1. L U X U rY As i m m e r s i V e stO rY t e L L i n G
L a u n c h i n g a L u x u ry b r a n d i n t h e d i g i ta L a g e
APG AwArds mAtt sPrinGAte
2011 t h e b r o o k y l n b r ot h e r s

2. S U M M A RY
this paper is about re-thinking luxur y and the art of narrative for a two-way world.
It’s about understanding that in this new world, the word ‘audience’
is outdated and ‘participant’ is a better guide.
We wanted to give participants an experience they could transform into t h e i r
o w n a n d u s e t h e I n t e r n e t ’s n a t u r a l s t r e n g t h a s a ‘ d e e p m e d i a ’ c h a n n e l to
create content that wasn’t just entertaining, but immersive.
We learnt from films and t V shows that have created new forms of narrative and we combined
technology with storytelling (and a cast of characters) to redefine what’s expected of luxury brands.
In so doing, we transformed the behaviour of a traditional car company into a modern media brand.
by letting people into the brand story, we as planners, had to find a new role and rhythm to
our work, acting more like magazine editors than traditional communication planners.
this new way of behaving inspired new actions; we invented things
for people to do rather than just advertising ideas.

3. INTRODUCTION
back in Februar y 2010 we were briefed to create a long-term
global launch strategy for the new range rover evoque.
this new car is range rover ’s design answer to
the modern world; it will be the smallest, lightest
and most efficient range rover ever built.
the car has been inspired by the city; the designers at range
rover drew from architecture, design and technology to create
a new kind of range rover, a car built for a new audience.

4. NEW CHAPTER, FRESH THINKING
range rover is a luxur y brand with a rich heritage.
A brand that is classic, refined and enduring.
range rover cars are expensive and exclusive, and out of reach for most people.
but, the range rover evoque marks the moment when range rover can
open its arms to a whole new group of buyers and invite them in.

5. THE AUDIENCE CHALLENGE
We had to connect with a younger, urban, design inspired and
connected group that had traditionally rejected the brand.
A new, progressive mainstream.
We needed to reach out and engage people living in world cities 1 .
1. e.g. london, new york, sao Paulo, berlin and shanghai.

6. OBJECTIVES
We were asked to create a global Pr & Marketing
campaign that would run over a period of 16 months
before the car goes on sale in key markets. the
campaign had three key objectives:
1. build anticipation for the new range rover evoque.
2. Connect range rover with a new audience.
3. Drive pre-orders of the car.

7. REFRAMING THE CHALLENGE
After the client briefing we did what all conscientious planners do.
We immersed ourselves in their business, read all their latest consumer research,
we spent hours with partner agencies that had lived with the range rover brand for
years and understood what it meant across different geographies and cultures.
We challenged, we asked questions, we debated, we argued.
We did all of this to answer the most important question:
What was the real problem?
We knew from research that a younger, more urban audience
wouldn’t consider buying a range rover 2 .
but we instinctively knew that this brief was bigger than an audience challenge,
however meaty that was.
It was more than just connecting the brand with a new crowd.
2.they’re too pricey and the brand comes loaded with strong associations of the countryside, adventure and its legendary
4x4 capabilities. they thought the brand attracted a certain type of person: rich, successful, status seekers.

8. L E A R N I N G F R O M L U X U RY
In search of a new way of thinking, we looked at the codes of luxur y and the
conventions of the categor y.
We also dug deeper to understand our new audience.
We revisited the client’s research and we conducted our own 3 . We wanted to know what
brands they valued, what ideas made them envious, what brands had to do to connect with
them and what kind of relationship they respected with their favourite companies.
their thoughts were surprisingly similar. the research underlined how connected this group was
and the high demands they placed on brands to keep up with them. but the most interesting insight
was that they all wanted a more immersive experience with the things that they find interesting.
In all the things they were passionate about 4, the examples they respected invited them into a
world and immersed them in a story, whether that was going to see an Anish kapoor installation or
experiencing the theatre group Fuerzabruta, where you’re expected to be a collaborator in the show.
3. We spoke to bloggers and people in the creative industries, we chatted to people from across
the world that worked in fashion, music, art and design.
4. Music, art, film, theatre.

9. THE DISCONNECT
but when we looked at the luxur y categor y, these demands
seemed to be at odds with the codes of ‘old luxur y ’ that
dominated the industr y. the demands of this audience were
totally out of sync with most luxur y brands.
Old luxur y was characterised by a narcissistic, sur face,
one-way and image obsessed attitude.
It was luxur y accessed at arms length.
It was a closed world.
And that was our eureka moment.
that was when we realised that launching the new
range rover was bigger than launching the car to a
new audience, it was about redefining luxur y,
from a closed world to immersive story telling.

10. R E D E F I N I N G L U X U RY : new stOries
stor y telling has always been at the heart of luxur y brands.
the industr y creates objects of craft and beauty. naturally,
people want to know the stor y behind the inspiration.
but stor y telling ( just like luxur y) is being re-invented.
t V shows and holly wood are creating new forms of narrative
that encourage us to not only watch but to participate.
In today ’s world, people want to get involved in a stor y, to
car ve out a role for themselves, to make it their own.
by understanding the successful launches in modern culture,
we wanted to create an idea that unfolded more like a
multi-layered film launch than a traditional car campaign.

11. R E D E F I N I N G L U X U RY : FrOm cAr cOmPAnY tO mediA brAnd
range rover had never announced the launch of a new car so early before.
the fact the car was unavailable for nearly 16 months created a unique
opportunity: it was a chance to create an immersive brand stor y around the car
and take people on a journey over a longer period than a traditional campaign.
but to achieve this we would have to persuade range rover to behave in a
new way. We would be creating a stream of stories and content, we would be
editing and curating in real-time. the traditional (linear) customer journey
had no relevance in this new environment and we asked range rover to behave
more like a ‘deep’ brand that was comfortable with complexity and nuance.
We would be asking them to act more like a real-time publisher than a
traditional car company.

12. R E D E F I N I N G L U X U RY : A new rOLe FOr PLAnninG
our new approach wouldn’t only place new demands on range rover; it
would also change the way we as planners would have to behave.
our planning training had taught us the power of logic and the beauty of précis.
but in this new environment of immersive stor y telling we had to act
differently. Instead of behaving like traditional planners we had to become
more like magazine editors. We needed to think about the content we
were creating, how we edit and pace it, how we spark conversations
and how we respond. We had to be at the centre of the action, not on
the edges and we had to become active participants in the stor y.
All of this meant that the language of ‘messaging’ and ‘campaign’ just didn’t
work; ‘stor y ’ and ‘project’ were better descriptors to help guide the creatives.

13. G E T T I N G TO T H E I D E A
We knew we couldn’t reduce the brand to a list of nouns
and adjectives; we had to be freer and more fluid.
less reductionist.
An organising thought would only be useful if it
became the reference for inspiration that could be
flexed in different ways across different media.
but most importantly, from all of our analysis of the categor y and
the new consumer, we knew our idea had to let people into the
range rover brand and into a stor y they could shape and be part of.

14. T H E I D E A : PULse OF the citY PrOject
the range rover evoque is a car inspired by the city. the designers
at range rover love cities and they drew from architecture,
technology and design to create a car for the city. As a result
we wanted to celebrate the inspiration behind the car.
so we explored what was great about cities:
Music. People. streets. Architecture. Design.
Fashion. excitement. Colour.
All these things make up the pulse of the city. so we wanted to
create a project that we could invite people into, that would
always celebrate the relationship between three things: people,
cities and the car. We called it the Pulse of the City Project.

15. L AY E R S O F T H E S TO RY
Within the Pulse of the City Project we saw each of the different stages of a
traditional car launch (Announcement, reveal, Personalisation) as a different
chapter in our immersive stor y. And at ever y stage of the journey to launch
we worked with our creatives to create more immersive experiences.

16. C H A P T E R 1 : AnnOUncement
Hello evoque
In the first chapter we didn’t just announce the car at a
motor show, we launched our Pulse of the City Project.
At the heart of the project was a website called helloevoque.com. ever y month
we asked questions about people’s cities, sharing answers and creating a new
city pulse based on what was really happening. We asked tastemakers (who we
called City shapers) around the world to get involved 5 . People could go to the
website and view city shaper journeys around their city and what they had to say.
We created a Pulse app that anyone could download and become part of the
project. the app, via GPs technology, allowed people to draw their movements
across their city and create beautiful data visualisations of their journeys.
these could then be shared on the website or across their own social media
spaces. the more people got involved, the more their city came to life.
5. People like Daisy lowe, henry holland, ok Go, Greg kozo, tadi rock, osgemeos and Georgina Chapman.

17. C H A P T E R 2 : reVeAL
I n t e r a c t I v e s t r e e t g a l l e ry
on the 27th september 2010 in Paris, we unveiled the evoque street Galler y -
four pop-up art installations that were inspired by the new car. Instead
of launching the car at a traditional motor show we created bespoke
pieces of art that the public could enjoy during Paris Fashion Week.
each piece of art was uniquely designed around the wireframe of the evoque by
leading Parisian artists 6 who created contemporar y pieces of art that reflected
the four key aspects of the range rover evoque 7. the four installations could be
viewed by the public at key Parisian landmarks across the city 8 . People could walk
around the pieces and understand the different product stories behind the car.
online, the evoque street Galler y reached a readership of over 60.5
million people and there were 3,456 blog posts about the event. the
telegraph made one of the pieces their Picture of the Day.
6. Andre, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, surface to Air and yorgo toplas
7. luxury, design, technology and sustainability
8. Pompidou Centre, Palais de tokyo, Musee Des Arts and Quai henri IV

18. C H A P T E R 2 : reVeAL
geo art
on the 17th november 2010 in lA, we collaborated with ok Go (the most downloaded
band in histor y) to create a unique piece of art that used the city as a canvas.
the Dance through your City idea involved the band creating a massive digital
sign of their name across the streets of l A using GPs technology via the Pulse
app. We invited fans of the group to join the band on their journey through
l A and become part of a unique musical parade 9 . After the news spread online
other people got involved in the project and city shapers including Josh
rubin and Mia Freedman created their own geo-art in new york and sydney.
9. the film was nominated for an MtV o Award for ‘innovative use of technology in a video’.

19. C H A P T E R 3 : PersOnALisAtiOn
As people get closer to purchase, car companies usually create
an online piece of software called a configurator that personalises
a car for them. but how could we make this more immersive?

20. C H A P T E R 3 : PersOnALisAtiOn
b e I n g H e n ry
We created an immersive film that took people on a journey through
9 different stor ylines and 32 potential endings. It was an interactive
action-love-fantasy-comedy-adventure about choices in which people
could (subtly) create their own personalised range rover evoque.
Viewers got to decide how henr y, the films lead character, proceeds through
the narrative at various stages. Does he head straight into the restaurant to
meet his sisters and grandma, or does he decide to walk around the corner and
“forget” about his family reunion? each choice viewers make on behalf henr y
takes him on a different journey through a multiple strand stor y, and each choice
creates a personalised car – which you find out when the film has played out.

21. CONCLUSION
Planning’s contribution to this stor y was redefining how
a car company behaves. At ever y point in the pre-launch
stor y we wanted to create a more immersive experience and
challenge the conventions of the car (and luxur y) categor y.
by combining technology with a cast of characters
we were able to tell the stor y of a car inspired by the
city and create and publish content like a magazine.
And in reframing the problem, we had to redefine our
role as planners. We now understand that you can no
longer stand to the side of a stor y anymore. If we’re
going to immerse people in brands, and the stories they
want to tell, we have to be part of the stor y ourselves.
Word count: 1998

22. c r e At i V e w O r k
a s w e L L a s t h e w o r k m e n t i o n e d i n t h e pa p e r , w e a Ls o c r e at e d L ot s o f ot h e r
i n t e r e s t i n g c o n t e n t t h at w a s i n s p i r e d b y p e o p L e , c i t i e s a n d t h e c a r .

23. helloevoque.com was the centrepiece to the Pulse of the City Project where people could explore the thoughts
and journeys of city shapers and others across some of the most exciting cities in the world.

24. the Pulse app allows people to draw their movements across their city and create beautiful data visualisations.

25. PULse oF the CIt y PULse oF the CIt y PULse oF the CIt y PULse oF the CIt y PULse oF the CIt y
whAt which whAt whAt’s iF YOU
insPires wOrds mAde YOU the mOOd cOULd
YOU About DesCrIbe sMIle oF your sPend tOdAY
your CIt y your CIt y toDAy? CIt y AnYwhere
toDAy? toDAy? toDAy? in YOUr citY,
Where
WoulD It be?
PULse oF the CIt y PULse oF the CIt y PULse oF the CIt y PULse oF the CIt y PULse oF the CIt y
whAt whAt when whAt when
Are YOU cAn YOU is YOUr mAkes YOU YOU Are
lookInG heAr In cit Y Most PrOUd oF AwAY FrOm
ForWArD your CIt y AlIVe? your CIt y? YOUr cit Y,
to toDAy? toDAy? WhAt Do
you MIss?
ever y month we asked questions about people’s cities, sharing answers and
creating a new city pulse based on what was really happening.

26. When the ‘spy cars’ were released from the factory, instead of
before the physical car was revealed we worked with artist benedict radcliffe keeping them a secret like other car launches, we created images with
to create wireframe pieces of art that were life-size versions of the car. timothy saccenti that announced their colourful arrival to the world.

27. E V O q U E S T R E E T G A L L E RY
We collaborated with four leading Parisian artists to create bespoke pieces of wireframe art, each one telling a different stor y
about the car. People could walk around the pieces and experience them at different locations during Paris Fashion Week.

28. P R : E V O q U E S T R E E T G A L L E RY

29. PULSE OF THE CIT Y FILM
We created a film to explain the project and invite people to join in.

30. G E O A RT
Music band ok Go wrote their name across l A in a massive musical parade.

31. PR: OK GO

32. G E O A RT
other city shapers including henr y holland, Josh rubin, Mia Freedman and natasha
slater also drew on their cities with the Pulse GPs app.

33. W I R E F R A M E TO U R
european tour of an interactive wireframe where people can personalise the car through sound and music.

34. B E I N G H E N RY I N T E R A C T I V E F I L M
An interactive film about choices in which people subtly personalise a range rover evoque. 9 different stor ylines and 32 potential endings.

35. P R : B E I N G H E N RY

36. c r e At i V e b r i e F

37. RANGE ROVER - EVOqUE
W H at ’ s t H e o p p o r t u n I t y f o r t H I s b r a n d ?
the new range rover evoque is range rover ’s design answer to the modern world; it will be
the smallest, lightest and most efficient range rover ever built. the car has been inspired
by the city; the designers at range rover drew from architecture, design and technology.
the evoque marks the moment when range rover will open its arms to a whole new group of buyers
and invite them in. And the launch of this car is an opportunity to shine new light on the brand.
W H at ’ s t H e r o l e f o r c o m m u n I c at I o n s ?
We have been asked to create a global Pr & marketing campaign that will run over a period
of 16 months before the car goes on sale in key markets. there are three key objectives:
1. build anticipation for the new range rover evoque.
2. Connect range rover with a new audience.
3. Drive pre-orders of the car.

38. RANGE ROVER - EVOqUE
W H o a r e W e ta l k I n g t o ?
We need to reach out and engage people living in world cities like
london, new york, l A, berlin and shanghai. these are people with a
city-state-of-mind who love the creative energy of their city and are
plugged into the heart of city life. they love brands (and experiences)
that let them into a stor y they can feel part of, whether that’s a
holly wood movie, a music gig or a piece of installation art.
W H at s H o u l d t H e k e y I n g r e d I e n t s o f t H e I d e a b e ?
PeoPle x CItIes x CAr