Lincoln Readying Potentially Major Re-launch of MKZ

[BORG]

Link

 

With production of the new Lincoln MKZ finally approaching “launch levels” after a costly delay in the production of the critical new luxury sedan, parent Ford Motor Co. is studying just how extensive a re-launch will be needed to put the 2013 model back on the radar for potential buyers.

The Lincoln MKZ was supposed to serve as the foundation for the revitalization of the long-struggling luxury brand. But even as the first of the sedans began rolling into showrooms late last year, Ford decided to curb production, worrying that the MKZ could fall victim to the same snags that resulted in quality problems and recalls for other new 2013 models, such as the Ford Fusion sedan and Escape crossover.

The problem, admitted marketing chief Jim Farley, is that the carmaker went ahead with a major nationwide marketing campaign, including several costly Super Bowl spots, even without product in the showroom. That left dealers unable to serve potential buyers – some of whom are still waiting while others likely switched to competing brands.

Lincoln wants to attract new luxury buyers who are drawn by appointments like the updated MyLincolnTouch system.

“We’re studying our options” for what to do next, Farley told TheDetroitBureau.com during an interview. That could include a major re-launch of the Lincoln MKZ, a move that would add up to the tens of millions of dollars. The two spots on the Super Bowl alone reportedly cost Lincoln more than $6 million.

[Ron W.]

With production of the new Lincoln MKZ finally approaching “launch levels” after a costly delay in the production of the critical new luxury , parent Ford Motor Co. is studying just how extensive a re-launch will be needed to put the 2013 model back on the radar for potential buyers.

 

My thoughts would be leave it alone, the "launch" didn't work out the way they planed or hoped and more publicity on the subject isn't going to help.

[jpd80]

Just keep advertising as per usual channels and see what happens...

[BORG]

Lincoln needs a new marketing campaign to change the tone significantly, otherwise it's getting obnoxious and it simply hasn't worked. Lincoln's sales are disastrous across the line.

[NickF1011]

Lincoln needs a new marketing campaign to change the tone significantly, otherwise it's getting obnoxious and it simply hasn't worked. Lincoln's sales are disastrous across the line.

No amount of marketing is going to make the outdated MKS, MKT, or Navigator sell any better.

 

MKZ....verdict is obviously still out based on inventory issues. (And anyone who says the inventory issues are done with, go on over to the 2013 MKZ Tracking thread. Someone there who pre-ordered in September 2012 just took delivery YESTERDAY!)

Edited April 5, 2013 by NickF1011

[FordBuyer]

In articles about relaunch I have read which could amount to tens of millions of more dollars, many are advising Lincoln to give prosepective customers in their commercials some idea of what is coming out over next few years and some sort of timeline. Too much of what is to come is shrouded in too much secrecy so that no one knows what to expect. More hybrids with new CAFES standards only a few years away (2016)? More sport utilities? Another compact vehicle? To relauch your brand, you need to give interested customers some hope. An MKC concept and no public word about when production version will be shown let alone build date is beyond secrecy. Many concepts never get built. So I would think not only does Lincoln need to relanch the MKZ which will cost a lot, but get off this 4 new vehicles in four years talk of last two years, and start revealing the plans in a little more detail. After awhile, one has to wonder about is the future of Lincoln if so much is shrouded in secrecy year after year while competition keeps coming out with new models that are very impressive. Other luxury makers give out future plans with a lot of detail like what it will be and about when to expect it.

[NickF1011]

In articles about relaunch I have read which could amount to tens of millions of more dollars, many are advising Lincoln to give prosepective customers in their commercials some idea of what is coming out over next few years and some sort of timeline. Too much of what is to come is shrouded in too much secrecy so that no one knows what to expect. More hybrids with new CAFES standards only a few years away (2016)? More sport utilities? Another compact vehicle? To relauch your brand, you need to give interested customers some hope. An MKC concept and no public word about when production version will be shown let alone build date is beyond secrecy. Many concepts never get built. So I would think not only does Lincoln need to relanch the MKZ which will cost a lot, but get off this 4 new vehicles in four years talk of last two years, and start revealing the plans in a little more detail. After awhile, one has to wonder about is the future of Lincoln if so much is shrouded in secrecy year after year while competition keeps coming out with new models that are very impressive. Other luxury makers give out future plans with a lot of detail like what it will be and about when to expect it.

Lincoln's current marketing problem is that it took too long for the MKZ to get to market, so the solution would be to tell people about product that won't be available until even later?

 

[RichardJensen]

This reminds me of the leads in countless articles from '07-'09 that perpetually used phrases like:

 

"Executives at beleaguered automaker Ford..."

 

"Ford, which lost $____ billion last quarter....."

 

"Ford, challenged by ________, faces a new hurdle in ______"

 

"Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford, the distressed US auto manufacturer..."

 

---

 

Essentially, the narrative is "Lincoln is struggling" and every article and every bit of coverage will conform to that narrative.

 

Is Lincoln struggling? That's a matter of debate. I would argue that when a problem is solved and a solution is being implemented, you're no longer struggling. You're working.

 

This sense that it's all-hands-on-deck at Lincoln and that people are running around in some existential crisis is just so, so, so overblown.

 

The notion that Lincoln needs some "cred", as defined by some nebulous group of people and signed off on by some other nebulous assemblage is just ridiculous.

 

Lincoln needs to contribute sufficient additional margin to the Ford bottom line, as determined by Ford executives. They need to do this by following a plan developed by other principals at Ford. That's it. End of story. Stick to the plan and eventually the narrative will come around....

[aneekr]

Lincoln needs to contribute sufficient additional margin to the Ford bottom line, as determined by Ford executives. They need to do this by following a plan developed by other principals at Ford. That's it. End of story. Stick to the plan and eventually the narrative will come around....

 

Ford executives will achieve that goal by jettisoning the Lincoln brand completely. When exactly that will occur, I have no idea. But I trust Ford leadership will close this chapter in due time, just as it had with other superfluous components of the organization over the past half decade.

[NickF1011]

Ford executives will achieve that goal by jettisoning the Lincoln brand completely. When exactly that will occur, I have no idea. But I trust Ford leadership will close this chapter in due time, just as it had with other superfluous components of the organization over the past half decade.

If Lincoln can add significantly to Ford's bottom line, whether the press likes the products or not, it's not going to go away. Whether Lincoln will continue to add significantly to Ford's bottom line is the only question here, to which none of us currently know the answer.

[timf]

Is what they are talking about really a relaunch? When I hear relaunch, I think flawed product which has somehow been corrected and is then marketed as something new. My first reaction when reading this headline was they were going to pull a move like they did with the Zephyr and do a second year rebrand and facelift. The MKZ is hardly a flawed product, it's just the victim of lack of coordination between the marketing and production departments.

 

Aside from a major incentive program to bring tepidly interested customers who were previously turned away back into showrooms, I'm not sure what a relaunch would involve. The ads have been airing constantly for months, so it's not like they had one big push and have since stopped it. I don't think there's any amount of money Lincoln could throw out to instantly change customers opinions. Repeatedly "launching" the same product is certainly not the way to do it. Learn from your mistakes, continue making innovative new products, and time the marketing better next time.

[NickF1011]

Learn from your mistakes, continue making innovative new products, and time the marketing better next time.

Indeed. If anything, it will simply impact the way they launch future marketing campaigns. I doubt we'll see much in the way of MKC advertising until very, very shortly before the product is absolutely ready to ship.

[silvrsvt]

Ford executives will achieve that goal by jettisoning the Lincoln brand completely. When exactly that will occur, I have no idea. But I trust Ford leadership will close this chapter in due time, just as it had with other superfluous components of the organization over the past half decade.

 

 

So whos gonna line up to buy a $60K+ titanium trim level sedan from Ford? You'd have better luck with that as a Lincoln...thus its continued existence.

 

There is money to be made with Lincoln with a little bit of investment and Lincoln isn't saddled with other issues (mostly like CAFE) that other luxury car makes have....they don't have to dilute the brand with B and A sized offerings. Those are far more effectively covered by Ti level Ford products if someone wants to spend $$$ on a car like that.

Edited April 5, 2013 by silvrsvt

[TBirdStangSkyliner]

I don't think that the term relaunch is appropriate. I would say it is time to come up with a new and much better commercial to air. Having this coincide with available product would be positive. This is an important car. It is in a luxury market segment that has an existing volume of buyers. Hopefully many of these buy an even higher priced car of the same brand five years out. The MKZ is the bellwether for a new look at Lincoln and even the relaunched Lincoln Motor Company. It needs to do well. This could soften the negative narrative for the launch of the MKC.

[NickF1011]

I don't think that the term relaunch is appropriate. I would say it is time to come up with a new and much better commercial to air. Having this coincide with available product would be positive. This is an important car. It is in a luxury market segment that has an existing volume of buyers. Hopefully many of these buy an even higher priced car of the same brand five years out. The MKZ is the bellwether for a new look at Lincoln and even the relaunched Lincoln Motor Company. It needs to do well. This could soften the negative narrative for the launch of the MKC.

A new commercial would be fine, but I would assume new ads would have already been figured into the original marketing budget. Individual ads rarely run longer than a quarter anyway.

[TBirdStangSkyliner]

What would you think about a new ad agency? The crowd-source debacle seems like a big enough gaff to warrant the thought.

[jpd80]

How can a brand that's 100% captive to Ford and its decision making, manufacturing processes and products be in trouble?

Lincoln exists because Ford motor wants it to exist and the reason it exists is to make money on top of Ford's other products.

 

Poor sales have more to do with Ford recognizing too late that key product choices are not working or not refreshed soon enough.

Unlike other brand where heads would be on the chopping block, Ford is actually prepared to be patient and get products right

but in order to do that profitably, they have to coincide with Ford's own product cycles. That's the difference here

and rushing products to market would cost billions more in investment that would most likely never be recovered.

Edited April 5, 2013 by jpd80

[chevys]

I am all for Ford taking their time and not rushing products out and trying to get them right the first time. God knows, Ford has rushed things before and it really pissed people off. That said, I dont follow Lincoln like some of you but you have to be brain dead not to know their sales suck. I am starting to get a feeling this is a last gasp. Either it works and they make money or the damage has already been done and no amount of time will pull them out. I hope they live for a better day but if they get killed I wont lose any sleep over it.

[Edstock]

Ford executives will achieve that goal by jettisoning the Lincoln brand completely.

 

Ol' Dood nails it, just like an AMG over a cliff! Post of the Week!!

[BORG]

Lincoln is not spending a tremendous amount of money, it's very hard for Lincoln to fail with so little at stake. Lincoln can probably subsist on much lower volume than the competition based on the minuscule amount of investment needed to create the huge margins that each car commands. Lincoln can probably spend the next 5 years trying to stabilize and learn about it's place in the market with only a billion in funding, the cost many luxury automakers spend on an MCE. And you have to remember Ford has about as much experience developing a luxury car as BMW does developing a pickup truck, it's going to take a long time to figure that out without taking a shortcut to the expensive copycat knock-off route. Ford is very risk averse, they are very predictable in how they do business.

Edited April 5, 2013 by BORG

[RichardJensen]

I am starting to get a feeling this is a last gasp.

 

Meh. At 14 days to turn, the MKZ is looking pretty decent.

 

I certainly don't think Ford is going to wait two product cycles to make the decision on Lincoln, but, conversely, they are not going to pull the plug on the brand when there is exactly one new product available and it's turning in two weeks in regular trim and a week in hybrid trim.

[RichardJensen]

Lincoln can probably subsist on much lower volume than the competition based on the minuscule amount of investment needed

 

This, in fact, is part of Lincoln's marketing strategy. Think of them as the 'craft beer' of luxury car brands.

 

Lexus & BMW are Sam Adams. Lincoln is Schells.

[BORG]

This, in fact, is part of Lincoln's marketing strategy. Think of them as the 'craft beer' of luxury car brands.

 

Lexus & BMW are Sam Adams. Lincoln is Schells.

But the boutique beer is seldom the cheaper beer.

[RichardJensen]

True.

 

But:

 

- boutique beers often have a lower margin, despite the higher cost, where a Lincoln with the same net as a Mercedes would probably have a lower MSRP

 

- It's been my experience that the price difference is, for the buyer, negligible. Do I care that a six-pack of Schell's Porter is $.10 a bottle more than a six-pack of Sam Adams? I do not.

[campbell53]

As a dealer I go back and forth. MKZ is a very nice car. Is it a savior car...probably not. The rest of the line up sucks. My year over year sales are down 200+%. At this point I am not even making the assumption that Lincoln sales will help support my bottom line (God bless F150, Fusion and Escape!) I just hope that Lincoln can get it together and produce a desirable line up like Ford was able to do. Essentially the same people in charge. But the future is very rocky at this point in time....and that is on Ford/Lincoln. Not the dealers. Give me good product and I will sell the crap out of it. The future will not be kind to the current Lincoln offerings. MKT is abysmal. Actually an embarrassment .