It seemed like everyone had an opinion about the new Jaguar logo. But what can we learn from it? Kiwi design experts have their say on what local brands can take away.
‘Oh f… Jaguar, what have you done?”
Marketing professor Mark Ritson captured much of the reaction to Jaguar’s brand refresh.
The iconic luxury car maker signalled its new direction in a 30-second video released late last year, featuring a group of high fashion models dressed up like residents of The Capitol in The Hunger Games.
It also unveiled a new-look logo, controversially missing the famous jaguar emblem. What the “Copy Nothing” promo didn’t feature was cars.
While Jaguar did soon reveal its Type 00 concept car (to similarly divided reception), some marketers believe the car brand has gone too far too quickly.
Ritson, a guest judge at the YouTube NZ Marketing Awards 2024, wrote in Marketing Week that Jaguar needed to start out with a clear respect and appreciation for its heritage.
“Yes, Jaguar is shifting to electric rather than petrol powertrains. But the DNA of the brand and its codes don’t change because of this,” he wrote.
“When Hennessy moved from barrels to bottle (just as seismic a move back in the day), the brand kept its signature style and position. Indeed, in times of great product change, you want to play up these established markers all the more.”
But others applauded Jaguar’s move, including Forbes contributor James Morris who described it as “absolute genius”, noting the huge amount of global attention it had received.
Morris pointed out that Jaguar has been a drag on the performance of parent company JLR: while sister brands Range Rover and Land Rover are both profitable, Jaguar is making a loss.
“If a brand isn’t profitable, that by implication means its existing customer base doesn’t provide sufficient financial benefit. To all those who complain about alienating core customers, they weren’t really working out for Jaguar anyway…
…to be continued
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