How do you promote a vehicle whose market positioning centres on the spirit the car represents, rather than on technological upgrades? Given this, our challenge was to create an activation around the new X2’s spirit. Our key objective was to launch the car to Chinese millennials—a new demographic for BMW—in such a powerful way that the experience garnered favourable press coverage, made BMW X2 a trending topic on social media platforms and drove tangible sales leads. To do this we shifted our focus from the tangible (features) to the intangible (the spirit of the car).

For the event, we created a multi-sensory environment reflecting a microcosm of society. Both guests and performers were given full-face, gold masks and white laboratory coats to gain access to the experience, making everyone anonymous. Guests were immersed amongst the performers and became active participants of the experience. Guests entered a mirror maze which disorientated their perception of reality, complete with customised music, designed to create an eerie ambiance, setting the mood for an intense unveil of the X2.

As the narrative unfolded, the group realized they were trapped and being watched, desperately looking to escape. Tension grew, guests were provoked into a rebellion and physically broke down a wall, leading to the reveal of the X2, a symbol of freedom. Liberated, guests removed their masks! They celebrated their triumph as they came face-to-face with a giant, anatomically accurate heart of gold representing their very own "heart of gold."