has used theses modes of communication to hype up a car that hasn’t even been released yet: the BMW X1. And while the car won’t be released in the US until 2011, the amount of traffic its Facebook page has generated has been nothing short of astounding. If anybody wants to look at the said page, you’ll find so much more than just the expected shameless plugs. BMW recently posted photos of the X1 on the page and it has spawned tons of positive reactions from visitors with even one guest already making suggestions on the possible color schemes for the car – ‘I want one dressed in white,’ the guest commented. The site has already garnered a strong fan base – 1,744 and counting – despite having been created only a few months ago and the car not expected to be rolled out until 18 months from now. BMW’s decision to plug the car at a social networking site like Facebook is in-line with the company’s goal of appealing towards the younger generations – a generation that is not really associated with BMW. By promoting the X1 to a whole new demographic, BMW hopes that it could capture the market before any of its competitors do. It’s a sound strategy, to say the least. It also helps that advertising on sites like Facebook doesn’t cost BMW two arms and a leg on their marketing budget. According to Tony Douglas, innovations manager at BMW’s Munich marketing department, “You don’t buy it; you have to earn it. Content and timing has to be good, and you use a bit more brainpower. It is not the blind media spend." As we’ve said, the X1 won’t be available in Europe until later this year and won’t be making its debut on US soil until 2011. Nonetheless, the added exposure the X1 has generated from these sites just might make the wait worth it.