Summary
In 2022, CARMA partnered with BMW Group Asia to help them to take the first step in measuring beyond outputs. The partnership in this project won them the PRCA APAC Measurement and Evaluation Award in 2023 and prepared a foundation for the evolution of BMW’s measurement and evaluation. The final report was used to report to business leaders to demonstrate effectiveness and the contribution made by the Communications team. This new way focussed on the impact of their Communications activities and helped them to become more connected to the business. Project was delivered on a very small budget of $5000USD.

Objective/Brief
BMW Group Asia had wide range of opportunities and challenges heading into 2022. The team were embarking on a year that would see them launch ten new models. Most important was the launch of the i4 – the first ever fully-electric coupe to be launched in Singapore. There were environmental factors and business changes that made 2022 more challenging than expected:

• As Singapore emerged from COVID, there were concerns that Singaporeans would be reluctant to attend in-person events, visit dealerships and book test drives
• Research in the planning phase showed that while 46% of Singaporeans drivers were ready to change to electric models, there was still need for greater education in terms of charging facilities, and EV range (41% believed EVs were difficult to charge believed that the vehicles only lasted short distances).
• The new Managing Director requested reporting that was simple. He wanted reports to focus on the “so what”.

Our joint goals:
Goal 1: Elevate BMW’s measurement to be able to speak the language of the business and answer “so what”.
Goal 2: Design a measurement program fit for purpose for the high number of EV launches.
Goal 3: Establish best practice habits to improve in the long term.

Strategy
CARMA designed a mix of services to meet BMW’s needs. Each module was carefully designed and timed to build onto the previous module. The overarching goal was to demystify measurement and simplify the steps so that they were attainable and practical.

Step 1: Education on best practice measurement and evaluation. The session was attended by the Corporate Affairs team and focussed on the Barcelona Principles and what BMW should and could be measuring. AMEC’s Maturity Mapper was used to benchmark where BMW was in its measurement journey and identify opportunities for improvement.
Step 2: Workshop: Speaking the language of the business. The objective of the interactive workshop was to change the way the team viewed their current metrics and to create awareness of business metrics. Participants were asked to explain the metrics they use to make decisions. They were then asked to answer the same question as if they were the Managing Director. This simple exercise was a powerful way to show the team that they needed to think more in terms of business results.
Step 3: Training session on how to build a measurement framework. The focus of this session was the importance of measurable objectives and buy-in of key stakeholders. BMW’s Marketing team took part in this session as a first step towards integrating data from Communications and Marketing.
Step 4: One small, first step. CARMA designed a framework for the launch and a report on the i4 launch provided benchmarking, insights, and the results against measurable objectives.

Execution/Implementation
Goal 1: Elevate BMW’s measurement and reporting to be able to speak the language of the business and answer “so what” from Directors and the C-Suite
The primary goal was to empower the BMW team with insights and proof points to demonstrate the effectiveness of the i4
Communications plan. The report provided charts and infographics in simple categories of outputs, outtakes, and outcomes across owned, shared and earned channels. The focus was on business metrics such as footfall traffic at the dealership, online website traffic, uptick in Search interest in Singapore and increase in online test drive registrations.

Goal 2: Design a measurement program fit for purpose for the high number of product launches in 2022 and to set robust benchmarks for future product launches.
CARMA developed a specific framework based on the i4 launch as well as an interactive template for BMW to use for future launches. This was presented as a measurement toolkit with links to important resources such as the AMEC IEF Taxonomy page and AMEC’s planning resources.
Our framework linked to BMW’s launch objectives to increase excitement amongst target audiences and drive interest in test drives of the i4. Attendance at in-person events and footfall at the Singapore dealership were identified as the most important outcome measures given the concerns about COVID’s impact on in-person events. Similarly, the number of test drives booked by consumers was a critical measure as it provided BMW the opportunity to educate and address concerns over ease of charging and EV driving distances directly with target audiences.

Goal 3: Establish best practice habits to improve communications and measurement in the long term.
CARMA’s priority throughout the process was to educate and simplify the process for the BMW team. Discipline and habit creation was emphasised over perfect implementation.

Effectiveness of Assignment
Our work with BMW Group Asia was an engaging and challenging project. The following achievements demonstrate our performance against our original goals:

• Our best practice approach won the PRCA Asia Pacific Measurement & Evaluation Award in March 2023
• The final i4 launch report received positive feedback from the APAC Managing Director
• The report was able to demonstrate correlations between some media activity, outtakes, and outcomes (notably increases in search interest, website traffic and online bookings for test drives correlated with high quality test drive review articles and physical launch events)
• The product launch framework and the set of launch benchmarks has now been embedded.

Outputs to demonstrate anticipation and excitement:

• Test drive articles on the i4 in Tier 1 media were positive and above the average favourability benchmark set in 2021 and Q122.
• Test drive reviews were more favourable than 2021 benchmarks and had a higher proportion of product attribute mentions.
• Media coverage was positive, conveyed positive strategic messages.

Outtakes to demonstrate increased interest amongst target audiences:

• Google Search interest in i4 lifted during key moments between April-September (Correlated Google search interest within Singapore with media and event activity)
• Increase in unique visits to the BMW websites correlated with major media activities and social posts.
• Increase in engagement rate on Instagram and Facebook as key posts and launch activities for i4 were released.

Outcomes to link to business success:

• Dealership footfall increased (some peaks correlated with media activities)
• The number of i4 test drive registrations increased during launch period. There was a correlation between launch activity and test drive registrations in the period.
• Launch event attendance was higher than previous media/launch events (despite COVID concerns)

“Working with the team at CARMA is like working with consultants who really understand our business, think strategically, and are genuinely interested in helping us understand the impact of our work. The best part of this relationship is that the team is constantly challenging us and bringing to the table new ideas on how we can highlight the work we do and the impact it has on our business. In 2022, with the i4 launch, we started correlating our media activities with outtakes and business outcomes and this has really helped us start to connect our work to the business and evaluate our contribution.”
Preeti Gupta, Corporate Affairs Director & Sustainability Lead, BMW Group Asia