Sam Naylor

Former road tester, now freelance writer and researcher.

My photos here and below:

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

Today is my last day at Auto Express because I've been made redundant, along with many of my colleagues. I'm looking for work so if you need a driver, writer or anything else send me a DM for my email address.

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@MttRbnsn More excited to hear that there's a genuinely crap car that's come out this year than hearing there's a new McLaren or Ferrari gigahyperdupercar

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@LobAllan I hope it works. But I can't help but agree with this: https://t.co/fWAkp9tNEa

[Lulu Cheng Meservey @lulumeservey]

Taste aside — from a purely strategic perspective, this brand marketing is disastrous for Jaguar.

For context, Jaguar sales have been plummeting (down 70% in the US in five years). It’s a crisis. Their #1 strategic imperative for comms and marketing should be to sell cars. So let’s analyze it through that lens.

Up to 2018, Jaguar was actually growing quickly, doubling sales in a few years. Their subsequent decline was caused by two main things:

1) LAGGING INNOVATION AND ENGINEERING

Jaguar went five (!) years without releasing a new production model, and their technology felt outdated.

2) UNCLEAR POSITIONING

Jaguar got stuck between lanes. They used to be associated with classic sophistication and luxury, competing effectively with Bentley and Aston Martin in a rarefied space.

But then they shifted down to premium, competing with the likes of BMW and Mercedes in a more crowded market. Jaguar SUV sales are cannibalized by their own sister brand (Range Rover).

Now they’re not upscale enough to compete in the luxury market, and not cutting edge enough to compete in the premium market.

DOUBLING DOWN

Even at a basic level, we know that any Jaguar rebrand should (1) highlight innovation, and engineering, and (2) pick a clear lane for branding.

Here they’ve done the opposite.

This campaign is about “collaborating with a collective of original creators across the arts,” according to Jaguar’s website, which has been taken over by the rebrand.

That message is roughly the opposite of what Jaguar should be saying, which is some version of “our cars are engineered to the gills and go very very fast.” Art school grads simply aren’t associated with elite engineering ability, I’m sorry.

It’s possible a marketing exec read too many think pieces about how millennials shop based on values and forgot that people want cars that are really well built.

On top of that, instead of choosing a clear lane, Jaguar’s brand has meandered further into no man’s land. Literally — this is NOT for men. While men have been an important audience for Jaguar historically (it’s a favored ride for James Bond and Bruce Wayne), the latest campaign features six women and two people of indistinguishable gender (one appears to be a man but I don’t want to assume).

If they’re going to abandon the male audience, they should replace it with a more lucrative audience, and it’s unclear who they’re going for here. Vegans?

So the same way Jaguar lost the ultra luxury segment without winning the premium segment, with this campaign they’re losing the “classic sophistication” audience without winning the “Just Stop Oil” audience. It’s risky to be an orphan brand.

MISSED ZEITGEIST

Lastly, Jaguar simply failed to read the room. We are in an era of NOSTALGIA. People want to RETVRN. Tradition, heritage, and classics are more in demand than they’ve been for a long time.

Jaguar was perfectly positioned. Jaguar’s iconic image of an old school British gentleman — think Sir Roger Moore, a known devotee of the brand — would have been a massive asset in today’s environment. Why not a retro themed campaign contrasting state of the art technology with a 70s aesthetic?

TIME FOR A TURNAROUND

This is like when movies used to come out in other countries a year after they were done showing in Hollywood. The vibe of this rebrand might have worked in 2021, but to drop this in late 2024 only emphasizes the reasons for Jaguar’s brand decline in the first place: it’s outdated and confusing.

Apparently Jaguar is planning a broader brand reset for 2025. From early indications, that reset is misguided and likely to fail. Jaguar is a luxury product so their brand can make or break sales, and in this case, they’ll need a U-turn to get back on track.

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@LobAllan I do wonder who is the market though. Gold colours and the other branding stuff screams China and Middle East to me but the diverse/inclusive ad messaging is completely at odds with those cultures. If they're aiming at younger customers in the West... aren't they lacking cash?

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@ajpbradley More than a decade ago they tried to write off my Alfa GTV for these two scratches. Fixed for £200 in the end after a year of arguing with them about it. The car sold afterwards for about £5k.

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@CarGeordie @Carpervert Manufacturer could never offer a warranty on it either. And then what's the point of buying a new car - just get a normal one and have the conversion done

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@denialvibes @TimPollardCars Always annoys me when characters look away from the road for like 10s or more. You just don't see that when really driving, even from really bad drivers!

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@LobAllan One of the tiny number of cars that made the old London commute bearable and possibly even enjoyable

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@AntonyWrites @evomagazine That Accord Type R has to be one of the hardest-working heritage fleet cars in the UK, along with BMW's E39 M5 😀

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@LobAllan I owned one for one week. On the first drive after collecting, it became clear the engine needed a rebuild (really).

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@LobAllan And I was thinking 34.5mpg from my Subaru was pretty good. Rear wheel looks like it has insane camber in that pic!

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@NotPoshPete @AntonyWrites Hope you have a great trip! 😀

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@NotPoshPete @AntonyWrites If you have time, you should visit Sayama Hills (also called Totoro's Forest) - easy to get to from Tokyo but has a rural feel. It's a beautiful area (my pic from 2019). https://t.co/UEiOWzZ1YN

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@LobAllan @TheRAC_UK Congrats! I guess you bought a car so fantastically unreliable that a job at a breakdown cover place was your only option.

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@AntonyWrites @theseoldcars Yeah it used to be such a common noise/smell. Realise how awful it is once it's gone. Same thing will happen with petrol-powered gardening equipment soon.

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

Clean MOT yesterday, but last night I had an anxiety dream that it failed because of huge rust issues for some reason, so I was planning on importing a clean body from Japan to transfer parts to. Relived I don't have to bother with that tbh.

[Sam Naylor @SamNaylor_]

@LobAllan They were testing ancient cars back then too - I believe it was more like scientific research than new car testing. I imagine in that case the sensitive equipment has been unbolted and the frame is left!