‘The most controversial rebrand of the year’: Understanding the tightrope that legacy brands like Jaguar walk during a rebrand

The initial spot Jaguar rolled out with its rebrand — which appears to have been created in-house and includes a logo change that ditches the car brand’s iconic jaguar and swaps out its font — doesn’t even feature a car at all. The company has since teased what one of its new electric cars will look like on X ahead of its planned appearance at Miami Art Week on Dec. 2, an appearance that “will include the physical manifestation of its Exuberant Modernism creative philosophy, in a Design Vision Concept,” according to a wordy company press release. Jaguar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The response to the British automaker’s rebrand so far makes clear the paradox that legacy brands face: How do you modernize a legacy brand without losing the allure of its past? How do you tap into the cultural zeitgeist and maintain such a brand? It’s a delicate balance, and it’s one that brand managers are surely paying closer attention to now — in an increasingly polarized cultural marketplace where boycotts can move markets and become all too common, marketers have to be on guard.

But legacy brands still have to maintain that balance while ensuring their brands aren’t boring, because no one wants to be seen as the out-of-touch old brand, explained Douglas Brundage, founder and CEO of brand studio Kingsland. Brundage said he previously worked on rebrands where the remit was that “a brand felt dusty and they wanted to be cool” so they “lean into an aesthetic that made no sense.” That seems to be akin to what Jaguar is doing as the company seems to have “thrown out its brand codes” to appeal to artists, he explained.

Michael Miraflor, marketing and venture consultant at Third City Advisory, echoed that sentiment. “The tone and overall creative disposition of the video seems to be at odds with the current state of culture, and out of character for a brand with such an established identity, brand codes and distinctive brand assets,” he wrote in an email, adding that Jaguar’s is “the most controversial rebrand of the year.”

Part of the problem for legacy marketers looking to do a rebrand is not only finding an approach that appeals to established fans while also drawing in new ones, but it’s to do so in a way that stands out in the right way. That right way is a moving target, as the cultural zeitgeist is always shifting. One moment a brand may find an approach that makes sense, but by the time the rebrand is rolled out, the cultural mood has shifted.

“Branding is probably the hardest area to sort of do proper due diligence,” said Jack Maycock, associate director at social impact agency Shape History, adding that marketers can likely find data to back up positioning and indicate whether their campaign ideas could help them modernize their brands with the approach they’re using. “But it’s impossible to find data that says how that will happen or what this will make [people] think about that brand.”

Marketers’ tendency to approach generations as a monolith doesn’t help either. As marketers try to appeal to younger generations, they often do so by treating those generations as if every member likes the same things. Millennials were the generation that allegedly craved experiences over things, which led to the push into experiential marketing, for example, noted Ashwinn Krishnaswamy, partner at brand design firm Forge. Marketers are taking a similar approach with Gen Z and treating them as “one audience,” he said, which can lead brands astray when they’re in the midst of a rebrand to appeal to younger generations.

Rather than approaching generations as a monolith or relying on data, legacy marketers working on a rebrand should take a look at why their brand isn’t selling, what brands are cool, who is buying their products, and which of their market competitors are doing a good job, why that is and how can the brand learn from them, explained Brundage.

While we live in a more reactionary environment, the strong reaction to Jaguar is a signal for marketers, particularly legacy marketers, that brand marketing matters.

“What it signals for me actually is that branding and brand advertising is more important to consumers,” than we may think, said Dory Ellis Garfinkle, CMO of brand consultancy Siegel+Gale.