Agency Spark44 and Land Rover help die-hard Rugby World Cup fans watch matches in style

As the official Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2015, Land Rover has been helping rugby fans here in Australia get into the spirit of the game. Recognizing the fact that die-hard fans will be viewing the Northern Hemisphere matches late in the evening and into the early hours of the morning, the iconic brand has released a limited number of personalised Land Rover Rugby pyjamas so that fans can enjoy the games with a touch of unexpected luxury.

The brainchild of agency Spark44, the pyjama initiative was launched with a bang through Land Rover Australia ambassadors including George Gregan, Phil Waugh, The Brumbies and Sally Fitzgibbons. Ambassadors posted photos of themselves in their personalised #FirstClassRugby pyjamas across their social media channels, reaching almost half a million people. This initial activity saw overwhelmingly positive sentiment in the comments, and higher-than-average engagement for each ambassador.

After the launch, Land Rover took it to the fans. Fans were asked to describe how they’d be supporting their favourite team during Rugby World Cup for their chance to win one of 100 limited edition pairs of personalised PJs. The response was overwhelming, and the 100 available pairs were quickly accounted for. Such was the response that Land Rover launched not only a second, but also a third and fourth release of PJs to win. Land Rover has now given away over 260 pairs of personalised PJs after receiving over 750 entries… and counting!

To extend the campaign, winners are being encouraged to further show their support by snapping selfies in their comfy PJs as they watch the games, and uploading the pics with  #FirstClassRugby.

This campaign is seeing huge success on social media. Comments received on Land Rover ambassador and brand channels show how much the audience loves the idea and wants to get involved. The brand association isn’t being missed either, with many fans comparing the comfort of the PJs to the comfort of their Land Rover seats.  

To date, the campaign has achieved strong engagement across Land Rover’s social media channels, with over 16,000 likes on #FirstClassRugby posts and an unsurpassed amount of people tagging their friends in Land Rover posts.

Says Spark44 managing director Jasmin Bedir: “This is a perfect example of an activation for a global campaign using local insight. It was also a great expression of Land Rover’s identity, a brand with ‘capability with composure’ at its core.”

Added Tim Krieger, General Manager, Communication and Public Relations for JLR Australia: “Reaching audiences with a relevant message at the right time is what brands need to do more of these days. We couldn’t be happier with the results so far.”

Spark44 was founded in 2011 as a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover. Today, Spark44 is operating out of 18 agency hubs in 16 countries as JLR´s demand-creation partner.