Debate about the Jaguar brand relaunch erupted again recently. A flurry of stories was prompted by reports that Jaguar plans to replace Accenture Song, the agency behind Copy Nothing, last year’s controversial comms campaign. “Jaguar sees sense and hunts for new agency after woke disaster,” shouted one headline (1). As a recap, the Jaguar brand relaunch was based a positioning called “Exuberant Modernism”. The plan was to position Jaguar as a forward-thinking, electric-only, luxury brand, with new models expected to cost upwards of £100,000. Following the communication campaign, the company unveiled the futuristic Type 00 concept car at Miami Art Week (see below).
Some commentators suggested Jaguar has lost its nerve in the face of negative online reaction and should stick with the strategy and agency. “If you throw your agency under the bus every time the internet sneezes, the problem isn’t the marketing. It’s you,” said one Linked In poster (2).
I do agree a new direction is essential for the brand to survive and thrive, given that long term sales in decline (3). However, I suggest brand owner JLR is right to re-visit the radical reinvention route. In this post I explain why and propose an alternative strategy with a better chance of success.
Problem 1: Forgetting what made the Jaguar brand famous
The Jaguar brand relaunch is an attempt to pull off the incredibly hard act of REINVENTION. The new positioning fails to build on any existing memory structure related to British heritage and driving performance, as we can see below using our “KULA” framework (Keep/Update/Lose/Add). And Jaguar has ditched all of its distinctive brand assets. For example, the leaping cat symbol has been replaced by a curved, geometric J symbol. “It’s a shame it walked away from some of the iconic, treasured, and beautiful icons that have occupied the brand’s DNA for generations,” rightly pointed out James Ramsden of Coley Porter Bell in a Guardian article (4).
In reality, the strategy is to launch a new brand altogether, with the only link to the past being the name.
The obvious risk with this approach is losing existing buyers and potential buyers who like the brand but are yet to find a product they like. Jaguar CEO Rawdon Glover claimed, “We care about our existing clients. Why would you not want to bring as many of your current base along as possible?” (3). However, it’s hard to see how many of the current base will join Jaguar on the journey he is taking the brand on. This is reflected in used car sales of Jaguars, that “fell 9% post-rebrand, reflecting eroded consumer confidence,” according to one report (5).
The second risk is failing to attract enough of the new, younger users it is trying to target with the Exuberant Modernism repositioning. For this group, the brand is still Jaguar, a car they associate with an older age group. Furthermore, these younger drives are a small part of the luxury car market, with 69% of buyers being over the age of 35 (6).
Problem 2: All sizzle, no sausage
A second problem with the Jaguar relaunch was the lack of any product “sausage” in the Copy Nothing campaign. There was not a car in sight. Instead, we had a cast of diverse and eccentrically-dressed models posing in a futuristic pink moonscape. This execution might have worked as an internal film to inspire people inside the business about a more creative, fashion-forward direction for the company. But I struggle to see how it would appeal to the typical luxury car buyer.
The key factor that will determine success or failure is of course not this or any other communication campaign, it’s the product itself. And we will have to wait until 2026 or later to see what cars come off the production line. If these look anything like the Type 00 concept car revealed last year, I wouldn’t expect the new vehicles to be flying off the forecourt! However, the crazy, candy coloured designs shown in Miami might turn out to have been a PR stunt than a serious sign of the future Jaguar brand model line-up.
Problem 3: short-term sizzle fizzles out
Some commentators suggested the Jaguar relaunch has successfully raised the profile of the brand. “In the space of 24 hours, Jaguar is part of the global conversation, having shown no product,” claimed Manfredi Ricca of Interbrand (7).
However, as is often the case with radical brand stunts like this, the buzz created is short term sizzle that soon fizzles out. This is shown by a spike in online mentions of the brand around the time of the Copy Nothing campaign, followed by a return to lower historical levels soon after (below).
Why revitalisation is a better route
REVITALISATION is a brand relaunch approach with a better track record of success than reinvention. Lucozade’s transformation from a sickness remedy for kids to an energy drink for all ages is one of the few successful examples of brand reinvention, but this is decades old. More recently, Tom Tom tried with limited success to reinvent itself as a navigation software business, as we posted on here.
Revitalisation is in the middle of what the brandgym call the “Brand Balance Spectrum” (see below). Here, we have a balance of freshness and consistency, in contrast to Jaguar’s destruction of distinctive brand assets (DBAs). At the other extreme is RENOVATION, with the emphasis on consistency. This is a smart approach for a brand in good health with a winning mix. Yorkshire Tea is an example we posted on here.
Comments I made on Linked In suggesting Revitalisation beats Reinvention prompted many excellent examples. Tim Rothwell came up with Marmite. Here, the pack, product, taste and DBAs stayed consistent. Freshness came from creative, impactful and distinctive marketing that leant into the idea that people “Love it or hate it”.
Tracy C. gave the great example of Old Spice. Again, Revitalisation kept the pack, product and DBAs consistent, including the whistle from an old radio ad. The relaunch also built on positioning elements that made the brand famous, relating to fragrance and male confidence. “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign brought freshness and humour, with an emphasis on social media amplification. The brand boosted appeal to guys aged 12 and 34. Old Spice body-wash sales grew 27% in the first six months and by the campaign drove Facebook likes up 800% and website traffic up 300% (8).
In conclusion, JLR is right to reconsider the radical Reinvention of the Jaguar brand. Revitalisation that remembers and refreshes what made the brand famous should have a better chance of success. Watch this space for a future update when the new model range is finally revealed!
SOURCES:
(2) Linked In post
(3) BBC article with Jaguar CEO
(5) Jaguar car sales
(7) Jaguar buzz
