MG ROVER FLIES THE FLAG

"Our European customers love ‘buying British’. And cars don’t come any more British than ours. It’s our natural marketing advantage, and we are looking to build on it at every opportunity," said Rod Ramsay, managing director, sales and marketing, MG Rover.

In Germany, MG Rover is to recreate an Albert Hall-style Last Night of the Proms; complete with bobbing Promenaders, Union Jack bowler hats and full throttle renditions of Pomp and Circumstance and Jerusalem. The band of the British Rhine Army will support the musical evening. It will raise funds for a local children’s hospital. Support will also be given to a four-week long Shakespeare Festival, to be held in a replica of the original Globe Theatre.

In Italy the company is boosting sales with a competition that promotes the use of the English language. The winners will receive a holiday in the UK.

Luxembourg has its very own Rover 75 supporters club, which meets regularly to celebrate the ‘Britishness’ of its favourite car. It will visit Longbridge in 2005, the plant’s centenary year.

In France, Portugal and Spain, MG Rover sponsors sports associated with British success, such as rowing, tennis, golf and horse riding, even gardening.

MG Rover Netherlands offers cricket workshops for customers, as part of its sales promotion programme.

Recognising that the Rover and MG brands have a long history in many markets is also an important part of building new customer relationships. On December 15, Juergen Voss, managing director, MG Rover Germany will present a company donation of €10,000 towards the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche, a Dresden church completely destroyed during the war. The British Ambassador will accompany him. MG Rover also supported the visit to Berlin, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, in November.

Growing European sales is a key strategy for MG Rover.