'Voice of customers' fuels Jaguar Land Rover China

The company's annual family day organized by Jaguar Land Rover Employee Development Committee. [Photos provided to China Daily]

Localization

While expanding its network to new regions, the company has been employing tailored marketing initiatives to better suit for local dynamics. Such initiatives have played a key role in enhancing customers' experience of the Jaguar Land Rover brands.

Last year, the company was at full throttle in localizing its strategy for all its iconic brands, interpreting Jaguar's "ALIVE" and Land Rover's "Above and Beyond" brand philosophies in the Chinese way. Though campaigns vary, they share the same British flair.

In March 2013, it kicked off the "British Legend-Jaguar Driving Challenge" campaign in Beijing to flag the innovative and seductive performance of Jaguar cars. Han Han, a famous Chinese writer and professional racer, attended this event and experienced the heritage and sportiness brought by Jaguar. The six-month campaign brought Jaguar's sports gene to Chinese car fans across 27 cities.

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Two months later, the company began its "Legend-Future Jaguar Heritage Tour" in Beijing. Zhong Man, the winner of China's second Olympic gold medal in fencing, Wang Zhonglei, one of the founders of Huayi Brothers Media, and Zhuang Yong, Olympic gold medalist swimmer, were among the celebrities who had a close encounter with Jaguar's legendary C, D, E, F-TYPE models, as well as the 13MY XF and XJ.

"Local campaigns like our signature 'Never Stop' series encapsulate Land Rover spirit," said Grace, shifting the channel to Land Rover's campaign highlights.

Land Rover launched the "Never Stop Discovering | The Most Beautiful Frontier in China" campaign last year - a 40-day journey on the 13MY Range Rover Evoque and Freelander 2 that began in the western frontier city of Yili, passed by Tengchong, and finally arrived in Shanghai - the fashion frontier.

Just before Christmas of 2013, the company rolled out the "Jaguar Driving Challenge II" in Shanghai, attended by famous racecar driver Jimmy Lim who gave a car dancing performance at the gala event. The updated campaign will go on to tour around 15 Chinese cities over the next four to five months.

Last month, Jaguar launched XF | BE BRITISH COOL interactive social campaign, which successfully found the tone of XF and labeled XF as a dynamic British icon in multiple social channels including Twitter-like Sina Weibo and popular social networking app WeChat.

On the heels of the Year of Horse, Land Rover teamed up with EquexChina to host the 2013 Shanghai International Horse Festival, to promote interest in equestrian culture and equine welfare in China. Chinese customers cheered the meaningful and auspicious event to herald the coming Chinese Lunar New Year.

Land Rover is already in the late planning stages of the latest version of the "Never Stop Discovering Campaign", which will start in March and run up to May.

"We will continue to initiate a number of tailored experiential marketing campaigns this year, which give consumers a chance to get behind the wheel of our products," said Grace.