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Lincoln winning the battle against Cadillac


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24 minutes ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

Production limited to 120

OK, so I was off by a few.

13 minutes ago, mackinaw said:

The success is all of the positive buzz the suicide doors have brought to the Continental.  

True, but if it doesn't help them sell more than 120 more, it doesn't matter.  I don't have any stats to back it up, but I'm guessing that buzz didn't increase the Continental sales drastically.

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41 minutes ago, fordmantpw said:

What'd they sell, 80?  I wouldn't necessarily call that a success...

Depends how you define success...if by sheer volume then no,  but in this instance, it was always about creating a buzz and stirring the emotions of the public who fondly love and admire the 1960’s Continentals. It also signals that Lincoln is willing to be daring and unexpected which again goes a long way in the eye of the press/public. It’s all about building the brand, step by step, in ways unique and applicable to them. 

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10 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

Production limited to 120

No. Production limited to 80. 80 Anniversary Coach Doors Edition...

 

And it is a great succes. Every single auto magazine is talking about it. Is a big marketing campaing for Lincoln.

Edited by falconlover 1
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4 minutes ago, akirby said:

It’s a big marketing campaign but I don’t see how it’s going to help Lincoln sales.

As a brand awareness exercise, which is all this was, it's been about as successful as one could want. 

It was a gamble - and I'll admit I thought it was ripe for ridicule by the automotive media when announced. The whole campaign was well-executed and it's getting great play outside of auto-specific outlets. Many regular people have been reminded that Lincoln is still around building American luxury cars, and that is something that hasn't been consistently obvious recently. 

 

Knowing how conservatively Ford plays their marketing risks (for every initiative outside of F-Series, at least), I applaud them for making this work. I'd wager that the launching of this super low volume product (built by a 3rd party!) priced out similarly to the ground-up creation of a nationwide mixed-media campaign... and they made the right choice. The got many favorable shakes along the way, but you can't buy the type of exposure this has gotten them. 

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42 minutes ago, akirby said:

It’s a big marketing campaign but I don’t see how it’s going to help Lincoln sales.

My point exactly! Would it have been more beneficial to Lincoln sales to spend it on advertising the new Aviator when it's released?  Or the Corsair?  I don't know, but I would venture it would be.

"Hey, you remember seeing that about the suicide-door Continental?  We don't want a car at all, but let's go check out Lincoln to see if they have any SUVs" said 10 people.

Maybe I'm wrong, and I hope I am.

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Let's remember, success is measured in different ways, not just digit sales. In the case of the Continental, if they were looking for media attention, ohhh and ahhhh's they probably got it.  According to one article I read, it's a $40K premium, I'm sure the conversion doesn't cost even a 4th of that, but imagine how much profit there might be on that limited amount.

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2 hours ago, akirby said:

It’s a big marketing campaign but I don’t see how it’s going to help Lincoln sales.

I look at it as a "feather in the cap" sort of thing.  It wasn't a big expense, and while it may not truly get someone to race down to their local Lincoln dealer (aside from those that did to purchase one), it did grab attention for the brand, and sometimes you have to just keep yourself in the news/remind people you're around still.  Why does Coke advertise?  Everyone knows what it is, knows it's there, yet they still advertise - to keep them in your mind, remind you that you want a coke.  This is just another prong (feather in Lincoln's cap) to reminding people that Lincoln is around/back and making cars worth checking out.  So maybe it alone doesn't get someone to go to the dealer, but maybe someone hears about it, looks it up, then makes their way to the website and starts looking at what else Lincoln has to offer and then goes to the dealer.

 

I'm with PD - I fully expected the media to trash it saying "oh look they just tacked on some rear hinged doors on the FWD model blah blah blah", but it got unexpectedly good press.

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2 hours ago, akirby said:

It’s a big marketing campaign but I don’t see how it’s going to help Lincoln sales.

It reminds people that Lincoln exists.

Cadillac and Lincoln face different challenges. Cadillac has to overcome almost three decades of marketing misfires (Cimarron, too-small DeVilles and Eldorados of the 1980s, Catera) and disastrous powertrains, starting with the variable displacement V-8 of 1981 on through the NorthStar.

Lincoln has to remind people that it still is around. If you ask people about Lincoln, they either remember the Town Car, or say "He was the President during the Civil War."

The Town Car is still respected for its durability, but few people pine for the car that took them from the first-class hotel to the airport.

Edited by grbeck
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24 minutes ago, akirby said:

I hear you guys but I think it reminds them for 5 minutes and then they forget it ever existed.

 

It doesn’t hurt and it probably was inexpensive but I’m not going to get excited about it.

^^^ This.

And the people it excited aren't likely the folks that Lincoln NEEDS to get excited about Lincoln.

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25 minutes ago, akirby said:

I hear you guys but I think it reminds them for 5 minutes and then they forget it ever existed.

 

It doesn’t hurt and it probably was inexpensive but I’m not going to get excited about it.

If they do nothing to sustain this momentum, you're exactly right. However, as a step 1 to a larger awareness effort, it's about as well executed as you could want. 

With the products finally living up to the marketing, I have high hopes. 

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36 minutes ago, PREMiERdrum said:

If they do nothing to sustain this momentum, you're exactly right. However, as a step 1 to a larger awareness effort, it's about as well executed as you could want. 

With the products finally living up to the marketing, I have high hopes. 

I'd like to see a BIG advertising push with Aviator.  And I wouldn't mind seeing a different style to the McConoughey ads, if they use him for Aviator at all.  More product focused, less on him.

It'd have been cool to see an Aviator SuperBowl ad, but it'd be a 2013 MKZ situation where the dealers don't have it to sell yet.

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Oh here's one ad idea:

 

A closeup of Matthew in aviator sunglasses pushing the voice steering wheel button asking for clearance for takeoff, a view of the sky/clouds out the window.  He gets approval, switches to full GT excite mode, showing the digital gauge graphic (whatever the sport mode is called), then commences "takeoff....you see the clouds start flying by (maybe even a shot of the digital gauges/speedometer with the speed shooting up quickly), then it starts to pan out from him as he's driving along, it rotates to show the dash, and then "slides" backward through the car, showing the second row, then the third row (still seeing the clouds/sky through the big sunroof), then goes out of the car showing it pull away very quickly before panning up and to the side (so you get a upper rear 3/4 view), showing the Aviator GT on an airport runway flying down the runway, then have him do the voiceover talking about 450hp and 600lb-ft hybrid in the all new Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring.

For that matter if you want to be cheesy, when he asks for permission for takeoff, have him say "450-hp and 600 lb-ft ready for takeoff"

Ad# 2

Matthew is driving along, all you see is clouds/sky behind him, gliding along (can't really see the interior).  Then it changes to a view looking up at him from outside the window, you see the clouds/sky moving through the moonroof, while he looks down out the window (as if looking down at things on the ground from an airplane), then it slowly pans out, showing the Aviator (front 3/4 view) gliding along on a bridge, with him looking down below the bridge into the water, then the camera stops and turns to follow as Aviator drives off into the distance *cue voiceover highlighting whatever features you want*

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3 hours ago, fordmantpw said:

^^^ This.

And the people it excited aren't likely the folks that Lincoln NEEDS to get excited about Lincoln.

Chinese? Old people? Owners of limousine companies? They're all excited about this Continental!

Edited by rperez817
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41 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

Chinese? Old people? Owners of limousine companies? They're all excited about this Continental!

Actual customers that are going to plunk down their hard-earned money on a new Lincoln (excluding those who purchased the 80 'coach door' version, many of whom I'm sure did it as an investment in hopes it increases in value).

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11 hours ago, rperez817 said:

Chinese? Old people? Owners of limousine companies? They're all excited about this Continental!

Chineses and Old people actually buy cars and that is the Lincoln business: sell cars. Why do you despise certain buyers? Only white, American and young buyers are valid buyers? You are very wrong. Thank God you have nothing to do with the direction of Lincoln. There is Cadillac, trying to win over younger buyers who like European sports brands, with a disastrous result. Lincoln's approach is the right one. The "quiet luxury" is its market.

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