The Scoop: Jaguar’s controversial modern reinvention raises questions about value of brand
Germany soccer vows to keep politics out of the game; young people are getting more news from social media.
Struggling British carmaker Jaguar has launched a flashy rebranding effort that aims to lure a young, posh audience.
The ad features a group of androgynous models in bright clothing and a techno-inspired soundtrack. The tagline? “Copy nothing.” The one thing missing, as NBC News pointed out, is the cars.
The campaign is part of a broader rebrand that includes a reinvention of its lineup of vehicles as well as a new logo that emphasizes the British pronunciation ( “jag-you-are”). The company also recreated its classic logo and is getting rid of its iconic leaping cat emblem and hood ornament in favor of a badge.
“New Jaguar is a brand built around exuberant modernism,” Gerry McGovern, the company’s CCO, said in a release. “It is imaginative, bold and artistic at every touchpoint. It is unique and fearless.”
The moves come as Jaguar looks to reclaim its historic marketshare as a luxury auto manufacturer. Last year, it sold fewer than 67,000 cars worldwide.
Why it matters: A brand is the heart and soul of a company. It’s how customers have come to interpret and relate to it. Any change – whether it’s new packaging or a revamped logo – will alter how people view it.
For Jaguar, the change is a particularly delicate balance. On the one hand, the company has represented ultra-luxury and excellence in automotive engineering for more than 100 years. On the other, that’s no longer resonating with its car buyers.
Rawdon Glober, Jaguar’s managing director, described the new approach as a “complete reset” of the brand, setting customers up to know that something new and exciting is around the corner.
“To bring back such a globally renowned brand we had to be fearless,” Glober said. “Jaguar is transformed to reclaim its originality and inspire a new generation.”
As part of its campaign, Jaguar doesn’t include a single car in its ads. The focus is on trying to sell a sexy new vibe ahead of the unofficial unveiling of one of its new EVs at Miami’s Art Basel in early December. But that might be a hard sell when you’re talking about cars that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“Jaguar should be saying … some version of ‘our cars are engineered to the gills and go very very fast’… Art school grads simply aren’t associated with elite engineering ability, I’m sorry,” Lulu Cheng Meservey, co-founder of Rostra PR group, wrote in a lengthy post on X. She criticized Jaguar for a lack of innovation in the field and unclear market positioning.
“Lastly, Jaguar simply failed to read the room,” Cheng Meservey continued. “We are in an era of NOSTALGIA. People want to RETVRN. Tradition, heritage, and classics are more in demand than they’ve been for a long time.”
In response to criticisms on social media, Jaguar framed the campaign as “a declaration of intent” about its move toward that “exuberant modernism” aesthetic.
Bottom line: When a brand is struggling, sometimes that requires taking a risk. While legacy can be incredibly valuable in the marketplace, if it’s not working with customers, something needs to change.
Editor’s Top Reads
- Germany’s national soccer team plans to stop making political statements after a disastrous 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The German team – and others – had criticized the host country over human rights concerns. “We saw in Qatar that too many political issues can harm a team,” Coach Julian Nagelsmann said Tuesday. It can be challenging for businesses or brands to “leave politics out of it.” Even well-intentioned protests or symbols can distract the team from broader goals – in this case, winning games. Of course, an organizational policy can’t control the views and personal actions of employees, in this case players. Germany captain Joshua Kimmich has said the team’s gestures in Qatar “took away from the joy of the tournament.” Yet, his sentiment may not reflect the views of his teammates. It’s a delicate balance, especially when an employee’s work requires them to do something that may be at odds with their personal values – in this case, supporting the economy of a country with a history of human rights violations. There are no easy answers except to move forward with compassion, thoughtfulness and an eye on the end goal.
- Young adults are increasingly getting their news from social media influencers. Nearly 40% of American 18- to 29-year-olds get their news regularly from online “news influencers” who post about current events, according to a Pew Research Center study published on Monday. That compares to about 21% of all adult Americans. News influencers are mostly men (63%) and more of them explicitly identify as right-leaning compared to left-leaning (27% vs. 21%), per Pew. Among those who get news from influencers, 65% reported that it shapes their understanding of current events and civic issues. The survey results shouldn’t come as a major surprise. Influencers have become a powerful element of messaging strategies given their ability to engage with audiences over an extended period of time. Communicators should use this information as a framework for building out their influencer pool and making content decisions.
- The Department of Justice plans to request that the antitrust trial judge order Google to sell its Chrome browser. A judge recently ruled that Google’s search monopoly is illegal, given Chrome’s dominant position. If Google has to separate from Chrome, it could reshape the browser market, giving competitors like Safari and Firefox more of a chance. More importantly, “(g)overnment officials are saying they want to give content-producing websites more control over whether Google’s AI products can access a site’s content to use it for training its AI model or get ‘surfaced’ as part of an AI search answer,” as reported by Inc. PR and marketing professionals should closely follow this developing lawsuit, as its outcome may have a major influence on content marketing, SEO and how we use the internet.
Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.
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