NZZone produces three-part video and article series for BMW Switzerland

A journalist interviews three real people while testing three versions of a car model – documented in three short films on three online media platforms and outlined in three print articles in three languages: That’s “Choice is Joy with BMW.”

The starting point

BMW Switzerland was looking for a content-driven marketing concept with moving images as the core element and national distribution as a requirement to showcase the new BMW X1 during a campaign running from August 17 to September 30, 2025. The focus was to be on the compact SUV in three model variants: fully electric, plug-in hybrid, and combustion engine, paired with a combination of sporty handling and practical utility. But test drivers were also to have their say, representing the BMW X1 slogan “Choice is Joy” and conveying the joy of driving – ideally interviewed by a journalist.

The solution

NZZone—led by Anne-Sandrine Backes and Marius Bucche from the sales team—developed an in-house storytelling concept for a three-part video and article series, which was published as sponsored content in three print and online media outlets from NZZ, Le Temps, and Corriere del Ticino, as well as promoted via native ads, newsletter integrations, and paid posts on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The three short films and three sets of three shorts for social media in three languages – produced by NZZ Content Creation in cooperation with Smovie – are integrated into the digital reporting and stored on YouTube on the NZZone channel without being listed. The author is also the presenter of “Choice is Joy with BMW”: Norman Bandi, journalist and head of NZZ Content Creation.

Three personas

It wasn’t brand ambassadors or actresses who were asked to get behind the wheel and describe their impressions as credibly as possible, but real people whose lifestyles matched the drive type and intended use of the vehicles being presented. To this end, BMW Switzerland defined three personas in three different parts of the country:

• a career-oriented, style-conscious power woman between 30 and 40 years old from the city of Zurich;
• a working mother with children between 40 and 50 years old from the greater Lausanne area;
• an active, outdoor-loving businessman between 50 and 60 years old from the Grisons region.

They were found through the personal NZZone network in the form of Sabrina Weber (Zurich), Céline Bobst (Lavaux, VD), and Werner Ott (Landquart, GR). Each of the three days of filming in the summer was tightly scheduled and discussed in advance – but what was said was hardly planned. The protagonists were only given a shooting schedule and a list of questions in advance.

A storyline

Each video was filmed in the regional dialect or in French in French-speaking Switzerland to make it even more authentic. The subtitles were written or translated into German, French, and Italian accordingly. Each short film is three to three and a half minutes long and has the same conceptual structure: intro and outro, introduction and conclusion, questions/answers during the test drive with cameras in the cockpit, exterior shots with everyday situations, stationary cameras and a drone are used, the original sound recorded in the vehicle continues to play, one or two features of the selected X1 model are integrated and presented in a contextually appropriate manner, and background music that always resonates with “Choice is Joy.”

Facts and figures

The Sponsored Content published weekly between August 17 and September 1, 2025, reaches its target audience three times:

• 334 000 readers in the «NZZ am Sonntag Magazin»;
• 613 000 unique visitors per month on NZZ Bellevue;
• 82 000 readers of Magazin «T» of «Le Temps»;
• 2,6 Millionen unique visitors per month on letemps.ch;
• 94 000 readers of «Corriere del Ticino»;
• 734 000 unique visitors per month on cdt.ch.

In total, the campaign generated more than 60 000 page views in 44 days on the three websites of NZZ, Le Temps, and Corriere del Ticino, and around 8.9 million ad impressions via publisher environments and social media – which speaks for the nine shorts in three languages each, which were small stories in themselves. In addition, there were almost 3 000 views of the nine videos on YouTube, even though these links were not shared publicly.

Responsible at BMW Switzerland: David Christen (client), Melanie Meier (project management and car coordination), Lara Dintner (project assistant); responsible at NZZone: Norman Bandi (author and presenter), Marius Bucche (project management and shooting schedule), Anne-Sandrine Backes (concept), Hannes Rothfuss (coordination), Viktoria Stauffenegger (editing consultant), Tina Baumberger (shorts distribution); responsible at Smovie: Stefan Klameth (project management and director), Chris Delgado (camera, drone and post-production), Sascha Felix (camera and sound), Damien Inderbitzin (camera and drone); Other partners: Camille Monteiro (Le Temps), Liselotte Koen (Corriere del Ticino), Michele Limina (photographer).

Norman Bandi
Head of NZZ Content Creation

+41 44 258 13 21
norman.bandi@nzzone.ch