I'm not certain if BMW had exact long term plans for MINI when they bought the British Rover Group in 1994. They certainly knew they wanted a small car, but I doubt they had any idea that the brand would mushroom as it has.

Shortly after the shopping spree of '94, the idea of the MINI was put into motion and by 2001, the Cooper was reborn. And this was only the beginning. Mini, as some may or may not know, refers to the car whereas Cooper was a trim, unlike today where all MINIs are Coopers.

Photo: Matt St-Pierre/Auto123.com

British Motor Cooperation was the brand but no one ever called it the BMC Mini. Confused? Don't be. Back in the day, Clubman and Countryman existed as separate models, not trims of the Cooper, as they do now.

Forget it. You know Mini and MINI and that's what matters and that's what BMW wants. In the unlikely event that you do not know of the brand, MINI is making waves with some very well engineered marketing campaigns.

The most visible efforts, for the X, Y and Z generations, include the Burton Global Open Series, Red Bull Art of Motion and Red Bull Crashed Ice World Championship.

The latter has grown by leaps and bounds since the first race, which took place in Sweden in 2000. Last year, MINI joined in the party, becoming a major sponsor. Recently, I did the same, driving up to Quebec City for the fiesta, in a Cooper S Countryman ALL4 no less, to experience the final challenge of the 2011 Championship. The other chapters of the Championship were held, in order, in Munich, Germany, Valkenburg, Netherlands and Moscow, Russia.

As the non-human star of the show, the new Countryman was prevalently featured throughout areas of the 540 metre track and, obviously, right along the finish line.

As you can see from the images, the Countryman was joined by the Clubman and numerous other Coopers including a delectable John Cooper Works car. You may also notice that the cars got plenty of attention for onlookers. Score 1 for MINI.

As far as marketing genius goes, blending Crashed Ice with MINI makes the brand more relevant and attainable by the typical fan of the sport, which must be in the 25 to 30 range. If MINI's target group for exposure was the young, active and energetic, they hit the jackpot.

Photo: Matt St-Pierre/Auto123.com