Land Rover has over the years been involved in some truly spectacular events. They have also been masters of their own destruction. By not recognising what it is that makes the public sit up and watch, they have spent themselves into oblivion.

Both events produced wonderful imagery that was totally unconnected with their customers but this did not matter - we all want to dream; not about life in the city but about escapism. It set a bar so high, no competitor could follow. Yet city based marketing executives constantly said Camel Tropy & G4 were not relevant for Land Rover's customers of tomorrow. They missed the point entirely.

In both these events Land Rover held something special. In my opinion what they failed to do was evolve the format into a cost effective solution that was accessible by the public. By this I mean having a format that anyone could clearly see who was winning rather than something so esoteric that even staff at Land Rover were unsure. Secondly, they needed to conduct the whole affair in an area or venue that the press and TV could capture. The third fatal mistake was to change the entire thing so that only full time male athletes could win. Now I do not have an out of the box solution  - but one easy fix that would also deliver political correctness would be teams of two - one male and one female.

How about Arena Trials, all using identical vehicles? The Arena can be made any size and use a classic trial's scoring system. Think how much usage you could get if the area for the trials was well constructed: - Internal Trials for the JLR Staff – Dealer Event – Head to Head with the Motoring Press (now that would give bragging rights) – Celebrity Trials – International Trials (You do not need to go to exotic locations to impress. The rest of the world especially China would love to come to the home of Land Rover England) – Rugby Trials (set each Premiership Team against one another) – the list can go on and on and could also pitch Land Rover Clubs against one another.

Different model vehicles could be used and sections of different difficulty applied to suit the contestants. What a showcase for standard showroom models! With good planning, spectators could be encouraged and charged for. By thinking out of the traditional process where everything is made so expensive think instead of concerts, sports events etc – even Range Rover customers eat pies and drink cola! Let the vehicles do the talking they are the best ambassadors.

Land Rover is a fantastic global brand and sooner or later someone will want to take a step into a new marketing arena. Let’s hope they consider it well.

I could talk for hours on this subject but I am sure you will have your own ideas.