BMW South Africa, last week unveiled five new models at the Auto Africa Expo at Nasrec. This launch was simultaneously streamed on the BMW Website via Webcams through the use of a streaming server, which was hosted by UUNET SA.
Highlights of the BMW exhibition included the X5, the world`s first Sports Activity Vehicle that combines the perfect balance of on road ability with off road style; the new M3 which offers `more driver appeal, raw power and a radical new look that make this the best BMW ever` (Autocar Magazine September 2000); and the C1, BMW`s unique solution to urban transport. In addition, the Mini made its third International appearance after its recent launch at the International Paris Motor Show.
The project, which will run for the period of the Auto Africa Expo (25-29 October 2000), saw UUNET supply the bandwidth and hosting connectivity. Due to the nature of the launch and the expected hit rate, BMW needed a service provider that could accommodate its changing needs. The state-of-the art network infrastructure provided by UUNET has extra built-in capacity that enabled the company to deliver the required bandwidth for the BMW launch at such short notice - within a month.
"UUNET SA had the advantage of having worked on a similar type of project through our involvement with dotcoza. Therefore we were able to determine the necessary requirements for the project based on previous experience and build the entire streaming solution by working with the right partners, for example, ROKS and T-Minus-One. This project, coupled with our previous experience, demonstrates how UUNET is able to supply integrated e-commerce solutions to the market," says Heather Tonkin, account manager at UUNET SA.
"This is a world first for BMW SA, which further reveals the impact that the Internet is not only having on business, but on our daily lives," says Stephen Botha advertising manager at BMW SA.
"The concept of one-to-one marketing has been bandied around for years now, but there are very few Web sites that embrace the practice. With the availability of personalisation technologies built into Web software this type of launch was made possible," he adds.
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