Zastava_101

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/11/f...being-lincoln/

Calling it "the burden of being Lincoln," Farley said that the company's duty is to "remove any barrier that would prevent people from considering a Lincoln, taking a test drive and deciding to buy." That means a "massive" and experiential marketing campaign called, in the interim, "Reimagined," that not only wants to make the case for the brand and its cars but give consumers plenty of ways to get into those cars and drive them. Perhaps most importantly, the campaign aims to do this with younger consumers: 65 is the average age of the Lincoln owner, Farley would like to get that particular demographic way down to the 35-50 bracket.

In attempt to make the most of every interaction, Farley said Lincoln will inaugurate at 24/7 "concierge service" that offers live sales reps to help customers build and price an MKZ. It will also rebrand itself Lincoln Motor Company, which is a bit of a head-scratcher, but apparently they've determined that that's what will resonate better with the "cultural progressive magicians" and "agile visionaries" in the 35-50 age group they're after. The push will commence with a music performance on November 26, around the time of the Los Angeles Auto Show. We don't have details on the event yet, but it will be live-streamed on the website that's home for the campaign.

cdynaco

Mnemonic

It's sad. I always liked lincoln, but it was always my grandparents who owned them. Today, they just have fugly rears and fronts with a cushy interior.

bob

What the hell is a "cultural progressive magician"?

watchdevil

So now it's LMC MKZ...

Twin Turbo

Whilst its easy to be an armchair expert, surely the way to get Lincoln back on track is to produce a range of cars that people (ok, younger people) want to buy and drive.

Making plusher Fords just isn't enough. If it's basically equipped the same and feels the same to drive as a Ford, why pay extra for a Lincoln?

As a Brit, say "Lincoln" and I picture JFK's last moments!

Cadillac did it right. OK, I'm not sold on the "Arts and Science" design, but its different and is now a Cadillac signature....and does hark back, a little, to the great Caddy's of the past. More importantly, they started to make cars that were fun to drive and, I'm sorry to bang on, but the return to RWD in this market segment was vitally important, in my opinion.

Top Gear USA's Rutt summed it up beautifully when discussing the CTS-V range. Cadillac was the equivilent of John Travolta. He was very cool once, then became uncool. The CTS was Caddy's Pulp Fiction moment, when they suddenly became cool again. Lincoln needs a Pulp Fiction moment!

So, rename the company and have someone on the end of a phone 24/7 fine......but if the core product isn't good enough in a tough market, it's not going to change a thing.

The rumoured Lincoln spin-off car from the '15 Mustang is vital in my opinion. That should be a fun and sporty car to drive and should to aimed at getting people out of their BMWs, Mercs and Audis. But that platform needs to be flexible enough to support a bigger car, as well as a smaller 3-series competitor. They've got to start somewhere though, and I think this will be the car to do it. I just hope its not too late.

Zastava_101

Why is it so important to have younger buyers, especially for a pricey luxury car like a Lincoln?
Lincoln never had younger buyers because Lincoln was always about being "poor-man's Rolls Royce". And that worked very well - Lincoln was the best selling luxury brand in the USA 10 years ago. Then this whole "sporty", MK-nonsense, "BMW wanna-be" started and Lincoln is currently the worst selling luxury brand in the USA.

Lincoln needs to start building vehicles that people know him for, not trying to be something else.

SyNRG

A foundation for a repeat customer/client.

My thoughts on what Farley stated, is great, but it is time for Lincoln to really "walk the talk" in terms of vehicles people want. MKZ and new dealership image/experience are steps in the right direction, now deliver the products (they need more excitement/ "sportiness" injected into their lineup to grab younger buyers).

Knight

I think these days its also seen hip to be young so middle/older age people are even straying from cars that are perceived as old people cars.

2010MustangGT

I must bring their average age down a few years at 25.

But IDK, I like my loaded 2012 MKZ AWD.
No complaints really.

What I'd REALLY like tho...

If they were to make the MKZ - performance AWD system (forget the RWD V8, Lincoln will not go there...) - 365+ hp ecoboost - suicide doors (with self closing door latches, similar to Bentley) - Sporty/rim package - black accents - less chrome - new era lighting development (ala BMW laser headlights) - proper suspension - Chiseled/sharp rather than rounded body... Me likey!