What Does Hermès, Cartier, Balenciaga, and Jaguar Have in Common?
In 2022 not much, but by 2025 Jaguar expects to be in the same room as the world’s largest luxury brands.
Jaguar’s latest lifestyle campaign objective is to re-introduce the brand and enter the world of luxury. For some time now the brand has been looking at the opportunity to move upmarket, however, they didn’t have the product to compete with brands such as Bentley. Now, their ultra-luxury EV model is putting Jaguar at the forefront of the luxury car industry. Jaguar is no longer competing with BMW or Mercedes-Benz; the brand doesn’t consider them luxurious enough for their new line. Instead, they are coming after Porsche and Bentley.
By 2025 Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Thierry Bolloré expects the “Reimagine” campaign to bring the brand to new levels. How? Easy. By adding a starting price tag of ~$140,000 for their new EV models. Jaguar needs their new target audience to take them seriously, see the brand as ultra-luxury, and use it in the same sentence as Hermès or Cartier. The ads were not only running in fashion magazines such as Elle and Esquire but also on specific social media channels with photos that were elegant using the hashtag #FTYPE.
“We are actually part of that world, but we don’t really communicate the brand in that way. We are quite rooted in automotive tradition,” said Stuart Schorr, Vice President of Communications for Jaguar Land Rover North America to Automotive News Europe.
The “Reimagine” campaign is not an easy or simple task for Jaguar. In the next three years, the brand will continue to change how it communicates with its new audience, and the different medium they are using to reach them while introducing a new line of automobiles. The biggest difference? Capital. The brands they are choosing to go after are backed by the BMW Group, VW Group, and others. While Jaguar Land Rover’s owners Tata Motors have a smaller marketing budget and lack the legacy of other luxury brands.
Looking through their social media platforms, Jaguar introduced new photography on their Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages. The campaign is not something we have seen from Jaguar before (or any of its competitors), from the colors to the styling, it’s OUT there. I love it. It’s bold and what we need from brands. The campaign starred social media creator and model Natalie Lim Suarez from Natalie Off Duty. Jaguar went the extra step to unveil the images at the Jaguar x ELLE x RoadTrack Formula E party in New York City. Jaguar said go big or go home!
I think the campaign is winning and reaching its objective of being perceived as an “ultra-luxury” brand. It has only been two months since the announcement of the “Reimagine” campaign, and experts are already debating how the brand will pull it off. Whether Jaguar should separate from Land Rover or double down on the brand and pull both to the next level. If not, who will acquire the brand? Can Tata Motors support both brands at different price points? Let’s circle back in three years and reevaluate whether the campaign was a success or not. For now, do you consider Jaguar a luxury brand? Would you wear Balenciaga and Hermès, while driving a Jaguar?
