Jaguar
Table of content
- Introduction
- Situational Environment
2.1 PEST-Analysis
2.2 Porter’s Five Forces
- Branding Strategy
- Brand Pyramid
- Features and Attributes
- Functional Benefits
- Emotional Benefits
- Brand Persona
- Brand Idea
Marketing Mix
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
- Brand Communication in Different Markets
United States
Asia
- Conclusion
- References
Introduction
The same characteristics can be applied to Jaguar cars which are associated with wildness, risk and perfect innovative design. The history of Jaguar brand began almost 100 years ago in 1922 and at the beginning Jaguar cars were associated more with glam and style rather than performance and innovations. But this perception totally changed in 1930s when Jaguar launched the fastest car of that time with high performance and a sporty design. This car became an icon and the new era for Jaguar began.
Jaguar production facilities are situated in the West Midlands at Castle Bromwich and Solihull, UK. During the visit of these facilities it’s possible to witness sophisticated production process of these breath-taking cars and to know more about its branding strategy. Based on the experience received during such a visit and on the research conducted, Jaguar business environment, branding
strategy and the way the brand is communicated have been highlighted in the report below. Jaguar business environment has been analysed via PEST and Porter’s 5 Forces models.
The company branding strategy analysis includes brand pyramid and 4 P’s model. Moreover, the report includes the peculiarities of brand communication in different markets, i.e. United Kingdom, United States, Asian market and Brazil. Furthermore, a new advertising campaign for women has been created and presented in the report.
Pest Analysis
All of them are interconnected and should be considered in complex. For instance, the enforcement of new laws related to CO2 emission, which is a political factor, is going to affect the technological aspect such as sooner implementation of new ”green” technologies (VCA, no date). For Jaguar, it means that they should focus on quicker adding models with eco and hybrid-engines. The company has plans to present new hybrid models but there is no specific time frame at the moment.
On the other hand, the possibility of the UK to stop its EU membership can have a big effect on the company’s strategy and business plans (BBC NEWS, 2015). The reason is, that the political change will significantly strengthen the GBP. It will mean that attractiveness of Jaguar models can be under pressure comparing to its competitors. Moreover, in this case European brands such as Mercedes, Porsche can be in the position of advantage because of the weaker Euro currency.
There are some social shifts as well. For example, the ageing population of EU and alternative schemes of car ownerships (such as car by request, rental services expansion) mean that people are buying fewer cars (RAC Foundation, 2012). The impact is not so critical for Jaguar, as these cars are symbols of status and not just a way of transportation. It means that core key customers would still buy a car rather than use short rent services, which are usually concentrated in the economy niche.
However, Jaguar should find new ways of sales stimulation regarding the ageing population issue. As a plan to compensate for this drop, Jaguar is interested in younger audience, which means they should use the newest communication channels, such as social networks and online media, etc. Jaguar has done it by distributing new ad campaigns in the Internet along with shifting advertising focus to innovations and technologies. Both are the right ways to attract younger people.
In these terms, technological demands of younger people should be really heard by Jaguar engineers and managers. As the iPhone did a revolution in the mobile industry, it’s expected that driver-free technologies (and drive assistant, car communication systems) will reshape the car industry and create new challenges for conservative brands. Currently Apple has an interest to buy Tesla Cars to get full freedom to integrate their own iOS platform into the most successful eco-friendly car brand (Condron, 2015). The combination of the two technologies is able to become a significant value among the premium customers interested in innovations.
Jaguar should keep track on what’s going in the latest technologies in terms of any possible requirement of a quick strategy update. As a suggestion they need to have closer collaboration with mobile and software leading development companies to make sure they are integrating the latest solutions.
While innovation companies are trying to change the car industry, Jaguar has confident sales growth and markets expansion. They successfully predicted the trend of luxury SUVs by launching a new model in 2016 (Ingrham, 2015). Bentley, Rolls Royce also create their own SUV models, so it means competitors really see market expectations. It’s obvious already that premium SUVs are going to take a significant share of market.
This launch is a very positive turn in terms of market shares diversification. SUV models are really popular in the USA and Middle-East countries, which suffer less pressure of oil-prices drop comparing to Russia, for instance. At the same time, the Middle East market has its own specific features which should be reflected in SUV Marketing Campaign. It can be difficult to have Global Campaign and still be successfully implemented in these specific markets.
To understand better and to assess the automobile industry context in which Jaguar company operates it’s necessary to pay attention to the Porter’s 5 Forces analysis too.
Porter 5 forces
Suppliers’ bargaining power: low
Generally, suppliers’ bargaining power in a car industry is low because there are many suppliers in the market and they are often of a small and medium size while car manufactures are much larger and globalised and can choose their suppliers from various options. Jaguar is not an exception from this tendency; it has a wide choice of suppliers according to its quality standards and can negotiate the profitable conditions for itself. About one third of components for Jaguar are coming from British firms (Mullen 2014) and several examples of suppliers are Rosti McKechnie Ltd. (Yorkshire), Automotive Insulations Ltd (Rugby) and The Sertec Group (Birmingham) (The official Media Centre for Jaguar Land Rover 2015).
Customers’ bargaining power: medium
Jaguar customers have substantial power because of the great variety of luxury brands to choose from. Customers can choose a car that will fit best into their preferences, status and lifestyle among many options. Therefore Jaguar should constantly meet high expectations of the customers and bring new innovations to be distinct from its competitors. On the other hand, brand loyalty is also important and Jaguar has its target group of customers who probably will not be interested in purchasing BMW or Mercedes. Therefore customers’ bargaining power is medium and not high in this case.
Threat of substitutes: high
Jaguar cars can be seen from two main perspectives: as a means of transportation and a status symbol. For both cases there can be different substitutes. In the luxury car market customers can switch their attention to Porsche, BMW or Mercedes which are Jaguar’s main competitors (Hoovers, no date). If considering Jaguar just a means of transportation, in the non-luxury segment such brands as Ford, Fiat or Volkswagen or even any other means of transport, even motorbikes or motorcycles, can be considered as an alternative. Therefore Jaguar pays constant attention to innovations, quality, design and advertising campaigns to preserve their target customers and to prove their uniqueness in the luxury cars market.
Threat of new entrants: low
There are significant barriers to enter the luxury car market such as huge investments required, loyalty of the customers to the particular brand (Jaguar in our case), high competition in the industry and environmental regulations. For instance, Jaguar Land Rover company is going to invest about £1bn in the new factory in Slovakia which will start operating in 2018 (Tovey, 2015).
This is just an example of the amount of investment to be made by Jaguar and it’s very difficult for new entrants to find funds to pay high initial costs. Moreover, Jaguar dates back to 1922 (Jaguar Land Rover, no date) and has a very good reputation and the new entrants wouldn’t have such a strong advantage.
Rivalry: high
The competition in the premium market is extremely high. To be distinct from its competitors Jaguar is constantly working on its design, performance and technology and is a world leader in the area of aluminium body construction (Jaguar Land Rover, no date). Besides, Jaguar aims at creating a car that is the closest thing to something alive, as alive and intuitive as a jaguar itself, the symbol of the brand.
Brand Pyramid
Features and Attributes
Features and attributes are the lists of plenty small and characteristic features that the brand and its products are created of. This stage shows the fundamentals of brand essence and gives the idea where the differences between competitors start (Business Strategy, no date).
Jaguar has engineered their models to create an outstanding car for their customers with 3 basic features (Jaguar Land Rover, 2014):
Luxury – Elegant, classy and comfortable are Jaguar’s quintessence
Sport – Agile and Powerful. Jaguar’s cars are designed for high-performance innovative shape.
Design – Innovative and distinctive. Jaguar doesn’t give you a car. It gives you a lifestyle.
Functional benefits
demonstrate the main practical usage of the product and what kind of needs it satisfies (Noesis Marketing, 2011). Engine, sound, beauty and comfort. Jaguar seduces customers with the opportunity to explore unforgettable driving experience and the feel power. Additionally, they pay a lot of attention to create inventions and new technological solutions, which makes Jaguar always one step ahead from competitors.
Emotional benefits
is the first stage that is related to our feelings and spirit preferences. Brand Associations distinguish product and companies into groups and make emotional connections with people and their personalities (Business Strategy, no date). Jaguar is different, Jaguar swims against the tide, Jaguar breaks the rules and proves that being bad is good. Animal instinct and wildness give opportunity or even make their customers excite senses and make them ready for any challenge.
Brand persona
is someone to whom the consumers can compare themselves to. The image of a person and their features, who uses a particular product (Business Strategy, no date). Let’s think about Jaguar as a person. What are they like, what do they look like, what do they do? Let’s imagine David. He is self confident, elegant and full of passion for life. Moving forward, taking risks and winning. He doesn’t regret anything, he just takes what he needs, because he must be the best and he knows how to do it.
The brand idea
is an overview of the brand in a few words, that’s gives a core meaning of the brand. Summarising all stages, it is finally possible to discover the pure brand essence of Jaguar (Business Strategy, no date). Jaguar is a forefront of the premium automotive industry. Its DNA is all about performance and chic, thus the brand idea is named Art of Performance.
Marketing Mix
Product
The Product is defined with the function and features offered by a good or service. Also factors such as design, branding and quality are covered by the product (Business Case Studies, no date). Jaguar produces a range of premium vehicles, that are synonymous with high performance, innovation, quality and in-depth design. The product portfolio encompasses the XJ saloons, the F-TYPE Coupé and convertible two-seater sport cars, the XF Sportbrake and XF and the new XE sports saloon (Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC, 2015).
Across this portfolio the DNA of Jaguar is instantly recognisable and is reflected through all of the cars – sleek and seductive; powerful and agile; instinctive and confident (Jaguar, 2015). But the product range not only embodies these brand values, but also includes significant improvements and changes to increase performance of the product, economy and refinement (Superbrands annual, 2012).
Place
The Element Place of the Marketing Mix covers the availability of the product to the customer in the most suitable way (Business Case Studies, no date). Jaguar is a global company with an intensive distribution and sales network around the United Kingdom and most countries around the world (UK Essays, no date). Over 80 Percent of the Jaguar vehicles are manufactured at Castle Bromwich and are exported to 101 markets all over the world including Europe, China and the USA (Jaguar, 2015). Other manufacturing plants are located in China, India and Brazil.
The Company is committed to the United Kingdom regarding the product development, design and manufacturing facilities. Jaguar vehicles are sold in 170 countries supported by a global network of over 2.640 franchised dealers and 19 national sales companies (Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC, 2015).
Price
There are different pricing strategies such as market penetration, competitive or strategic pricing, that a company can choose to position its products. Jaguar vehicles are established in the premium price segment and are positioned through a strategic pricing strategy. Through this strategy it is possible to make an exclusive product or brand more desirable and valuable for customers and generate demand (Business Case Studies, no date).
The car prices for a Jaguar start from 53,375$ up to more then 100,000$ (Truecar, 2015).
Promotion
The intention of promotion is to generate awareness, a desire and an interest in consumers to buy the product. Promotion can also be useful to change or create a brand image and to preserve the market share of the brand (Business Case Studies, no date).
Since 2011 Jaguar have established their own in- house creative agency, called Spark 44, to initiate a new and creative strategy for all of the brand communications. Because of the dynamic and prestigious nature of Jaguar cars, experiential activities build up the cornerstone of Jaguars promotion strategy. Therefore Jaguar hosts hundreds of events every year such as track experiences or the Goodwood Festival of Speed, to encourage people to take a look behind the wheel of Jaguar. Based on the fact that Jaguar stands for Performance, the brand is highly involved in sport industry. They are an official vehicle provider for the Lawn Tennis Association, The England Cricket Team and also Team Sky. Furthermore they support a selection of other clubs, charitable causes and venues. “The Jaguar Academy of Sport, in particular, demonstrates its long term commitment to recognising, celebrating and inspiring the next generation of British sporting heroes” (Superbrands annual, 2012).
For their communications, Jaguar uses different channels such as print, billboard, video and social media. Their recent TV-Spots, billboards and print advertisements were characterised by the typical ’’Bond style’’ performance: attractive men and the car were standing in focus. Now they are addressing more the technological aspect with campaigns such as “British Intelligence”.
For the entry into the Chinese market, Jaguar introduced David Beckham as the Brand ambassador who will be presented in above the line campaigns. (Jaguar news, 2015).
Brand Communication in Different Market
The main colors, which are red, black, white and metallic and also the logo, can be found in all of its global branding, advertisements and websites. The magnificence and sleekness, the brand is characterised for, are consistent from well established markets for example United Kingdom and United States to developing markets like Brazil, Russia and India.
Online and Offline media channels of the company feature the luxury and performance of the car as well as the technical excellence. Through the main Jaguar website customers are able to access each country local website. In addition to that, the design of the web-sites is identical and there is a company logo on the top, model selection menu and branding image.
There are some local differences within the websites such as pre-owned or used car options, but every website still suits the global brand guidelines. This is an efficient way to establish a unique brand positioning for the Jaguar cars in every country.
Jaguar usually has global advertising campaigns because its vehicles all have the same target customers worldwide – who are looking for luxury cars and sharp driving experience. However there are some peculiarities in different markets (Zaretsky, 2004).
Brand Communication in United State
In the U.S. market, car producers pay strong attention to spacious and reliable cars to accommodate large families and provide their customers with high performance under rough conditions. In the United States Jaguar is driven by the customers passion for sports cars, featuring the appearance in several James Bond movies and different races, where the company took part. At the same time the company created two local U.S. campaigns.
The XF campaign ‘’Not Business as Usual’’ which is a television spot and ‘’Rare and Meant to Be’’ which is an XJ online campaign (Jaguar news, 2015). Both campaigns feature the enhanced interior, performance and design.
Brand Communication in Asia
Compared to the other markets, the consumers of the Asian market have more demand for technology and innovations such as electronic driving assistance features, navigating systems, multimedia and mobile options. Based on that, the advertisement in Asian markets highlight these aspects through campaigns such as ‘’British intelligence’’.
Despite of technological aspects, Jaguar constantly focuses on superior and luxurious driving experience. To support this image, the company select brand ambassadors which reflect the brand as a person. In China, for example, Jaguar introduced David Beckham as a brand ambassador. At the same time, Jaguar organises product launches in collaboration with local artists: for example in Singapore violinist Min Lee and filmmaker Eric Khoo took place (Ebeling, 2014).
Conclusion
To conclude, Jaguar has a strong brand positioning and good potential for their global market expansion. The Company has stable sales growth, will introduce new models, for example the SUV in 2016 and will have new upcoming advertising campaigns to keep loyal customers and also attract a new target audiences.
Regarding the brand communication, Jaguar focuses on seducing their customers with luxury style, powerful engines and animal instinct to built strong connections with them. As a brand it is targeted to self-confident, brave and wild people and provides them with their pure essence which is “Art of performance”. In addition to that, Jaguar offers wide range of premium vehicles that increased during past years to meet individual expectations of their current and new customers.
The company competes worldwide by intelligent marketing campaigns with a British character in collaboration with British celebrities and actors. At the same time, Jaguars strong global vision forced the company to take in consideration peculiarities of different nationalities and adopt each campaign to consumers behaviour in local markets by using various ways of communication.
However, Jaguar has to pay attention to various factors in terms of industry and market changes such as the perspective that the UK may leave the EU and to the fact that the economy of their main overseas markets are is stable currently.
On the other hand, customers are becoming more demanding in terms of automobile technologies and innovations. It’s very important for the company to have closer partnerships with software and mobile leading development companies to make sure that the latest solutions are integrated.
Based on the fact that previous marketing campaigns were mostly addressed to male drivers, Jaguar should keep in mind the female target group as well and find some new ways of communication to it.
Moreover, Jaguar should also consider to launch the production of motorbikes, because their wild brand image suits motorbike’s lifestyle perfectly. It is recommended to focus on sport/touristic bikes market with luxury design and high performance.
