Defender
Defender used a full-funnel branding campaign on Snapchat, combining AR and video ads. The campaign drove high engagement, reduced CPM, and doubled attention benchmarks.
“Our decision to reimagine our Defender campaign in the augmented reality world through Snapchat Lens was a resounding success. Not only did it exceed all benchmarks for CTR, engagement time, and social shares, but it also provided a unique, immersive experience that truly captured the essence of Defender. AR on Snapchat has truly redefined how we connect with our customers and showcase our luxury vehicles. We're thrilled to have pushed the boundaries of what's possible in automotive marketing.”
- Mohammed Jaradat, Marketing Communications Manager, Jaguar Land Rover MENA
Defender Roars to Life with Snapchat
When your brand is built on strength, innovation, and adventure, your marketing has to live up to the same standards. In efforts to establish Defender as a House of Brand, Jaguar Land Rover sought to amplify the Defender as the icon of capability for modern drivers. Facing a deeply competitive environment, the company had to figure out how to stand out in a crowded market and connect with today’s mobile-first, thrill-seeking consumers.
With audiences increasingly tuning out traditional ads, the team needed a campaign as bold as the Defender itself. So they turned to Snapchat — known for immersive formats and a mobile-savvy user base — to deploy their fresh, full-funnel digital strategy that would drive awareness, spark interest, and collect quality leads.
Driving Attention, Delivering Results
Defender’s campaign blended storytelling with smart tech. To bring the Defender’s rugged spirit to life, the Hearts & Science team launched an interactive AR Lens that enabled users to virtually experience the vehicle’s strength across epic landscapes: from towering peaks to dense forests.
Snapchat Ads and Commercials fueled upper-funnel awareness and helped boost brand favorability. To drive performance at the bottom of the funnel, the campaign also leveraged website conversion ads with optimized bidding, effectively steering more traffic and intent-driven action.
Results
-33.5% CPM vs. auto industry benchmarks
8.33% CTR — crushing the average
+4.88% average playtime and 2.32x more plays than benchmarks
25.7% higher share rate and 1.83x more shares
132% more seconds of attention per 1,000 impressions
+6pp lift in Brand Favorability, driven by the AR Lens
With standout results across awareness and engagement, the Defender campaign on Snapchat nailed the power of immersive, full-funnel strategies in today’s attention economy. Combining interactive AR and compelling video content put the brand in a position to not only spark the imagination of adventurous drivers, but to also deliver measurable business impact.
The campaign’s success in MENA markets highlighted the universal appeal of experiential advertising, reinforcing that bold creative, backed by smart media planning, drives real-world results.