Buying a car from an aggressive dealer can be a brutal experience, but Land Rover’s event strategy is designed to make car-shopping as luxurious as the $96,000 SUVs it sells. The Land Rover caravan travels around the country, arranging meticulously staged test-drives on rugged off-road terrain. Afterward, customers are invited to relax in upscale environments tricked out with all-day buffets and fun activities, such as cooking demonstrations and tea tastings.
Nicole Logue of Land Rover’s event team designed the tour. For the Los Angeles stop in mid-June, the company hosted 1,400 people over eight days who had signed up for information on the Web site or at auto shows. As guests arrived at a private Spanish-style estate in Malibu, staffers led them behind the wheel of one of a dozen 2007 Supercharged Range Rovers. An instructor guided each driver along an off-road course that featured sharp dips and turns. The hands-on experience drove home some of the car’s special features, such as its “terrain response system,” which adjusts the car’s performance for five different terrains (normal, grass/gravel/snow, mud and ruts, sand, and rock crawl).
After the test-drive, guests headed toward the living room and pool area, which featured couches and ottomans covered in blue and taupe leather with piping inspired by the company’s upholstery. They grazed from a buffet that featured duck quesadillas, white cheddar and jalapeño macaroni and cheese, and other treats while they watched a flat-screen TV playing a video loop about the Land Rover lifestyle. (The company also organizes upscale expeditions for off-road enthusiasts.)
In other rooms, the Republic of Tea hosted a tea tasting amid long tables decorated with pussy willows in large metal vases. A composer from Man Made Music, which creates soundtracks for film and television, gave a talk about the ways in which film music can be harnessed to stir emotion. Under a tent on the side terrace, prominent chef Robert Gadsby demonstrated how to make a lemon soufflé in a cooking class sponsored by Gourmet magazine.
Lest potential buyers forget their fun day, Land Rover gave them a gentle reminder as they waited for their car—a leather box decorated with a souvenir photo under glass of each guest posed next to an SUV.
