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Jeep will get back off the beaten path in Australia as a brand focussed on adventure rather than attempting to fight against established luxury rivals.
That's the view of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia's new boss, Steve Zanlunghi, who crafted and presented a revised plan for the off-road brand during his first month on the job in a bid to revive flagging sales and improve the overall customer experience.
"The first thing I am looking at is putting a brand focus on our vehicles because we are a company with a lot of different brands under the one stable," he told Australian journalists during his first official media engagement for the launch of the Abarth 124 Spider in northern NSW this week.
"What I'm trying to do first is that everyone in our organisation understands the brands, and the first one I started on was the Jeep brand. I understand what Jeep is and what it means here.
"I tell you I wasn't terribly happy with what some of the direction I saw most recently. If we don't understand what the brand is, then how do we expect dealers to understand it and ultimately customers, do they know what it is? So I put together a manifesto for what the Jeep brand here is Australia and presented it to our creative agency and they get it, and then to the national sales company and they get it and finally to the dealers and they get it and they're on board.
"The specific change is going back to our roots and building on our brand foundations of adventure, freedom, passion and authenticity and I explained what the brand is and what it is not about and I'm pretty sure the team got it."
When asked specifically what the brand is not about, Zanlunghi said "It's not a cute brand. It's not a funny brand. It's not luxury. It's not pretentious."
He said the first sign of his new direction will be visible with a new advertising campaign that starts next month and centres on Jeep's off-road heritage, ditching the polarising and self-deprecating "You bought a Jeep?" tagline that has been used here in the past.
"I think it was good looking back on it. It did its job," he said.
"But it's time to get back to the roots of what Jeep is all about; a lifestyle brand that has a sense of adventure and freedom."
In line with the new brand outlook, Jeep is expected to offer more customer experience offerings that play on the strengths of that "sense of freedom and adventure". While Zanlunghi has yet to formalise what that may encompass, there are numerous Jeep events held around the world that could inspire local outings, including the annual Jeep Safari in Moab, southern Utah, and Camp Jeep (indoor off-roading events) held across the USA and Europe numerous times each year.
More immediately, Zanlunghi is also focused the everyday ownership experience for Jeep in Australia, admitting that work still needs to be done to improve overall quality, customer service and servicing costs for the brand.
"We have a lot of different ideas of what we can do [with customer experience]," he said.
"There is a lot we can do to improve the cost of ownership and I think you'll see we'll make some big inroads in that area with some announcements we'll make later in the year."
One of the first indicators is the recent promotion that sees selected Renegade, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee models offered with free servicing for the first three years for a limited period of time.
5 Comments
Yep, there's nothing cute or funny about being stranded in the middle on nowhere.
Why would you be stranded? I've had Jeeps since the late 90s and I haven't broken one yet. I can't say that for the three Prados that broke on the first day of my most recent trip.
Maybe if FCA are serious they'll actually connect with Jeep owners. 500 Jeep owners organise a meetup and all Jeep sends is a tiny marquee with some brochures.
We're not a cute brand... Nope. You're a shit brand.
Agree with Ranger17. I've had a JK two door petrol for 6-1/2 years. Done 185,000 kms. Driven it all over Aust. Never had a problem.