You know the tale. Jaguar swapped its leaping cat for a slick new badge, launched a fashion forward ad campaign, promised a sudden leap to ultra luxury electric.
The agency loved it. Twitter laughed. Buyers vanished.
How bad?
April 2025 Europe logged 49 Jaguar registrations. Not 49,000.
FORTY NINE cars. Down from 1,961 the year before.
A 97.5% percent collapse. Global sales have slid from 180,000 in 2018 to under 27,000 in 2024.
That is not a downturn. It is a vanishing act.
Why?
The rebrand ignored the value drivers that made Jaguar matter.
Grace mixed with growl. A badge that said confidence without apology. Change that and the core tribe feels homeless. New prospects never felt invited.
My guess is, maybe the board saw more women on registration forms and thought softer lines would widen appeal. Maybe they forgot a spouse can choose a car precisely because the badge still roars. A gift loses magic when the roar turns into a whisper.
Lesson for every marketer.
Labels carry weight. Logos carry heritage. Tweak either without safeguarding the feeling beneath, and customers sense the void before you spot the drop.
Ask first what emotion the buyer pays for. Protect that at all costs. Everything else is wrapping.
Jaguar’s cat is almost dead on the showroom floor. Do not let your brand be next. Know the roots before you prune the tree.
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