The brief

To launch the first Rolls-Royce SUV, the Cullinan, with a starting price £264,000, to a limited number of 100 VIP’s throughout the North West and Yorkshire. We needed to do so through a bespoke customer journey that culminated in the attendance of an evening in the new Rolls-Royce showroom and/or the launch at Manchester Central.

The journey

We were tasked with finding and profiling 75 high-net-worth individuals in the North West and 25 in Yorkshire that fitted the customer profile and had the means to afford and purchase a Rolls-Royce vehicle.

There was no market information or intelligence available to work with or refine, so this was a cold approach for a niche market, high-end vehicle.

A campaign concept was required, one that would ensure the right decision maker received and opened the invitation, would be intrigued and be suitably motivated to agree to speaking or meeting with a Rolls-Royce representative (with regards to a personal introduction to the vehicle), and ideally set up a potential sale.

We produced a campaign to give our audience an exclusive and memorable experience.
The launch was unique, taking them on a journey of bespoke refinement in keeping with the Rolls-Royce brand and redefining luxury for the off-road vehicle sector.

Finding the right channel was key to our sales strategy. We set the stage by creating bespoke and individual invites for each recipient. Whether we reached our desired guest immediately with the invite or met a ‘gatekeeper’, we needed to create a huge impact for such an extraordinary vehicle (and financial outlay).

We A/B tested the campaign by creating two invitations. The first was to follow the form of a traditional invitation from the brand, inviting the customer to this prestigious event. The second invitation led with a more creative storytelling route, referencing the heritage of the brand; from the relevance of Manchester to the brands history to how Rolls-Royce is a symbol of the highest form of entrepreneurship. Adjusting the messaging between the A/B testing allowed us to assess the best way to communicate to future prospects.

By talking to each person in a unique way, we were more likely to gain their interest. By communicating that the recipient was one of only 100 select people invited to this event, the exclusivity of the invite was emphasised further.

The invite showcased an image of the vehicle using photochromic ink that disappeared after the initial preview of the Cullinan. After the Cullinan image faded away, this left just the silhouetted branding on the paper.

Following the initial introduction, we sent clients a personalised invite to the launch event of the Cullinan in the Rolls-Royce showroom in Manchester.

The Results

The success of this campaign was based on how many actual sales introductions, handshakes, and face-to-face meetings were made from the 100 identified people, with an expectation being at least 10% ROI.

We managed to exceed expectations with 18% ROI achieved, with enquiries still ongoing.