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January 17, 2012

Ford Thinks Brand Naming is Bunk

The news that Ford marketing head Jim Farley believes that "it's product that matters, not the name" when it comes to selling cars is not exactly a coffee spitter or a head slapper, but definitely a double blinker.

This is Ford we are talking about, the source of some of the biggest brand names in the car business.

Think F-250, Taurus, Fairlane or the Crown Vic, as well as the Pinto and the Probe. Or, for that matter, the Lincoln Navigator and Town Car.

I bring these brands up because Ford now believes that these names don't matter and they need to stick with confusing alphanumeric naming, just when their rivals are dumping that strategy and revitalizing old brand names like the Dart.

Ford, meanwhile, is sticking with MKT, MKZ, MKX, and MKS for their only luxury brand.

USA Today puts it best stating, "Next time you're on the street, ask anyone you see if they know they can identify a Lincoln model."

The fact is, naming matters, especially in the car business. In any business.

Today there is an outcry over dumb, alphanumeric TV names for instance. Consumers like good brand names. And Ford has benefited from this in the past.

Now, to paraphrase Henry Ford's famous quote about history, they are now saying that naming and branding is bunk.

The road to reinventing Lincoln is sure to be a rough one.

Yes, they have top designers, but the names of these cars do make an impact. Slapping a few letters on the back of the car is not going to make consumers love the car.

Sales have declined a whopping 46% percent for Lincoln since 2001. Back then, Lincoln was pushing Town Cars and Navigators, the former which has been discontinued along with Ford's Crown Vic.

Now they want to sell us a billion dollars worth of alphabet soup.

Technorati Tags: Ford, Branding, Naming, Marketing, Automotive

Posted by William Lozito at January 17, 2012 8:28 AM
Posted to Automotive | Brand Naming | Branding | Marketing | Naming | Product Naming

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