Auto Special: Jaguar Land Rover rolls out nationwide campaign

Sydney Olympic champions Sang Xue (top left) and Xing Aowei (top right) at Jaguar Land Rover's campaign activities. (Below) Representatives of the Fengdu County Special Education School join Paula Middleton (back row, second from right), area director of the British Council Southwest China, and a representative of Jaguar Land Rover China to take a photo with students from the school, which received a donation from the company.

Over the past month, Jaguar Land Rover China visited a series of Chinese cities as part of its "Let's Go China!" City Tour, a campaign that drew on the nation's Olympic spirit in the wake of the London Olympics.

"Jaguar Land Rover China continues to play an active role in Sino-British relations, and we hope that through our 'Let's Go China!' Campaign, we will be able to effectively convey our corporate heritage and identity to the Chinese community," said Crystal Gu, vice-president of communications at Jaguar Land Rover China.

"We initiated this integrated campaign as a means of directly interacting with the public, whether through our city exhibitions or online through the Jaguar Land Rover official corporate micro blog."

Exhibitions a big draw

Auto fans, Olympic enthusiasts and ordinary shoppers alike flocked to the company's exhibitions staged in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and most recently, Chongqing. At the events, Jaguar Land Rover interacted with audiences through such activities as on-site trivia contests and a brief program.

Onlookers were drawn to the Jaguar and Land Rover car models on display, including the Jaguar XKR, Jaguar XJ and the Range Rover Evoque.

Massive boards displayed a different aspect of the company's corporate identity in each city.

In Beijing, displays focused on the company's British heritage, while the theme in Shanghai was Passion for Innovation and Self-Betterment. Guangzhou's event focused on the company's history as an innovator in green technology and a pioneer in manufacturing, and the theme in Chongqing was Culture and Arts, Humanistic Care.

Sydney Olympics champions Xing Aowei and Sang Xue were in attendance at the first two stops on the tour, helping the company to bring the Olympic fever to an even higher level.

"It is a pleasure to support such a campaign. I have always admired Jaguar Land Rover's cars, which have a distinguished British heritage, excellent craftsmanship and great power," Xing Aowei said at the launch event in Beijing.

To communicate its rich British heritage, the company chose to hold the campaign's launch event in historic Beijing. With Jaguar and Land Rover boasting a 77-year and 64-year history, respectively, they command great respect globally and are regarded as iconic auto brands. With a pure British DNA, Jaguar Land Rover is imbued with a deep sense of luxury that has helped it gain four British Royal Warrants.

Creativity abounds in the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai, making it the perfect city for the campaign's second stop, which demonstrates the company's passion for innovation.

The automaker's innovation continues to push the boundaries of research into the electrification of luxury vehicles. This quality has also resulted in cutting-edge technology, such as the company's advanced aluminum body architecture as well as diesel and fuel-efficient engine technology.

As a manufacturing hub of China, Guangzhou was the third stop, where the company conveyed Jaguar Land Rover's manufacturing excellence and green technology efforts.

To add to its two existing state-of-the art engineering and design facilities and three advanced manufacturing plants in the United Kingdom, Jaguar Land Rover is now investing 355 million in a new, high-tech engine facility that will manufacture advanced low-emission four-cylinder Jaguar Land Rover gasoline and diesel engines.

To demonstrate its commitment to corporate social responsibility, the company wrapped up its city tour in Chongqing a few days ago with a donation ceremony for the Fengdu County Special Education School, a school for the deaf. Its sponsorship of the British Council's UK Now campaign also demonstrates its position as a cultural liaison between China and the United Kingdom.

Jaguar Land Rover has four pillars of sustainable development in China - introducing new technology, emissions reduction and environmental protection, humanitarian aid, and education.

Among its most notable corporate social responsibility initiatives in China is the CO2 Offset Program, which compensates for the first 72,000 kilometers of each Land Rover sold in China. Under the program, 15 out of its 50 environmental protection projects around the globe are located in China, and they have nearly 85 million yuan in total funding.

Online activities

The Jaguar Land Rover city exhibitions not only piqued the interest of passers-by but also presented opportunities for spontaneous photo shoots and micro blog posts, especially for auto enthusiasts.

Throughout the course of the campaign, there were more than 7,500 online interactions, with fan photos and comments on the exhibition constantly streaming into the company's micro blog. The company also brought in more followers for its official corporate micro blog by encouraging passers-by to sign up.

With the July launch of its official micro blog on China's largest online portals, Sina and Tencent, Jaguar Land Rover recently joined a slew of companies that are taking advantage of social media to effectively engage the public.

The "Let's Go China!" campaign is the company's first integrated online-offline activity since the launch of its official corporate micro blog.

The automaker's steady growth momentum this year shows its strategy in China has been successful so far. With sales of more than 47,000 vehicles in China during the first eight months of the year, Jaguar Land Rover has grown nearly 90 percent compared to the same period last year. Currently the automaker's fastest-growing global market, China is expected to become its largest market worldwide, according to sources from the company.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn