Jaguar shows off its luxury appeal

Print ads for the new car, the XJL Sovereign, dwell on the sensual experience the upscale vehicle promises passengers, targeting buyers who employ a driver, a significant proportion of the Chinese market. "This car has been configured for passengers," said Angie Eagan, VP of Young & Rubicam Brands in China, the agency that handled the launch. "It has the longest wheelbase in its class. This product is really right for China." Eagan said Y&R differentiated the brand from rivals with "outstanding stories of substances and quality execution instead of a high noise level". Eagan added: "Jaguar is a relatively late entrant to the market (as such it is a challenge to take on well-established German brands head-on). "Instead, Jaguar is very focused on building an understanding of its brand and establishing the quality of its offering to a core group of China car owners who are ready to lead rather than follow." The print ads are running in lifestyle and luxury magazines to highlight its non-technical qualities as well as mass media newspapers and specialist automotive titles. The ad campaign is backed by a direct marketing drive and PR initiatives overseen respectively by Y&R sister shops, Wunderman and Burson-Marsteller. Wunderman has spent 12 months compiling a database of Jaguar owners and potential buyers since the brand's China debut. The new Sovereign was launched at Chateau Laffitte, a mock castle modelled on a French original and 90 minutes' drive from Beijing, to highlight the car's European origins. The castle's exterior and interior was decked out with Jaguar iconography for the two-day affair, where the new car was unveiled to the media and dealers. The event was the third Chinese launch Young & Rubicam Brands has handled for Jaguar. Y&R recently lost the global account for the Ford-owned marque, which moved to Euro RSCG following a six-way pitch which Y&R was not involved in. The pitch was called after a slide in sales, which led Ford to close down the UK factory, which had been manufacturing Jaguar cars for 60 years.