If you have spent any time on social media, especially linked in, you would have seen the new branding from Jaguar. It was also probably accompanied by someone hating on it, saying that the marketing team has committed brand suicide by going too ‘woke’ and destroying years of heritage in one swoop.
Here’s why those people are wrong.
First up, there’s some serious context to this rebrand that the majority of people are missing.
Following some well known financial speed bumps, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has gone through a massive transformation over the past five years, moving from money problems to profitability while successfully reducing its debt. A big factor in this turnaround has been the Range Rover brand’s ability to market and sell high-priced special edition models. By early 2023, JLR had sold 6,000 Range Rover SV vehicles, each averaging over £100,000 (approximately NZ$205,000).
This shift marked the start of a strategic evolution for the company. Back in 2019, the average price of a JLR vehicle was £44,000 (around NZ$90,200), but by 2023, it had climbed to £71,000 (about NZ$145,550). While unit sales dropped from 660,000 in 2019 to 300,000 in 2023, the company’s financial position improved dramatically. Range Rover and Land Rover models now reportedly yield an average profit of $25,000 (approximately NZ$41,250) per vehicle.
But even still, challenges remain. By 2023, 75% of JLR’s orders came from the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Defender lines. This is a problem because that leaves 15% of sales from Jaguars, and they were costing the company money as it was being propped up by Land Rover sales. While Jaguar continued to be a financial burden, the company was losing money on every Jag sold.
Despite the popularity of certain models like the F-Type, Jaguar’s total global sales in 2023 were just 64,241 units out of JLR’s 431,733 total. This prompted the company to accelerate its “Reimagine” strategy.
Jaguar’s “Reimagine” strategy is a comprehensive plan to transform the brand into an all-electric luxury automaker by 2026. This initiative aims to redefine Jaguar’s identity, focusing on modern luxury, sustainability, and innovation. Key elements of the strategy include:
Sources The Times, Landrover and the Sun
Through the Reimagine strategy, Jaguar seeks to establish itself as a leader in the luxury electric vehicle market, combining cutting-edge technology with a renewed commitment to sustainability and modern design.
Starting to make a little more sense eh?
We just need to take two aspects of the creative for it to make sense in my head:
Has the audience changed? Yes, they are going after a younger more affluent consumer.
Has the product changed? Yes, they are going 100% electric. Because it’s the future.
I’ll admit it’s a bold business strategy, but bold business strategies require bold branding and ad campaigns and that’s exactly what we have. Why would they hold on to tradition and heritage when that is not the companies future? As far as I’m concerned, this is a group of brave courageous, switched on people who are going to be praised in a couple of years once Jaguar double down on their business strategy and new brand.
The thing about being different is everyone finds it uncomfortable when it first happens, even so uncomfortable they go online and vilify the creative teams for doing such a ‘terrible’ job. My prediction is this will be one of those ones that gets studied and referenced for decades to come for any brand who wants to break the mold, stand out and gain alot of attention FAST.
Like Jake Paul would tell you, hostile feedback doesn’t matter in the attention economy. One of the biggest questions around this new advert is ‘where is the product?’ They haven’t even shown a car. I think this is a crucial part of this reimagined direction for Jaguar. They needed something that was going to get people talking, and maybe showing the car wasn’t going to do that. Maybe they have cleverly engineered this social debate to gain as much attention (and free media time) as possible, right before they reveal the most progressive vehicle on the market. All guesses, obviously.
One thing is for sure, I’ve never owned or even considered owning a Jag, but I am all eyes and ears for what’s being released in December.
Have you ever seen the magic of a good idea? I offer ideas and creative direction, concepting, art direction, messaging strategy, copywriting, campaign production, and media strategy to bring your brand's vision to life in different and interesting ways.
Find out moreMy branding services give you the confidence to stand out. I offer strategy and identity design, team workshops, vision and mission development, positioning, logos, visual identity, and website design.
Find out more
