Jaguar Land Rover North America is gaining excitement for its upcoming model releases through an exclusive preview event during which the automaker announced the cast of a short film set to release next year.
The British automaker bolstered its presence at the Los Angeles Auto Show by holding an event prior to the show’s start that showcased the Jaguar F-Type and the all-new Land Rover Range Rover at Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles. Actors in attendance are also starring in a short feature film called “Desire” that will showcase the Jaguar brand.
“This year’s Los Angeles Auto Show is one of the most significant U.S. shows in years for Jaguar Land Rover as we launch a true modern-day British invasion with the debut of three breakthrough new products,” said Andy Goss, president of Jaguar Land Rover North America, Los Angeles.
“Jaguar Land Rover is making major strides to grow the business with highly targeted new products," he said. "The new Jaguar F-Type, Jaguar XFR-S and all-new Range Rover will all make a major impact, specifically in the United States, which will be the world’s largest market for all three vehicles.”
Driving down the red carpet
The preview event was held Nov. 27 in Los Angeles to mark the U.S. arrival of the Jaguar F-Type and the all-new 2013 Rover Range Rover.
Guests included actors Damian Lewis, Diego Klattenhoff, Michael Cudlitz and Shannyn Sossamon and interior designers Martyn Bullard Kathryn Ireland.
Southern California is a leading U.S. market for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands, per the automaker.
F-Type and all-new Range Rover
The all-new Range Rover and the 2014 Jaguar F-Type are making their U.S. show debuts during the Los Angeles Auto Show.
“Strategic positioning and brand awareness are the primary drivers here,” said Garen Moreno, Los Angeles-based partner at CuldeSac. “Land Rover is well-positioned in the U.S. market as the luxury SUV and Southern California is the leading market in the United States.
“Jaguar, on the other hand, has been rebuilding the mystique and desire behind its brand for the past two years by strategically positioning its most seductive cars in younger and more affluent circles,” he said. “We tend to only see the outlying events for top brands – major launches, product placement and humanitarian initiatives – and we forget that the majority of brand-building is made up of heavy groundwork and micro-initiatives that fuel brand awareness.
“Bringing the Jaguar into Hollywood is also a positive move for local dealers as well that get a chance to use the buzz around the film to entice clientele.”
Also at the event, Jaguar announced the cast of its short feature film called Desire and premiered a trailer teaser.
Teaser trailer
The movie was thought up by Jaguar in association with Ridley Scott Associates. It will be filmed over five days in early December in the Chilean desert.
F-Type
Jaguar will let consumers follow the filming process through behind-the-scenes footage.
Showtime series Homeland’s Mr. Lewis plays the lead role in the film. The female lead is played by American actor Ms. Sossamon.
Spanish Catalan actor Jordi Molla plays the villain.
Also, the film’s soundtrack was written by singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, who was appointed the spokesperson for the F-Type model in August (see story). The soundtrack includes an exclusive song called “Burning Desire” that was inspired by the F-Type.
Desire will release in early 2013.
Two of a kind
To be expected, Jaguar Land Rover has been pushing its new models for quite some time.
For example, Land Rover seems to have taken a no-holds-barred approach to marketing the next-generation Range Rover – the first redesign of the model in 11 years – to outdo fellow SUV models from brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Bentley.
Leading up to the live global reveal Sept. 6 in London, Land Rover targeted its efforts for the next-generation Range Rover to the Internet-addicted generation with efforts spanning a microsite, Land Rover’s international Web sites, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (see story).
Meanwhile, Jaguar used its digital outlets and an ambiguous YouTube video to speak to consumers’ curiosity about its new F-Type sports car and asked them to register for email updates about the model.
The email campaign followed the announcement that Jaguar made at the New York International Auto Show assuring consumers that the F-Type had entered production (see story).
Jaguar will likely get an extra boost from the Los Angeles-based efforts due to its cinematic traits.
“Los Angeles and Hollywood offer a unique and powerful platform for Jaguar,” Mr. Moreno said. “The Los Angeles Auto Show is unique because it is smaller and there are not too many vehicles revealed for the first time.
“It is a consumer-focused auto show, but these first two days are great networking days,” he said. “Jaguar creates a vibrant and dynamic VIP event in the heart of Hollywood in a film studio that brings stars, executives and opinion-makers together and where the buzzword is Desire – desire being the key emotion that Jaguar has been striving to instill in its brand positioning over the past few years.”
Final Take
Tricia Carr, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York