That was the point wasn’t it?
For folks not to know it was a LR as they left a pretty bad taste when they just left the US market without any support to Series owners.
Folks thought it was a different brand down to the dealership level.
The point was to sell Range Rovers. That was a mistake.
In marketing, what you're trying to sell is the overarching brand identity; applicable to all products and services, and valued exclusive of their presence.
This is probably the best international
advertisement for their brand that ever hit the air:
Others were made in the series, but this is the only one I can find. They should have featured at least one more everyday scene, but the concept is workable. The big screw-up is the voice-over at the end. It should have been a static title card with text for each region. Aside from that, the ad featuring only the Range Rover's pedals is up there near the top.
They can advertise all they want, though... If it's not well-run, if it's not consistent, if they don't brand everything visibly as a Land Rover and drive that point home from the magazine to the owner's manual to the dealership bathroom, it's a failure. If the hood badges don't all say the same thing, it's a failure. People aren't bright enough to pull that into a cohesive image in their brains.
Lincoln is nailing it with Matthew Mc... Mconogh... Matt. If you want an example of how to build a brand, just look at Lincoln right now. They're fucking killing it. Glock, Porsche, Apple, Audi... They all have very specific images that are their own, and yet extremely similar. It doesn't matter what's under the body of a Lamborghini... All that matters is the body and the badge.
That's marketing.
My point is, the suggestion that this Defender farce is some manner of brilliant marketing is just silly. Even if it was on purpose, it's yet another wrong move in a history of wrong moves. They should have revealed it earlier. If they think they're going to generate hype this late in the game, they've got another thing coming.
It had better be a body on frame, solid axle behemoth with optional tracks and ninjas in the glove box that's capable of driving up Everest if they want people excited and pinching pennies again. They'll need to thumb their noses at trend-setters with a big, fat V8 or diesel to generate some controversy.
They missed the big wave, and when you miss that wave, you've got to make one yourself. They are incapable of doing that.
Cheers,
Kennith