So I started seeing all these pundits and commentators piping up about the new Jaguar ad. My first thought was, Putin is lobbing byper-sonic missiles around Europe, and you’re worried about an ad? My second thought was, folks don’t know much about marketing, I guess.
Before last week, when was the last time you had thought about, talked about, or otherwise encountered the Jaguar brand? Unless you are a sports car enthusiast or banker, I’m willing to bet it’s been a while.
If you’ve heard the name “Jaguar” or encountered its recent ad, even if just in the form of criticism, then we need to doff our hats to a job well done. In a world of literally millions of branded products paying outrageous amounts of money to borrow even a fraction of your mindspace, Jaguar has landed one of those rare coups — they invaded your thoughts, the Noodlesphere I like to call it.
I spent many years working in marketing and advertising. I know the process from concepting to boardroom pitches, campaign designs, production, media buys, and roll-out. A rebrand like the recent Jaguar effort took at least a year to develop and budget, passing through dozens of committees and endless hours of meetings, scripting and story boarding, with every pixel in the 30-second spot carefully parsed according to their targets and agenda.
And it worked. They got a piece of your Noodlesphere.
The primary functions of marketing focus on understanding customer needs, creating value, and facilitating exchanges that satisfy both the customer and the organization. These functions can be broadly categorized as follows:
Market Research - Gathering and analysing data to understand customer behavior, preferences, trends, and competitors, identifying target audiences and market opportunities.
Product Development and Management - Designing products or services that meet customer needs and preferences, managing product lifecycle, from introduction to growth, maturity, and decline.
Pricing - Setting competitive prices that balance profitability and customer value, considering factors like cost, demand, competition, and perceived value.
Promotion - Communicating with target audiences to inform, persuade, and remind them about products or services; Includes advertising, public relations, sales promotions, and digital marketing.
Distribution - Ensuring products or services are available to customers at the right time and place, managing supply chain logistics and distribution channels.
Sales - Driving transactions and ensuring customer satisfaction during and after the purchase process, while building relationships to encourage repeat business and customer loyalty.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - Building and maintaining relationships with customers to foster loyalty, and implementing systems to track interactions and provide personalized experiences.
Branding - Creating and managing a strong, recognizable brand that resonates with target audiences, focusing on brand identity, equity, and positioning.
Performance Analysis - Measuring the effectiveness of marketing strategies and campaigns, using metrics like ROI, customer acquisition costs, and conversion rates to adjust tactics.
All of this went into the Jaguar rebranding. They have a premium brand with a high price tag. They examined current and forcasted demographics to determine who would have the disposable income to buy their product. They studied the messaging concepts that would appeal to their intended market. Then, they developed a campaign that would target their intended market, while also expanding the brand to as many possible Noodlespheres as they could.
Without having any personal knowledge of the inner workings of Jaguar, Target, or Bud Light — just reading the tea leaves as it were — here’s what I see:
Targeting Western(ized) Zoomers - the Boomers are dying off, the Xers are a declining market segment, so targeting Zoomers represents development of a consumer base for the next 40 years or so.
Targeting deep(er) pockets - for high-end consumer goods, the deepest pockets will be those without children. Targeting the zoo of non-binary non-breeders spawned by the current zeitgeist represents the largest possible segment with disposable income (highly mobile, no mortgagage, no family-rearing costs, etc.). It’s essentially the same meta-branding that went into the 1970 Ford Country Squire wagon, just a different segment and agenda.
Targeting fashion-conscious branded status-seekers - the people most likely to not breed have nothing but disposable income, and thus are focused on style, fashion and status. The vast majority of families devote most of their income to basic needs, education, health care, and savings in the form of landed assets and generational items.
Basically, this ain’t your daddy’s Jaguar. They are not selling a car; there are dozens of brands to choose from. They are selling an attitude and an image. If you buy a Jaguar, people will see you as young, cutting edge, non-conformist, and non-breeding. Jaguar is essentially putting a skin of perception around their brand. If you buy their product, you are sending a message to those around you.
This conversion process happens roughly every 20-30 years. The WW2 generation had their avocado green and harvest gold Jetson-style that defied the stodgy earth tone farm aesthetic of their parents. The Boomers had their psychodelic earth-mother herbal tea aesthetic. The Xers had their polyester synth-grind coffee-swilling aesthetic. And now it’s the Zoomers’ turn.
When was the last time you wore bell-bottoms and puka shells?
Each succeeding generation shocks and angers the preceding one, all the way back to Aristotle. This cycle of life inevitably becomes a business model, as brands seek to find new and lasting market segments. Think of flapper girls, swing and speak-easys. Think of Levittowns, land barges and the new mobility. Think of discos, McMansions and drug-fueled laissez-faire complacency.
Jaguar has determined, with their socio-economic research, surveys and focus groups, that the Zoomer aesthetic is the future of their brand. They are positioning to milk the next generation and keep their brand relevant and profitable. They may be wrong, but only time will tell. In any case, it’s obvious to me that Jaguar thinks the Boomers are on life support, and the Xers are tapped out.
Some have speculated that the ad is a “God-level troll”. Others have lambasted it as a sell-out to Woak “culture”. Still others wonder if this is a prelude to launching a radically new design and/or line. I think it’s just a well-designed campaign to revitalize an aging brand and get people talking about it again. In the latter regard, they did a bang-up job. And let’s not forget that Jaguar Land Rover is owned by Tata Motors, an India-based multinational car manufacturer.
In the meantime, I have to laugh. All the huffing and puffing over the new Jaguar image campaign sounds a lot like my parents’ reaction to my generation’s aesthetic.
I will say to the Zoomers, though, that we used to put rings in the noses of bulls to make them easier to control. Just food for thought.
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The film I think best captures that weird 1950s pastel suburban aesthetic is Tim Burton’s 2nd best film, Edward Scissorhands (1990), with Johnny Depp at the peak of his game, and my friend Vincent Price in his final performance (RIP). It’s almost like Burton foresaw the Zoomers.
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My oldest brother loaned me his "classic Jaguar" when I went back last spring. One of several he collects and works. It wasn't that old, but it had a CD player, so that dates it. A convertible with a door lock that didn't work- cheaper to replace the CD player than the top was my assumption. I did feel younger and cutting edge driving it, but parking it for any length of time seemed like a insurance scam. I returned it and used a bicycle.
This could easily stand for advertising.
"If someone tried to take control of your body and make you a slave, you would fight for freedom. Yet how easily you hand over your mind to anyone who insults you. When you dwell on their words and let them dominate your thoughts, you make them your master"
Epictetus