Rally Scotland Building the platform for the World Rally Championship's return to the UK

When Motorsport UK announced the return of the FIA World Rally Championship to Britain with Rally Scotland from 2027, the challenge was not simply to generate launch coverage. Communications needed to create the foundations for a commercially successful event by recruiting volunteers, building future ticket demand and demonstrating value to partners, government and regional stakeholders.

GroupWhistle was appointed to launch Rally Scotland and build the communications platform that would support those objectives over the two-year build-up to the event.

Major sporting events cannot rely on launch publicity alone. With limited hard news available before competition begins, Rally Scotland needed a sustained communications programme capable of keeping audiences engaged while supporting commercial priorities.

The campaign also had to reach far beyond motorsport media, engaging tourism organisations, local authorities, commercial partners and regional businesses whose support would be critical to the event’s success.

GroupWhistle launched Rally Scotland through an international media campaign announcing the return of the FIA World Rally Championship to the UK before shifting focus towards long-term audience building.

We created RallyScotland.org as the central content hub for volunteer recruitment, CRM growth and future ticket sales, while reactivating legacy social media channels and establishing a rolling editorial programme to sustain engagement throughout the build-up to 2027.

Alongside owned channels, we built a communications network bringing together tourism bodies, regional authorities, the WRC Promoter, Scottish rally organisers and media partners. This multiplied the reach of Rally Scotland’s content while aligning stakeholders behind a shared commercial ambition.

The launch generated 107 pieces of media coverage with a combined audience of 337 million, creating immediate international awareness.

More importantly, GroupWhistle established the communications infrastructure needed to support the event’s long-term success. Within eight weeks, RallyScotland.org attracted more than 3,500 active users, legacy social channels returned to growth and a coordinated stakeholder network was in place to amplify content, recruit volunteers and build momentum towards the World Rally Championship’s return to the UK.