Lincoln's Dilemma

Congratulations! You’ve just been handed the keys to the Lincoln Motor Company in last ditch attempt to salvage Ford’s underwhelming luxury brand. What do you do now? You could sell parts and patents to the Chinese for enough money to literally skydive with a golden parachute; but do you really want to be remembered as the guy who finally killed the Town Car?

Ok, bad example.

A business model with an expiration date

For too long Lincoln has simply gussied-up the exceptional work done by their “blue-collar” brothers and sisters in a half-hearted attempt at brand stratification. And while badge-engineering is, to an extent, an accepted practice by manufacturers occupying space across multiple demographics (i.e. economy & luxury makes), it is neither as thinly applied, nor as extensively used as it is between Ford and Lincoln models.

And herein lies the major problem: Lincoln does not have the luxury (pun very much intended) of falling back on the rock-solid reputation of a parent brand in the same way that Acura, Infinity, and Lexus enjoy the near mythic reliability of Honda, Nissan, and Toyota. Admittedly Ford has moved heaven and earth to convince the buying public that theirs is a brand finally worthy of comparison to neo-traditional competitors from Japan and Korea, but this has done little in the way of bolstering their luxury arm.

In fact, the shift in perceived quality at Ford has drained what little value Lincoln held, prompting major differentiation between brands now to be found in the buying experience and service orientation, rather than on a product level. And while these are important elements of a successful luxury brand, they are not enough on their own.

Solving for Lincoln

The first order of business is clarify, if not redefine entirely, the role of the American luxury car in a competitive and globalized businesscape. We must reconcile with the notion that consumers shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality for domestic loyalty, realize the right to build the finest cars in the world, and recognize that heritage and evolution are not mutually exclusive.

This challenge is met through the conception of a halo project – a clarion call of brand values to inform design language and performance ideals – something that excites a new generation of potential Lincoln enthusiasts. Our new flagship will be from the beginning a proof of concept in engineering perfection, not an exercise in mass production, and never to be used as fleet meat. The Lincoln Halo will breathe life into the brand by highlighting strengths in the current portfolio and buy enough time to ready the next generation of product made in the Halo’s image. But this begs two important questions: Who is Lincoln now, and who must Lincoln become?

Well, who we are now is underscored in a Polk survey showing that at 60 years old, ours are the most “distinguished” customers in the industry – three years older on average than Cadillac buyers (the  next closest competitor) and 10 years older than the performance oriented Audi – BMW crowd. So for argument’s brevity’s novelty’s sake let’s split the difference and start getting to know our new target market: At 55 years young, the Lexus buyer becomes a challenging yet highly enticing source of inspiration and income. And the expectations they bring are no less than perfection in terms of reliability, refinement, class, and tech. But builder beware; we must never take the fatal misstep of imitation – as the nature of imitation is limitation in terms of creativity and innovation. So with that in mind, and market share ready to be stolen, our new product portfolio begins to take shape.

And now to address the third and final major challenge to becoming a world-class luxury brand: The buying experience. As your grandfather moved through the ranks at his job, the guy who sold him his first Ford also sold him his first Mercury and then his first Lincoln. And until recently, this was status quo. Now, Ford and Lincoln showrooms have specific employees with specialized training, a step in the right direction. But we need to go one step further and completely decouple the two brands. Separate showrooms, service centers, customer support call centers, and any other touch-points potentially shared between the two families must be different, must feel different, which is imperative for success in brand-conscious China and developing Asia – markets we must find success in to remain competitive on a global scale.

And that’s it! Generate excitement; build to the consumer; and Honor Thy Father but move out of his house. Think you can handle it? We’ll be right here if you’ve got any questions.