Tifa spells out M-I-N-I

Dancehall artiste has half-year with customised ride

Sheldon Williams, Gleaner Writer

Dancehall artiste Tifa has partnered with Stewart Motors and is now the ambassador for the dealership's MINI brand. To make her ride more appealing, it has been personalised to complement the singer's image.

Elaborating on the unique exterior, the Spell it Out performer explained that the dealership arranged for pink details to be added, as it is her favourite colour. "They personalised it for me, so I can't hide. They asked, 'What colour you like?' and I was like 'Pink', not knowing that they were going to do the car in pink.

When you see it, you definitely see Tifa.They did the rims, the rear-view mirror and the little tail at the back. It's cute and has been drawing a lot of attention," Tifa said.

Tifa admits that she is fascinated by the car and its eye-catching features. The 2012 MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4 is valued at approximately $5.5 million. It comes with a HARMAN/KARDON premium sound system, panoramic sunroof, all-wheel drive system and full-leather interior. The MINI also has a flat tyre monitor/ run flat tyres, electronic brake-force distribution, USB/auxiliary ports, bluetooth connectivity and rain-sensing capability.

Tifa explained how the partnership between herself and the dealership was forged. "I've worked with them (Stewart Motors) before on a number of events that they have sponsored and you know you build a rapport and a relationship over the years, especially with Ms Kim Bernard who got this deal started," Tifa remarked. " I've known Ms Bernard for the past three years. You know you meet a lot of corporate people when you do a lot of corporate work."

"They basically wanted, I guess, somebody young and hip and cool to represent the MINI. It's a small car, it's a cool car and they just wanted a face to promote it. It's along the lines of the BMW family. A lot of BMWs are on the roads so they just wanted someone to promote the car and market the car and show people what an awesome car it is."

long-time admirer

Tifa admitted that she has always been an admirer of the MINI. "I was introduced to the car last year, I think. I was doing On The Verge at the time and they had sponsored it, and I fell in love with the car from then. It's so weird, because I actually have a BB picture up with the car. I loved it. And even though it was a MINI it wasn't small, and I loved that. It has a lot of space, a lot of trunk space. It's kind of like a mini SUV. It isn't the small, small one. It has a lot of body," she boasted.

Tifa was so eager to experience the vehicle that she drove it to Trelawny the same day she received it. She was impressed with its performance over the long journey. "The power on it is crazy. I got it (the) Friday and I drove to to Trelawny to Westwood High to do a show. I drove because I wanted to test it out. The handling is ridiculous. As I said, it's part of the BMW family. It has a lot of perks. Usually the perks in the car you would go away and see it; mind you the technology is here, but it has everything. It's a $6 million car, so it should have everything," Tifa said in amazement.

"The response has been overwhelming so far. It's a bit loud for some people, but the pink is a girly car. It's for me and I love pink and, of course, the pink is going to draw attention to it."

Tifa said her brand-ambassador responsibilities are not tedious. "As is with any other, you know you have a particular code of conduct because you are trying to appeal to everybody. Other than that, nothing too stringent really. My job is to promote the car and to use my celebrity and influence to market this car," she said.

She also assured Automotives that her affiliations with other corporate brands will not conflict with her duties or limit the time she will have to promote the MINI. "Everybody has a season and a time. And what's funny, these three brands have even partnered more than once. Take for example, the football match at the National Stadium recently. Digicel was a sponsor, Stewart Motors was a sponsor and Wisynco was a sponsor. It's a tad bit easy and none of them are connected. Soda has nothing to do with phones and phones don't have anything really to do with cars, you know what I mean, and everybody has their season. It's just a matter of proper scheduling," she said.

Tifa owns a car that she had been driving before she inked the partnership with Stewart Motors, and said it will not be neglected.

main ride

"This (the MINI) will be my main car, clearly. That's what they gave me the car to do, to drive it. But I'm an artiste and sometimes I don't want to be noticed, but this is my main car," she said.

Tifa said she has male friends who also drive the brand. "This is not a male or a female car. My male friends love this car. It's supercharged. I can even put it in sport mode. It's a car for both males and females".

Group public relations manager at Stewart Motors, Camille Fender, said "Tifa is an excellent choice to represent the brand MINI because she is fun, she's funky, she's creative, and the MINI brand globally supports anything that surrounds all of those adjectives".

"We always joke that the four letters, T-I-F-A and M-I-N-I create a perfect fit, and MINI is always in all caps and Tifa generally does the same thing as well so we said that just couldn't be ignored," Fender said. " The car is available to her for six months so it's a short-term partnership but already we are enjoying her accounts of going up a hill and as I said, it's a four-wheel drive vehicle so even though it may seem smart and cute, it packs a punch."

She compared the personalities of car and driver. "The MINI brand is unique. Just looking at the line-up of vehicles you will see that. There's nothing like it on the road and Tifa certainly stands out in the dancehall realm as someone who is just an individual, like the MINI brand. We knew from the jump-start that Tifa would be the one," Fender said.

Fender also explained that the MINI is not being marketed as a car for female drivers. "No, I wouldn't say so. Both males and females drivers enjoy it globally, here in our market and around the world. It just won an international race and that appeals to a lot of male drivers," she said.

Fender added that the car will be available for purchase by the entertainer after the contract period ends if she so chooses.

Other vehicles available from Stewart Motors in the MINI line are MINI Hatch, MINI Clubman, MINI Coupe, MINI Roadster and MINI Cabrio. MINI Clubvan is also available, and soon to be launched is the MINI Paceman.