Master of My Fate

Cambridge, ON - August 23, 2014
Photo via Jaguar LandRover

Motorsport has endured its fair share of marketing and public relations ploys over the years.  Some have been really outstanding and some have been just disastrous.  The reality is that most sponsors are looking for some sort of return on their investment in terms of advertising streams and revenue from sales.  Motorsport is a bit of a nice market advertising wise unless you know how to create a really good hook with broader appeal.  When trying to use motorsport as a marketing ploy, though, one has to be careful about the balance between crass and inspirational.

An example of a bad viral marketing strategy was a television show that tried to use the unfortunate Stewart/Ward shunt as a means of driving traffic to the show's website by circulating a picture of a NASCAR shunt with the caption "Government announces new measures to control deaths in NASCAR through regulation".  Many average people fell victim to the ploy, which had them clicking on the photo that was linked the television show website where there was no mention of anything motorsport at all.  It was a cheap and crass marketing ploy that backfired on the television show.

On the outstandingly good side of the coin, there is Jaguar LandRover.  About three years ago, the marketing department at Jaguar LandRover decided to sponsor Race2Recovery.  It was a gamble for them, because the team were complete rookies and could guarantee nothing to the car manufacturer except that they would do their best.  That gamble has paid off in spades for Jaguar LandRover with two motorsport records, international press (your truly included in the press portion of this equation), two documentary films, a book, and one of the best and most inspirational stories of the Dakar Rally-Raid two years in a row.  Jaguar LandRover couldn't have asked for a better return on investment for their dollars.  At the same time, Jaguar LandRover found value in supporting wounded soldiers and has broadened their sponsorship mandate to include the upcoming Invictus Games in the United Kingdom in a few weeks.

I've seen several promotional videos for the Invictus Games, the most notable being the one with Daniel Craig in it.  I like Daniel Craig.  I think he's a great actor.  As he recited his line from the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley, I found myself making a fervent wish that someone would make a video of Tony Harris, co-founder of Race2Recovery, reciting the same poem.  I wanted to hear a man recite the poem that I knew was in some ways epitomized by the words he was saying.

The fates granted my wish, as Jaguar LandRover has released a promotional video for the Invictus Games featuring Tony Harris, Jon Flint, Nick Black, and David Hubber reciting the poem.  While I'm not familiar with the last three men, their delivery of the poem is just as powerful and inspiring at Tony's.  Jaguar LandRover's marketing department hit the ball out of the park with this video.  It's a tasteful and inspiring marketing approach that increases my respect for Jaguar LandRover tenfold.

For me, one of the best moments of the video is the very end, when Tony Harris recites the last two lines of Invictus as he's shown walking away from his Wildcat RallyCar.  The reason?  Tony Harris lives the words he's reciting every day of his life.

"I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul."

Jaguar UK Promo for Invictus Games

The Extremes of Speed - Race2Recovery

Cheers to the Marketing Department at Jaguar LandRover!  Well done!

~Colene~