Land Rover’s Grassroots-Led Integrated RWC Work Blends Ads, Ambassadors, Mascots & Experiences

At the heart of Land Rover’s new ‘We Deal In Real’ brand campaign leveraging its Rugby World Cup rights lies its support for ‘grassroots-to-stadium’ rugby.

United by the hashtag #WeDealInReal, the campaign spans several strands – from high-profile central advertising strand and social media content, to experiential initiatives, mascot leverage, global media partnerships and ambassador engagement.

But the RWC2015 automotive worldwide partner’s work is spearheaded by a 60-second online spot, posted on YouTube, that showcases 11 local rugby clubs from across the world that Land Rover is supporting at the grassroots level.

The clubs range from the Alice Springs Dingo Cubs in Australia to Soweto RFC in South Africa and the creative focuses on the characters who are the lifeblood of these diverse, community-focused clubs and the commitment they make to the game.

This includes the members of Mull Rugby Club in Scotland (whose players travel to the club via boat) and of the Davetalavu Rugby Club in Fiji (where local volunteers maintain the pitch and paint the lines).

The film’s values-led voiceover states: ‘We deal in strength. We deal in determination. We deal in spirit. We deal in integrity. We deal in blood, sweat and dirt… At Land Rover, from grassroots to the greatest stage, we deal in real.’’

The message attests to the aim behind #WeDealInReal: to put grassroots clubs and their members who Jaguar believes represent the true spirit of the game on the global stage by telling their stories to an international audience.

The brand is also using social channels to further amplify its grassroots rugby focus,

This Rugby World Cup, let's put local clubs on the global stage. This is grassroots rugby. #WeDealInReal https://t.co/NA48zbX0tD

— Land Rover (@LandRover) August 15, 2015

Rugby is built from the ground up. Every local player has a unique story to tell. Tell yours using #WeDealInReal pic.twitter.com/QRZhmbc9hS

— Land Rover (@LandRover) August 16, 2015

and blends this approach with online and experiential content featuring its line up of rugby player ambassador endorsers – such as Will Greenwood,

.@WillGreenwood heard this team talk at 18: Gentlemen; Lancashire. The North, England – in that order! #WeDealInReal pic.twitter.com/f6fP5mP0Sw

— Land Rover (@LandRover) August 16, 2015

and Johnny Wilkinson.

.@JonnyWilkinson on @RacalDeccaRFC: ‘a love of the game remains at the core of everything they do’ #WeDealInReal pic.twitter.com/wXlmrKK5EV

— Land Rover (@LandRover) August 16, 2015

The grassroots approach dovetails neatly with the initial launch phase of Land Rover’s #WeDealInReal campaign back in March when several high-profile rugby ambassadors to helping at a local club match in Hampshire, England.

Past and present rugby union stars – including Wilkinson, Greenwood and Sir Clive Woodward, Brad Thorn and Bryan Habana – were on hand to reward and surprise amateur club Racal Decca RFC (the self-styled smallest rugby club in the world) by fulfilling the club’s everyday game preparations.

‘We have deliberately chosen to shine the spotlight on some of the smallest, most remote, most deserving rugby clubs around the world,’ explains Jaguar Land Rover UK marketing director Laura Schwab.

‘At Land Rover, we have a long history of supporting rugby from the grassroots up and we share many of the values that also sit at the heart of the game.

Another key pillar of the brand’s RWC 2015 activation sees Land Rover run a programme to recruit 96 young mascots who will run out on to the pitch with the players during the tournament.

This group includes at least one mascot from every competing nation, but the majority are being recruited through Land Rover’s existing grassroots programmes such as the ‘Land Rover Premiership Cup’ in England and the ‘Hitz CSR’ programme in Argentina.
Several of those selected, who applied by uploading their own entry videos, were informed by a surprise in-person player experience.

Since it began back in 2014, Land Rover has also been using the international and domestic legs of the RWC 2015 Trophy Tour to further connect with grassroots clubs.

Indeed, as part of the international tour to 15 different markets, Land Rover’s ‘Least Driven Path’ activation strand ensured that the Webb Ellis Cup itself was taken to remote communities and places it had never been to before.

Whilst during the UK and Ireland legs, Land Rover’s RWC 2015 Trophy Tour Defender, created especially to carry and display the Webb Ellis Cup, ensured thousands of rugby supporters to see the sport’s biggest prize as the trophy visited community rugby clubs, towns and cities on its 100-day tour.

Jaguar Land Rover has worked on the campaign in harness with several agencies including Fast Track, Lean Mean Fighting Machine, Lida, Mindshare and The Brooklyn Brothers.

While the advertising phase of the programme, which will launch in full on 18 September as the RWC gets under way with the Opening Ceremony and England’s first match at Twickenham, has been created by RKCR/Y&R.

Also, as the tournament itself began, Land Rover has erected two identical new sculptures on the ground at rugby HQ in Twickenham and at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.

In a joint emotional/functional initiative, they act both as art and as a meeting point for fans ahead of Rugby World Cup matches.

Inspired by the line-out and called ‘The Catch’, the giant sculptures are part of an ongoing collaboration between Land Rover’s design director Gerry McGovern and Italian artist Nino Mustica.

The Twickenham sculpture was unveiled by former England star, World Cup winner and Land Rover ambassador Lawrence Dallaglio.

Dallaglio also experiences Land Rover’s on-site ‘Virtual Reality Cave’ experience to discuss the line out and contribute to the evolution of the sculptures.

At 8 metres in height and 10 metres in width, 40 people build the sculptures over 10,000 man-hours.

They are lit by 39 individual lights – which create a light show representing the colours of the 20 competing nations.

Comment

Jaguar’s Land Rover partnership with World Rugby as a worldwide partner of Rugby World Cup 2015 is the company’s biggest sponsorship deal eve.

The current work builds on its RWC 2011 official sponsor activation was built around the brand’s 20-year rugby heritage.

It might seem like a risk to some marketers, wary of vast sums spent on official rights, to principally build a campaign around local rugby and community clubs rather than around famous faces and the glamour of the elite game, but Land Rover are convinced that the strategy is the right fit for its brand.

‘To dedicate our media for the third biggest sporting event in the world to a variety of small clubs may be viewed by some as an unusual approach; but we feel it’s important to show our commitment to all levels of the game,’ argues Schwab.

Links

Land Rover Experiences Website:

http://www.landrover.com/experiences/sponsorship/wedealinreal.html

Land Rover Faacebook:

http://Facebook.com/LandRover

Land Rover Twitter:

http://Twitter.com/LandRover
#WeDealInReal:

Land Rover Instagram:

http://Instagram.com/LandRover

Rugby World Cup Website:

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/

Rugby World Cup Twitter: