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Lincoln's New Tagline: Smarter than Luxury


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Not sure I have much feeling for the new slogan, but I can see they are gearing attention toward the interior cabin technology. They have used the "Smart" theme with the recent Ford Edge ads. I suppose everybody is jumping on the "Smart Phone" consciousness running in the marketing circles lately. In any case, marketing is more than a slogan so it's up to them to color the image for us with clever ads and campaigns.

 

I liked "Reach Higher", but hated "American Luxury" because it plays on Lincoln's negative brand equity too strongly.

 

I'm growing very doubtful that Lincoln is going to survive this last ditched effort to prop up the brand. It's not ambitious enough and the leadership doesn't have me convinced they know what they are doing. Ford just doesn't have the money or resources and with colossal missteps like the MKT, they need to do something pretty dramatic to fix what's going on over there and stop wasting money on bad ideas. Attitudes have shifted so strongly against Lincoln it's hard to imagine brand conscious customers ever looking at Lincoln again. My prediction is that Lincoln ceases to exist in 4-5 years.

 

Does Ford need Lincoln? Probably not, and I'm sure that's why they aren't committed to Cadillac-level investment.

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Yeah, taking a just-barely-above-mainstream brand to full on luxury status is infinitely easier than bringing a previously-full-and-still-near-luxury brand upmarket just a bit more.

 

Consider this.

If Ford had no luxury brand and was starting from the ground up and the name for this new brand came down to either...

Mercury or Lincoln.

 

Which one would sound old like...well...1861.

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I'm growing very doubtful that Lincoln is going to survive this last ditched effort to prop up the brand. It's not ambitious enough and the leadership doesn't have me convinced they know what they are doing.

 

Where did you score a copy of Lincoln's strategic planning? The only bits I've seen have to do with global expansion, the new MKX, a new C-segment car that we haven't seen, and an MCE'd MKS.

 

If you listen to Wescoent, the MKS, MKZ, MKT, and Navigator are all profitable now. Ford is looking to elevate the brand further, but they're not in a do-or-die situation.

 

I'd say worst case scenario, should their new plan fail, would put Lincoln back to where it is today: Sharing greenhouses with Fords, and getting new front & rear clips and interiors.

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I'm growing very doubtful that Lincoln is going to survive this last ditched effort to prop up the brand. It's not ambitious enough and the leadership doesn't have me convinced they know what they are doing. Ford just doesn't have the money or resources and with colossal missteps like the MKT, they need to do something pretty dramatic to fix what's going on over there and stop wasting money on bad ideas.

 

You mean the plan that you know NOTHING about yet? The one that just started? Why do people continue to look at what Lincoln is now when it's been made abundantly clear that this is not where Lincoln is heading and that they've just started the rebuilding process.

 

Would anyone expect a first year expansion football team to make the playoffs? Of course not. This is no different.

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Didn't see anyone else post but there are links for the new ads on a website called "AutoAdOpolis.com"

Here's the link:

LINK - Wordpress

 

You can watch the 3 ads there (have to Download, I did and nothing blew up so far). They're great. Very, very impressed.

 

I'd save them, too, if I were you. It doesn't look like they were supposed to be released yet (still have slate and countdowns on them).

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Where did you score a copy of Lincoln's strategic planning? The only bits I've seen have to do with global expansion, the new MKX, a new C-segment car that we haven't seen, and an MCE'd MKS.

 

If you listen to Wescoent, the MKS, MKZ, MKT, and Navigator are all profitable now. Ford is looking to elevate the brand further, but they're not in a do-or-die situation.

 

I'd say worst case scenario, should their new plan fail, would put Lincoln back to where it is today: Sharing greenhouses with Fords, and getting new front & rear clips and interiors.

 

Lincoln is making a version of the Ford Focus, that tells me something right there, and it's not good.

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Ford announced it when they killed Mercury. The Mercury version of the Focus is instead going to Lincoln, although they may screw on a different top hat.

C-Segment vehicle

C-Segment vehicle

C-Segment vehicle

 

It may be a Concept C interpretation, but I'll lay $20 down saying that it won't be at all recognizable as Focus based. By your definition, the MKS is "just" a Taurus variant, the MKZ is "just" a Fusion variant, and the MKX is "just" an Edge variant.

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C-Segment vehicle

C-Segment vehicle

C-Segment vehicle

 

It may be a Concept C interpretation, but I'll lay $20 down saying that it won't be at all recognizable as Focus based. By your definition, the MKS is "just" a Taurus variant, the MKZ is "just" a Fusion variant, and the MKX is "just" an Edge variant.

 

No no, it's a Ford Focus, same hard points and all, it's a Lincoln Focus.

 

Lincoln can try it, Buick is the first with the Excelle so go right ahead! But I think it's a bad idea.

 

We will never see the MKC come to production, it's already too old.

 

Lincoln needs a version of the Escape more than anything now that Mercury is going...I'm very disappointed we haven't heard about that but we know about the Lincoln Focus.

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Here's the link:

LINK - Wordpress

 

You can watch the 3 ads there (have to Download, I did and nothing blew up so far). They're great. Very, very impressed.

 

I'd save them, too, if I were you. It doesn't look like they were supposed to be released yet (still have slate and countdowns on them).

 

I hate to be "that guy" and quote myself, but I didn't want this link lost in BORG and I's argument over what form the Lincoln C-segment entry will take.

 

You can download and watch the ads at that link, which is, you know, what we're discussing here.

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Individual vehicle taglines perhaps?

Town Car: Not Really any Smarter Than Crown Victoria

 

 

LOL, that's funny

 

So they are getting a grey haired actor to make the car appealing to non-grey (or blue hair) set? LOL

 

 

I thought that ironic as well, but I think he'll do well for the brand.

 

No no, it's a Ford Focus, same hard points and all, it's a Lincoln Focus.

 

Lincoln can try it, Buick is the first with the Excelle so go right ahead! But I think it's a bad idea.

 

We will never see the MKC come to production, it's already too old.

 

Lincoln needs a version of the Escape more than anything now that Mercury is going...I'm very disappointed we haven't heard about that but we know about the Lincoln Focus.

 

So you've seen this new Lincoln c-segment vehicle? [NOTE: everything I've seen has said c-segment vehicle, NOT c-segment sedan]

 

Tada, here's your Lincoln 'Escape:'

 

MKG-5.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

------

 

As for the tagline, I think by itself, it doesn't sound like much, but when put in the ads like the 3 we've seen, I think it works.

Edited by rmc523
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When the Ford "Drive One" tagline came out, everyone thought it was ridiculous.................. as they had no way to put it in context.

 

"Smarter than Luxury" doesn't seem very good either, when you just look at the words alone. When you look at them, in the context of the ads, it makes perfect sense.

 

Ford has more tech in their vehicles, and Lincolns especially, than almost any Luxury maker on the market. To showcase that, is very smart.

 

Great ads, btw. Wescoents double does a good job.

 

BTW, he is not very old (in his 40's, I believe), just rematurely grey.

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Says who?

 

I think that doing a C segment vehicle and marketing it as a luxury vehicle will be quite a challenge, but to be fair, let's wait and see it and then critique it. Hopefully it will be shown during this auto show season and we can get a better idea if it's just a Ford clone or really a unique luxury vehicle. I just hope Ford tones down the split wing grill and that the MKT front end look is not the new signature look. The MKX is ok in front, but the MKT went too far. And if Ford does some varation of the concept MKC with the new 2.7L V6 motor, maybe Ford can pull off a unique C segment luxury vehicle. However, no 4 cylinder engine in a LIncoln unless it's EB only please.

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