Land Rover hails its ‘biggest ever sponsorship’ for Rugby World Cup
Land Rover will run TV advertising in seven countries as part of a major global advertising campaign during the Rugby World Cup (RWC) next month.
The car marque, which is a worldwide partner of the RWC, will focus on the grassroots level of the sport for what it calls “the company’s biggest ever sponsorship”.
Using the hashtag #WeDealInReal, the campaign features stories from 11 amateur rugby clubs around the world. These will appear in the TV adverts and in online videos broadcast across Land Rover’s global social media channels (see video below). The brand is also inviting other amateur clubs to get involved by using the hashtag to share their stories.
Laura Schwab, UK marketing director at parent company Jaguar Land Rover, told Marketing Week the campaign aims to tell inspiring stories about rugby while also driving home Land Rover’s grassroots association with the sport. This includes the Land Rover Premiership Cup in England and the Hitz corporate social responsibility programme in Argentina.
“Our thinking was how do we take the money that we’re putting behind our media sponsorship and literally turn that over to the grassroots to let them tell their story,” she added.
“It speaks to the heart of the game and I think it also speaks strongly to the brand about being authentic and genuine.”
In addition to the campaign, Land Rover has enlisted 96 young mascots who will run out with the teams during the tournament, including one sourced from every competing nation. The brand is also currently taking the tournament trophy the Webb Ellis Cup on a tour of rugby clubs across the UK and Ireland.
“I think the reason rugby works so perfectly for Land Rover is that it’s about shared values,” said Schwab. “The qualities that we talk about with Land Rover – authenticity, integrity, composure, capability – all work in conjunction with rugby.”
The TV advertising campaign will launch in the UK on September 18, coinciding with the RWC opening ceremony and England’s first match at Twickenham. Land Rover has agreed partnerships for its ads to be shown by seven official host broadcasters in the UK (ITV), Ireland (TV3), France (TF1), Italy (Sky Italia), South Africa (Super Sport), Japan (J Sports) and Australia (Fox Sports).
RKCR/Y&R were responsible for the advertising campaign in partnership with Partisan Productions and Tag.
