The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) today announced that Jaguar will become the Official Vehicle supplier of the England Cricket Team. The partnership, which lasts for an initial four year period, will see England’s centrally contracted cricketers drive Jaguar’s XJ, XK or XF models. As part of this announcement Jaguar will also form a strategic partnership with the ECB’s National Cricket Performance Centre. This association will form part of Jaguar’s long term commitment to British Sport under the umbrella of the ‘Jaguar Academy of Sport’ which aims to recognise celebrate and inspire the very best of British sporting talent and success. In return Jaguar will have a host of commercial rights that includes use of the England players for promotional appearances, international hospitality packages, the option to purchase international tickets, international programme advertising and signed merchandise.
Jaguar which has long standing ambassador associations with a number of high profile cricketers, will also form two additional partnerships with the Professional Cricketers Association and the UK’s Test match venues. The Test match ground partnership, which was brokered by The Essentially Group, will provide Jaguar with in stadia branding and exclusive opportunities to showcase its cars across all international venues. Nick Moore, ECB Head of Sales said: “We are delighted that Jaguar UK has decided to leverage the brand equity of the England Cricket Team to help promote its high-end vehicles. With an Ashes victory and an ICC World Twenty20 trophy it’s been an excellent year for the England Cricket Team and we believe this partnership with such an iconic brand as Jaguar is testament to cricket’s wide-ranging consumer appeal.
Geoff Cousins, Jaguar UK managing director, said: “Jaguar like English Cricket has been transformed in recent times so the timing and fit is perfect for this new partnership. Just as England is now winning on a world stage, Jaguar’s new range of XF, XK and the stunning new XJ are now regularly beating the best in the automotive world. “This new partnership is one of the pillars of our sports marketing programme. It is part of our long term commitment to British sport under the umbrella of the recently launched Jaguar Academy of Sport, which aims to recognize, celebrate and inspire the very best of British sporting talent and success.”