Go woke, go broke; or more brash, more cash?

Is there a lesson here?

All businesses must find new clients but crucially, not all industries have dramatic demographic shifts. Much has been written about the coming changes to the financial industry. The ‘great wealth transfer’, for example. Or the fact that women are set to inherit billions over the next ten years or so.

That so much wealth is going to change hands is a fact, and it leads to a shift in your target audience. Who are the new clients, and is your brand ready to attract them?

Be too cautious and you may be left behind. Be too disruptive and you might alienate your current clients. Acting and not acting both entail risk. It’s all down to your tolerance for risk. We believe fortune favours the bold. And it’s not about you. It’s about your clients. We love ballsy brands.

But maybe not this ballsy.

A financial industry analogue for this rebrand is St James’s Place. Their rebrand was less shocking, but it still raised a few eyebrows. SJP needed to grow into a newer, and younger market, and do so without alienating existing clients.

The marketing team at Jaguar are seeking clients in a new demographic, but the new brand rejects many of their existing customers. Is this madness? Or do they know something we don’t?

‘Copy nothing’ – the Jaguar advert

There’s been a lot written about this already. We didn’t want to comment among all the noise and negativity. So we let the dust settle while we considered our own feelings about the brash new brand direction. We’re using ‘brash’ as a synonym for bold really, ‘self-assured in a noisy way’. Also because it rhymes with cash, obviously.

A lot of commentators (and commenters) seem to think this rebrand is reckless. That it’s destroying a great British brand that enjoys heritage and reputation. Destroying is a strong word. And if the brand is so revered, where are all the customers?

What were they thinking?

An average British Jaguar customer might be described as middle-aged, middle-class, mass-affluent and male. A far cry from the colour and diversity on display in the advert. Even Jaguar admits they will lose 85% of their current customers.

But demographics shift. The older generation that pronounce Jaguar in one long-syllable – ‘Jaaaag’ – are only getting older. Many are approaching, or already in, retirement. How many more cars are they going to buy? Are they going to keep Jaaaag afloat?

Are there any from the younger generations dreaming of owning a Jaguar?

Go woke, go broke?

Maybe fortune really does favour the bold. If Jaguar fails horribly many will blame this advert. ‘Go woke, go broke,’ they’ll say – while being ignorant of Jaguar’s 10 year decline. They were already going broke, woke’s got nothing to do with it.

The limits of heritage

Much of the negativity has suggested that this new brand direction excludes traditional customers. Well, these traditional customers weren’t buying many Jaguars. Even if they had been, the new brand doesn’t exclude them – that’s not how branding works. If they don’t like the branding that’s fine – it’s called consumer choice.

90 years of heritage is not to be sniffed at of course. But they were just leaning on good will that stems from nostalgia. That doesn’t sell cars.

Tolerance for risk

Being bold can mean taking a risk. A disruptive brand won’t get far worrying about minority opinion. And Jaguar’s rebrand is certainly disruptive. Perhaps the mistake that Jaguar made was changing too little over the years.

They were founded on the principle that Jaguars should be a ‘a copy of nothing’ – hence the line in the advert, ‘copy nothing’. They’ve certainly done that.

I think the lesson here is that change is inevitable – if you want to attract next-gen clients. Doing what you’ve always done is unlikely to be attractive to generation X and millennials. You won’t need a tolerance for risk for anything anywhere near what Jaguar have done. But you will need to change.

Ready for some branding with balls?

2025 might sound like a Sci Fi movie set in the distant future, but whether it’s a dystopia or not is up to us. It’s time for some bold branding, it’s time to be brave. As brave as Jaguar? Probably not – but let’s talk about ballsy branding and what works for your brand.

So if you’re ready, drop us a line – or if you prefer a chat, use our online booking tool – and we’ll get the ball rolling.