JLR was going through a seismic change, having changed its name from Jaguar Land Rover in 2023. Alongside the name change, the company wanted to show how its whole ethos had shifted from a traditional automotive company to a modern, luxury brand that was leading the way in electric vehicles. Its early careers campaign needed to reflect this.

The campaign needed to increase awareness of JLR among core audiences, attracting 800 high calibre candidates across multiple disciplines, not just engineering and technology. It also wanted to attract more candidates from low socio-economic backgrounds, women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds. With Tonic, JLR undertook extensive analysis of previous campaigns, competitor campaigns and focus groups to work out the most effective way forward.

It came up with the campaign line ‘Arrive as you are. Achieve the exceptional.’ The campaign used impactful black and white photography, used across social assets, event collateral, films and website imagery. Existing employees were invited to take part in films where they reflected on their journeys supported by an occupational psychologist. A hero film brought together these powerful individual stories. These were shared across socials, print assets and display banners. Applications for graduate and apprenticeship schemes improved significantly, but the campaign also had a positive impact internally, with one manager describing it as “a real emotional punch”.