#MyLand: Land Rover looks to leverage heritage, inspire
Chris Wilde, brand director, Jaguar Land Rover MENA, reflects on marketing in the region, and reveals details on the brand’s new digital-led communication platform
Land Rover is on a roll. The brand entered the Interbrand top 100 global brands list this year (at number 91). Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) MENA reported sales growth of 36 per cent in the year ended March 2014, making it the fifth largest market for both Jaguar and Land Rover. MENA became the third fastest growing Land Rover market globally, growing at 39 per cent. Both Jaguar and Land Rover brands claimed an increase in market share across GCC, Levant and Morocco. Chris Wilde should be a happy man.
He is, but he and his team are not resting on the brands’ laurels. Wilde is only about 10 months old in the region, but has spent 15 years with Jaguar Land Rover. Currently, as brand director for Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, he’s overseeing a major initiative from the brand on the communication front – MyLand. A digital-led integrated campaign conceived in and for the MENA region.
The platform touches upon the pride of the people from the region in their ‘Land’. A note on the campaign says the online portal MyLandMena.com will host Land Rover stories, competitions, activities and initiatives, besides regional user generated content. The site goes live on 6 November.
“Who are the people going ‘above and beyond’ the regular? These would be stories ( on mylandmena.com) of inspiration; stories inspired by the land,” explains Wilde.
The context
In the SUV-strong region, Jaguar accounts for 15 per cent of JLR’s sales. It’s not just on the sales front that Land Rover dominates. Land Rover has a few stories to tell, being a heritage brand that came into the region in 1948. Its users have stories to tell, too. And in a social mediasavvy market, a digital-led campaign does not surprise.
Wilde clarifies that the campaign is not about one product or brand, but about the ‘land’ and its peoples – and their stories.
On the campaign’s objectives, the brand custodian observes, “Every brand needs to keep looking to the long term. We’re doing very well; we’re growing significantly. But the essence of MyLand is to be engaging people, and building the brand for the long term. It’s about building that connection with people. The stories are there. It’s a question of giving people access to these great stories and rich history, and helping them tell their stories.”
The initiative will cover all of Middle East, Levant and North Africa. It will be executed from Dubai.
As the spokesperson explains, the concept could work anywhere, but has greater significance in the lands of the MENA.
“It could work in other markets. The stories would be different. The history would be different. And the people who are telling their stories and inspiring the future would be different. In theory it could work anywhere. But I think it is particularly relevant in the MENA region because of the pride that people have for their land and their heritage, and pride in what they believe. Many markets have pride in their land but here, it strikes me as a very key part of people’s make up and attitude. I’d like to believe that the campaign is one that will work and engage best in the region,” he elaborates.
The initiative kicked off on digital with a teaser activity on social media, with the #MyLand during the month of Ramadan. The intent was to get people’s vibes.
MyLand MENA will serve as a platform for JLR to bring all its activities together, connecting it as a single thread. The campaign also breaks new ground for JLR MENA in that it is an Arabic-first campaign platform, and has been consciously conceived that way.
“We’re starting in Arabic, and will translate to English. Given that a majority of our top audience are Arabic speakers, that’s the right way for us to work,” notes Wilde. His team points out from experience that videos featuring cars with local number plates get viewed and shared more in the region.
Marketing in the Middle East
Marketing in the Middle East is not a one-size fits all, cedes the brand head. But he points out that there are commonalities.
“The consumer in Morocco is very different to the one in UAE or the one in KSA. One thing that’s common to the region is how connected people are. The tendency is of people to see a second screen as they are viewing a TVC. The response to our films online, particularly the local films, is phenomenal compared to other regions,” he explains.
He guesstimates that Land Rover consumers in MENA are possibly younger than in the rest of the world. “Slightly younger, more connected,
In theory it could work anywhere. But I think it is particularly relevant in the MENA region because of the pride that people have for their land.
and they like to individualise and personalise their vehicles,” he adds.
So is marketing in the region more difficult? Wilde’s response is ‘ No’, though he admits that it is a tad more complex.
“The nature of what we do across the region is more complex than managing one market. We’ve got multiple languages, multiple cultures, different climates, people have different interests and hobbies across the region. We need to take that into account. So, is it more complex? Yes. Is it more difficult? No. As long as we keep getting the right insights from each of the markets to build campaigns in the right way, it’s not difficult. But it takes more planning,” he elucidates.
What also remains consistent is the Land Rover brand and what it stands for. MyLand as a concept draws on the heritage of the brand and the land brilliantly. What the brand stands for remains universally constant, clarifies the brand head.
“Land Rover is really about capability. It’s about quality, reliability, appropriateness, the world over. And at the end of the day, people appreciate heritage and a history of making the most capable SUVs in the world. That’s something people value here, perhaps even more than those in the rest of the world,” he adds.
Engagement and loyalty
Part of the stories on MyLand will be expeditions to discover the land. No marks for guessing what vehicles will be used. There also exist a number of Land Rover owners groups. These clubs are ‘incredibly important’, says Wilde, but adds, “I think they are much more powerful as an independent entity, than as an extension of the brand directly. We engage with the clubs, but we don’t ‘manage’ them or interfere with how they operate.”
The owners clubs are active on social media. A lot of the stories that end up on MyLand will possibly originate from the owners clubs.
“Loyalty is incredibly i mportant; i ncreasingly important, in all of our markets. I think as time goes on, our aim is to keep building on the loyalty level that’s already there, through products, initiatives, engagement through social media, and where relevant, through financial services, approved used car programmes and the like,” he notes.
Heritage, youth, competition
While the campaign and the brand draw upon the heritage of Land Rover, is Land Rover perceived as a vehicle for more mature audiences? Especially in a region where a lot of the audience is admittedly young?
“Not necessarily,” says Wilde. “We’ve got a broad product range. We have a fantastic SUV for practically anybody in the family, equally attractive to all. We had a meeting with Range Rover owners only a few weeks ago – the age ranged from early 20s to mid-60s.”
He notes that MyLand will speak about heritage, adding that how one speaks about heritage is critical.
The spokesperson explains, “It’s not about drudging up every single story that ever happened. It’s about choosing the ones that are going to be interesting for people, appealing enough for them to want to share.”
SUVs are growing in the market, but Wilde underliens that Land Rover vehicles are outgrowing the segment. Asked about competition, he says, “Any SUV is competition. Our traditional competition is the German premium brands. But also, particularly here in the region, the Japanese SUVs are extremely strong, capable and very worthy competitors.”
Another thing that is expected to work for the brand in the region, is its newly set up Special Vehicles Operation in the UK.
“Across the MENA region, a lot of bespoking happens post purchase. It’s quite sought after by clients here,” he adds.
Approaching MENA
Asked what advice he would give a marketer coming to the MENA region, Wilde reflects: “I’d say it’s a complex region. There are multiple languages, cultures. You need to be versatile. You’ve got to keep up – things are changing rapidly, particularly with the way people are consuming media. Which is why, we’re investigating and doing different things. Keeping an open mind, about what people want, what they do, how they want to be engaged with.”
To start with, Wilde took up Arabic lessons when he arrived.
In terms of media, most of Land Rover’s spends still go to TV. But digital is growing. Over the last two or three years, the spend on digital ( and social) has ‘ at least doubled’.
“Relative to other markets, my guess is that we would be spending a little more here on digital (as a percentage of the total),” explains the spokesperson.
“What struck me, is that if you’ve got something right and appropriate and interesting, people will watch it in hundreds of thousands here. It’s about getting the right content in,” surmises Wilde.
That will be the job on hand for MyLandmena.com.