• by Tanya Gazdik , January 20, 2022

Mini USA is moving forward with its plans to hold its huge owners event, Mini Takes The States, this summer.

The brand announced the route of the road rally, which will span from Burlington, Vermont to Spartanburg, South Carolina. 

The nine-day event, which kicks off July 9, will include nine states and eight cities. Participants will motor through mountain ranges, zig through small towns, zag past iconic roadside attractions and even get to slay a dragon or two (via the legendary Tail of the Dragon scenic highway in North Carolina.

The event will end at the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg on July 17, for a weekend of Mini fun and community activities. Mini is an independent brand of the BMW Group.

The event, which has not been held since 2018 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is important to owners, says Caryn Grun, head of experiential marketing at Mini USA. MTTS 2020 was postponed twice to ensure safe rallying and gathering during the pandemic.

It's too early to talk about masks and vaccines at this point, but the events will be outside with plenty of room for the Mini community to gather safely, she says.

“There is no doubt that planning an event like MTTS in our current environment creates special challenges,” Grun tells Marketing Daily. “We will be taking into consideration all the local, state, regional and federal regulations and guidelines as we plan this event to make sure everyone stays safe and healthy, while also having fun.”

The last MTTS attracted more than 3,600 Mini owners who took part in the Rally to the Rockies, with 1,000+ Minis on the road each day. Best Friends Animal Society, which the brand has supported since 2013, will once again be the Official Charity Partner of MTTS.

“The Mini community is ready to get out and rally,” Grun says. “We saw their enthusiasm to gather as a community in an alternative and creative way when we hosted the Mini Together hybrid event back in July," which "went far beyond our expectations.”

More than 4,400 owners, some new to the brand. rallied in their own communities all over the country.  A majority (86%) of the participants said they would participate in an app-based rally again, with 79% saying they would do another virtual event.

“The Mini events team did a fantastic job pivoting during the pandemic in order to keep our owner community engaged with the brand and each other,” Grun says.