Executive Summary
A storied luxury automaker with an impeccable engineering heritage had reached a critical inflection point. Despite crafting some of the industry's most technically accomplished vehicles, the brand had become increasingly disconnected from younger affluent consumers. Its customer base had significantly narrowed, with 80% of buyers over 55 years old. "We were creating the best cars in our history, but speaking a language fewer people understood each year," the CMO reflected. "Our competitors weren't necessarily building better cars, but they were telling better stories." Market research revealed a striking disconnect: younger luxury consumers admired the brand's craftsmanship but didn't see themselves in its narrative. The brand's communications celebrated technical excellence when the target audience sought emotional connection and cultural relevance. This growing perception gap was translating directly to business results, with declining market share and conquest rates. As we began working with the team, three opportunities became clear: translate engineering heritage into emotional currency, shift from product-focused to experience-centered storytelling, and reconnect the brand with the cultural conversation happening among younger luxury consumers.
A storied luxury automaker with an impeccable engineering heritage had reached a critical inflection point. Despite crafting some of the industry's most technically accomplished vehicles, the brand had become increasingly disconnected from younger affluent consumers. Its customer base had significantly narrowed, with 80% of buyers over 55 years old. "We were creating the best cars in our history, but speaking a language fewer people understood each year," the CMO reflected. "Our competitors weren't necessarily building better cars, but they were telling better stories." Market research revealed a striking disconnect: younger luxury consumers admired the brand's craftsmanship but didn't see themselves in its narrative. The brand's communications celebrated technical excellence when the target audience sought emotional connection and cultural relevance. This growing perception gap was translating directly to business results, with declining market share and conquest rates. As we began working with the team, three opportunities became clear: translate engineering heritage into emotional currency, shift from product-focused to experience-centered storytelling, and reconnect the brand with the cultural conversation happening among younger luxury consumers.
The Opportunity
Premium engineering without cultural resonance
The client faced a series of interconnected challenges. The average buyer was over 55, and younger audiences viewed the brand as uninspired and out of touch. While competitors leaned heavily into electrification, cultural partnerships, and tech-forward storytelling, our client’s product innovations failed to shift perception. Internally, teams struggled with an engineering-first culture that resisted emotionally-driven brand storytelling and experience design. Brand tracking showed that even among affluent 25–40-year-olds, consideration was low and purchase intent negligible. Despite exceptional build quality and performance benchmarks, the brand’s story was failing to connect emotionally—an essential gap in a category where desire often drives decision-making. Marketing efforts focused almost exclusively on technical specifications, missing the primary drivers of purchase decisions for younger luxury consumers.
The Opportunity
Premium engineering without cultural resonance
The client faced a series of interconnected challenges. The average buyer was over 55, and younger audiences viewed the brand as uninspired and out of touch. While competitors leaned heavily into electrification, cultural partnerships, and tech-forward storytelling, our client’s product innovations failed to shift perception. Internally, teams struggled with an engineering-first culture that resisted emotionally-driven brand storytelling and experience design. Brand tracking showed that even among affluent 25–40-year-olds, consideration was low and purchase intent negligible. Despite exceptional build quality and performance benchmarks, the brand’s story was failing to connect emotionally—an essential gap in a category where desire often drives decision-making. Marketing efforts focused almost exclusively on technical specifications, missing the primary drivers of purchase decisions for younger luxury consumers.
Our Approach
We began with deep audience diagnostics through our Momentum Analytics™ spanning focus groups with 120+ luxury consumers, analysis of 50,000+ social conversations, and in-depth brand workshops with leadership. The core insight was clear: while consumers respected the engineering, they didn’t feel it. The brand lacked a sense of visceral experience—something its vehicles objectively delivered, but which its communications failed to express. We reframed the brand around a new strategic concept: Engineered Emotion. This idea captured the unique tension the brand could authentically own—the fusion of technical mastery and emotional resonance. It honored the company’s legacy while creating a platform for future relevance. Critically, it also provided a north star for internal alignment and external activation across all markets.
Our Approach
We began with deep audience diagnostics through our Momentum Analytics™ spanning focus groups with 120+ luxury consumers, analysis of 50,000+ social conversations, and in-depth brand workshops with leadership. The core insight was clear: while consumers respected the engineering, they didn’t feel it. The brand lacked a sense of visceral experience—something its vehicles objectively delivered, but which its communications failed to express. We reframed the brand around a new strategic concept: Engineered Emotion. This idea captured the unique tension the brand could authentically own—the fusion of technical mastery and emotional resonance. It honored the company’s legacy while creating a platform for future relevance. Critically, it also provided a north star for internal alignment and external activation across all markets.
The Solution
Transforming positioning into end-to-end experience
Over six weeks, we worked alongside our client's marketing and product teams to reshape their brand positioning using our Heritage Evolution framework — a methodology designed to help legacy brands rediscover their relevance without abandoning their authentic strengths. "Every heritage brand faces the same fundamental challenge," our Creative Director shared. "How do you honor your past while creating your future? This automaker is simply ready to ask a more powerful question: not just what they made, but why it mattered." The repositioning was not confined to advertising. We worked closely with product, retail, and executive teams to embed the strategy throughout the business. Visual identity was refreshed to reflect modernism without losing the brand’s core DNA. A new photography style balanced engineering precision with emotive energy, while design language leaned into tactile sophistication and movement. Retail environments were reimagined to dramatize the emotional aspects of the driving experience. We designed invitation-only events in architecturally significant spaces—blending product immersion with cultural experiences that signaled modern luxury. Digital storytelling was reconstructed to mirror the journey from admiration to aspiration—balancing technical information with cinematic narrative. The brand entered new cultural conversations through curated partnerships. Most notably, it became the principal sponsor of one of the world’s most prestigious classical music festivals—reinforcing its positioning as a brand of artistry and precision, without relying on traditional automotive tropes.
The Solution
Transforming positioning into end-to-end experience
Over six weeks, we worked alongside our client's marketing and product teams to reshape their brand positioning using our Heritage Evolution framework — a methodology designed to help legacy brands rediscover their relevance without abandoning their authentic strengths. "Every heritage brand faces the same fundamental challenge," our Creative Director shared. "How do you honor your past while creating your future? This automaker is simply ready to ask a more powerful question: not just what they made, but why it mattered." The repositioning was not confined to advertising. We worked closely with product, retail, and executive teams to embed the strategy throughout the business. Visual identity was refreshed to reflect modernism without losing the brand’s core DNA. A new photography style balanced engineering precision with emotive energy, while design language leaned into tactile sophistication and movement. Retail environments were reimagined to dramatize the emotional aspects of the driving experience. We designed invitation-only events in architecturally significant spaces—blending product immersion with cultural experiences that signaled modern luxury. Digital storytelling was reconstructed to mirror the journey from admiration to aspiration—balancing technical information with cinematic narrative. The brand entered new cultural conversations through curated partnerships. Most notably, it became the principal sponsor of one of the world’s most prestigious classical music festivals—reinforcing its positioning as a brand of artistry and precision, without relying on traditional automotive tropes.
The Methodology
Our work centered on three connected areas:
We developed a tiered messaging architecture to support flexibility across markets. Core messaging focused on emotional drivers—devotion, authentic craftsmanship, resonance—while sub-messaging improved technical credibility. The content ecosystem expanded beyond automotive press into lifestyle, design, and technology media, increasing relevance and reach. We mapped every customer touchpoint—from discovery to dealership handoff—and introduced targeted interventions to reinforce the new positioning. These included enhanced brand storytelling modules in CRM journeys, dealer training focused on experiential value, and new ownership rituals that created lasting emotional connection. Measurement frameworks were deployed from day one, linking repositioning activities to KPIs across awareness, brand lift, acquisition cost, and customer age profile.
The Methodology
Our work centered on three connected areas:
We developed a tiered messaging architecture to support flexibility across markets. Core messaging focused on emotional drivers—devotion, authentic craftsmanship, resonance—while sub-messaging improved technical credibility. The content ecosystem expanded beyond automotive press into lifestyle, design, and technology media, increasing relevance and reach. We mapped every customer touchpoint—from discovery to dealership handoff—and introduced targeted interventions to reinforce the new positioning. These included enhanced brand storytelling modules in CRM journeys, dealer training focused on experiential value, and new ownership rituals that created lasting emotional connection. Measurement frameworks were deployed from day one, linking repositioning activities to KPIs across awareness, brand lift, acquisition cost, and customer age profile.
The Results
As illustrated in our implementation timeline, these improvements followed a clear sequence: better brand positioning led to enhanced cultural relevance, which built stronger emotional connections with younger consumers, ultimately driving both consideration and sales growth across new market segments.
Within 18 months, the brand achieved a 15-year demographic shift, with average buyer age decreasing significantly. Brand consideration among affluent 25–40-year-olds increased by 185%, driven by cultural alignment, refreshed storytelling, and increased visibility outside traditional automotive channels. Sales saw a significant turnaround. Sixty percent of new customers were conquests—most coming from luxury competitors who had never previously considered the brand. Customer acquisition costs fell by 28%, reflecting more efficient marketing conversion and improved message-market fit. Critically, internal adoption followed external results. Teams across functions reported greater clarity on brand values, and executive leadership cited the repositioning as a unifying strategic focus across product, retail, and communications.
The Results
As illustrated in our implementation timeline, these improvements followed a clear sequence: better brand positioning led to enhanced cultural relevance, which built stronger emotional connections with younger consumers, ultimately driving both consideration and sales growth across new market segments.
Within 18 months, the brand achieved a 15-year demographic shift, with average buyer age decreasing significantly. Brand consideration among affluent 25–40-year-olds increased by 185%, driven by cultural alignment, refreshed storytelling, and increased visibility outside traditional automotive channels. Sales saw a significant turnaround. Sixty percent of new customers were conquests—most coming from luxury competitors who had never previously considered the brand. Customer acquisition costs fell by 28%, reflecting more efficient marketing conversion and improved message-market fit. Critically, internal adoption followed external results. Teams across functions reported greater clarity on brand values, and executive leadership cited the repositioning as a unifying strategic focus across product, retail, and communications.
The Impact
The repositioning translated directly into business growth and cultural impact:
The repositioning effort delivered far more than improved metrics—it rebuilt belief. Internally, it realigned fragmented perceptions of what the brand stood for. Externally, it reclaimed relevance in a hyper-competitive market without sacrificing identity. Perhaps most tellingly, the language people used to describe the brand evolved significantly. Social listening showed a 215% increase in emotion-centered descriptions, with terms like "amazing," "moving," and "incredible" replacing the purely technical descriptors that had previously dominated brand conversation. Today, Engineered Emotion is not just a tagline—it’s a lived expression across touchpoints, partnerships, and customer experience. The brand’s transformation has created a blueprint for how heritage can serve as a launchpad for future aspiration.
“This wasn’t about changing who we are,” said the CMO. “It was about finally showing the world what we’ve always had—and what only we can offer.”
The Impact
The repositioning translated directly into business growth and cultural impact:
The repositioning effort delivered far more than improved metrics—it rebuilt belief. Internally, it realigned fragmented perceptions of what the brand stood for. Externally, it reclaimed relevance in a hyper-competitive market without sacrificing identity. Perhaps most tellingly, the language people used to describe the brand evolved significantly. Social listening showed a 215% increase in emotion-centered descriptions, with terms like "amazing," "moving," and "incredible" replacing the purely technical descriptors that had previously dominated brand conversation. Today, Engineered Emotion is not just a tagline—it’s a lived expression across touchpoints, partnerships, and customer experience. The brand’s transformation has created a blueprint for how heritage can serve as a launchpad for future aspiration.
“This wasn’t about changing who we are,” said the CMO. “It was about finally showing the world what we’ve always had—and what only we can offer.”
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