Plus: Apple sends mixed messages with launch of Pro and Air version of iPhone; Washington Post TikTok guy launches online network.
When luxury car maker Jaguar debuted its Type 00 electric sedan, it highlighted the car’s features with avant-garde imagery and hot-pink tones. It’s a video ad that feels a lot like an art installation.
But not everyone enjoyed the new look. The ad provoked a wave of criticism from car purists, marketing professionals and even President Donald Trump.
However, Jaguar doubled down on the rebrand and defended its shift towards a new audience.
“We needed to take risks, we needed to be fearless, and in doing so, we recognized that the design might polarize,” Rawdon Glover, Jaguar’s managing director, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “That’s absolutely OK. It doesn’t need to be for everybody.”
Glover said the marketing campaign introduced “a new design language, to reflect the new luxury positioning and appeal to a younger, affluent audience interested in design who may have associated Jaguar with a very male midlife crisis.”
The Type 00 cars come in colors like hot pink and teal that stray from Jaguar’s classics, are priced at $130,000 and have a futuristic look, which also contradicts Jaguar’s classic, luxury car persona.
But introducing the rebrand also required some more explaining, Glover said. There was an entire communications strategy behind the rebrand.
“I now spend a lot of time telling people our narrative. When we’ve had an opportunity to really tell that story, the vast majority go, OK, I get it, now,” Glover said.
Why it matters: As we’ve seen with Cracker Barrel, sometimes rebranding strategies backfire.
If people don’t see an organization’s values, understand the decision or they don’t recognize the longstanding traditions reflected in a rebrand, they’re going to struggle to accept it.
But creating controversy can also be intentional, and it can work. Jaguar knew its Type 00 electric sedan wouldn’t appeal to most of its customer base, and the car maker leaned into it. It targeted a niche group of people that value luxurious, eco friendly cars.
“Jaguar expects only 15% of its current customers to buy its cars once its rebrand is complete,” WSJ reports.
The intentional overhaul was meant to stir up controversy and appeal to a new audience.
But Jaguar also recognized that it needed to explain its decision and its thought process. Not in some quippy social post, but rather in longer, more constructed conversations.
They needed greater context. Effective communications required a shift to in-depth media engagement to build understanding and buy-in.
Longform interviews allow Jaguar to share their process and their rationale behind the campaign. It gives them an opportunity to justify the move and hopefully, draw excitement from the right crowd.
Editor’s Top Picks:
- Apple held its annual iPhone announcement this week, because who doesn’t need a new iPhone every year? These included the iPhone Air and the iPhone Pro 17. The two are vastly different in style and offerings, which left some consumers wondering what message Apple was sending as it described the pros of each model. “Apple had to walk the tightrope of announcing both a stripped back iPhone Air and a souped up iPhone 17 Pro If you were paying close attention, you might have come away just a little confused,” The Verge reports. Apple highlighted that the Pro has a “full width camera plateau” with three cameras and is the “fastest of any smartphones” with the largest iPhone battery of any model. It also emphasized the importance of going back to an aluminum build, rather than titanium. On the other hand, Apple described the Air as “the thinnest” iPhone yet and pointed to its “incredibly durable” titanium build with only one camera lens. One commenter on The Verge responded, “So funny hearing the way they describe the Pro vs. the Air. You only need one camera! You need three cameras! Titanium is so strong! Forget titanium, aluminum is better for thermals!” It’s not that it’s bad to have varied products, but companies should frame products in a meaningful, relevant way for consumers. Maybe that means communicating why the Pro works better for one person over another. Maybe that’s offering use-case examples or showing how the Air is perfect for a person who uses their phone for these tasks. Consumers can easily be confused on what decision to make when messaging is contradictory.
- Dave Jorgenson’s new gig, Local News International has already amassed more than 100,000 YouTube subscribers. After leaving The Washington Post, where Jorgenson became known as “the TikTok guy” for his quippy, shortform news takes, he’s now on a mission to make news exciting, fun and establish an authoritative voice. “As we get into longform videos, we want to start with a local story and then expand to see how the thing happening in wherever, Texas, affects the rest of the country and the world,” Jorgenson told Nieman Lab. “But it’s also just that misinformation is really bad, and I’m trying to be the person who comes in and is the voice of reason and says ‘yeah, this is true’ or ‘no, this isn’t true.’” The move is another example of the power of independent media. PR pros can reach these creators on a more personal level, building relationships, gaining reach and finding channels to tell stories more creatively. Beyond platform-building, LNI’s bigger aim is to push back against misinformation. Jorgenson wants to “be the voice of reason” by clarifying what’s true and what isn’t. That’s a powerful model: positioning your brand or spokesperson not just as a part of a broadcast, but as a trusted interpreter in an age of skepticism.
- This week, Star Trek Day was amped up with Lego’s launch of a Star Trek Lego set. The announcement stirred buzz when a 15-second clip of the launch was released without details. The video has no explanation, rather, it pans around the command room until it finally zooms in on a Star Trek character who turns towards the camera and smiles. The video goes dark and the statement “coming soon” shows up before the video goes dark. Lego takes full advantage of the fan-favorite holiday with the teaser. People love surprises and they love anticipation. Curiosity sparks intrigue. Humans love novelty because it feels exciting, refreshing and rewarding. The launch is a fun way to garner interest in the product while leaving people wanting more.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
The post The Scoop: Jaguar stands behind polarizing rebrand appeared first on PR Daily.
