Opinion: Subbrands Are A Marketing Failure

Automakers seem to love the idea of subbrands.

The most recent one to make this sort of shift -- Land Rover.

What I can't figure out is: Why?

Put aside, for a second, that Land Rover is retiring, at least for now, a recognizable brand name that presumably has a lot of brand equity. The larger question is -- do consumers even care?

I would wager that they don't -- and that they don't even know.

Here's an example. I was at a recent event where I ran into my local Stellantis PR rep and I cracked a joke about using a "Jeep Wagoneer" for a task. I was politely reminded that there shouldn't be "Jeep" in front of "Wagoneer."

But the thing is, we still call it a Jeep Wagoneer, in part because we're sort of on a case-by-case basis when it comes to indulging weird naming patterns at an OEM's request, and in part because of search optimization.

And it's not just us -- neither Cars.com nor AutoTrader, the two biggest consumer sites, have Wagoneer listed as a brand. Both list Wagoneer as a model under Jeep as a make.

It's a bit like that line from Mean Girls: "Stop Trying to Make Fetch Happen." Stop trying to make subbrands happen.

I haven't tried this experiment yet, but I bet if I talk to friends and say I am driving a Wagoneer without specifying it's a Jeep, at least some folks wouldn't know what it is, or that it's made by Stellantis and sold right next to Jeeps at the dealer.

Similarly, people will know that a Defender is a Land Rover, but if I say "It's a 110, made by Defender" I am gonna get some weird looks.

Heck, Land Rover was already confusing with the "Land Rover Range Rover" nomenclature.

It's one thing to build out a full-on luxury brand the way Toyota did with Lexus. That works, because there's a distinction in styling and the dealerships are separate. But a subbrand just ends up confusing consumers (and sometimes, us) and doesn't really move the needle. It's anecdotal, I know, but I don't hear people talking about the Wagoneer as if it's separate from Jeep. Unless, of course, they work for Stellantis.

The only time subbrands seem to work is with performance vehicles. BMW M, Mercedes-Benz AMG, and Ford's Shelby Mustangs. It seems to work in those cases because cars slapped with those labels are built on cars that aren't part of the subbrand -- M3 on the 3-Series, and so on -- and because most have a history. Then again, the relatively recent use of N for Hyundai works -- again, because N or N-Line models are based on mainstream vehicles, as opposed to the company trying to make an individual model into a subbrand, as Jeep and Land Rover are doing.

I could be wrong. I am no highly-paid marketing consultant. But for now, it sure seems like the subbrand experiment is too confusing to work.

[Image: Land Rover (or is it Defender?)]

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