After nearly a quarter century under American and then Indian ownership, the Jaguar brand is making a concerted effort to reassert its fundamental Britishness. Jaguar is going from dealer to dealer in the United States discussing new corporate-identity standards meant to wear the English origins and sensibilities—and production—of the cars on their hoods, as it were.

At least in part, the branding moves are meant to contrast Jaguar from its German rivals as Jaguar scraps anew for share in the crowded part of the luxury market around $70,000, with its new F-Type sports car.

The new standards—including a canopy for the service drive, a "heritage wall" and a performance center for the latest models—will "bring out the Britishness and aspects of our heritage," Andy Goss, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America, told Automotive News Europe. "We want to convey the message that we are not a Teutonic brand. We will appeal more to the senses. The biggest difference is a lot more color." Cranberry will accent the traditional British racing green in the new standards.Continue reading...

Dell reports 79 percent drop in profit as takeover battle continues.

Dow Chemical is ordered to pay $1.2 billion in price-fixing case.

Google Glass expands apps and integrates Facebook and Twitter.

Apple fights back in antitrust case over e-book pricing as it loses luster in global poll.

Audi shifts to high-performance models to propel sales.

BlackBerry regains lost market share in Canada.

Citigroup bans traders from using Bloomberg terminal chat groups.Continue reading...

Jaguar is trying to emerge from its musty past and zoom into direct competition with Porsche with a new advertising campaign to back its all-new F-Type sports car. Utilizing outlets from digital media to TV spots, and featuring partners ranging from San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to Playboy, the brand is pulling out all the stops in its "Your Turn" campaign to attempt to get America's young and upscale car buyers to embrace a marque that hasn't been especially relevant in the US market for several years.

"It's not creating a brand from scratch; it has a storied history," Rob Filipovic, general manager of product planning for Jaguar North America, told brandchannel. "It's more about reconnecting with the performance and design attributes that Jaguar used to stand for, and bringing them to the forefront for a new generation that isn't necessarily familiar with our brand or cars."

Even in launching the new effort behind an all-new vehicle, Jaguar has reached a high-water mark under its ownership by Tata, the India-based industrial conglomerate that bought Jaguar and Land Rover brands nearly five years ago from Ford, which was battening down the hatches for the tough global economy at the time. Since that purchase, Tata has brought the brands through the subsequent financial collapse and Great Recession, fought through its own unfamiliarity with luxury auto brands and suffered from the continuing recession in Europe.Continue reading...

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Cadillac sales... stretching Jag... dim sum Puma... Met ball influence... Porsche... Luxury brands... Jets... Avril Levine's tea... Hyundai pop... Lenovo... Shanghai Disney... Bitcoin... LeTV... Tainted L'Occitane... Pearson Ed... Iron Man badminton... and more.Continue reading...

YouTube launches paid channels after rumors swirled earlier this week about subscription partners.

ESPN may subsidize wireless-data plans.

JPMorgan Chase is sued by California over credit-card cases.

AT&T returns to chatty kids for Mother's Day ads.

Amazon is reportedly developing a smartphone with 3-D screen.

Caterpillar and union suspend talks.

Chrysler faces uphill climb for Jeep in China.

Costco now offers travel packages to members.

Dell may see rival bid by Carl Icahn group.

Delta sees new terminal as symbol of air-travel makeover.Continue reading...

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Iron Man 3 inaccuracies... BMW... Casino frugality... Wanglaoji trademarks... Heinz baby food... Hugo Boss mini-movies... Sunning manga... China's first lady for Pehchaolin... Ashley Furniture... L’Oreal... Ad spends... Iron Man 3 product placement... and more.Continue reading...

How appropriate is it that Jaguar has finally released its much anticipated branded short film Desire at the very same time that a fictional Jag representative on the hit show Mad Men is arguing for foregoing a "national ad campaign in favor of hard driving sales ads at the local dealer level?"

The Desire film is absolutely a national brand-making campaign and by no means a "hard driving" sales push of any kind. It is not meant, in the Mad Men dealer's words, "to move metal." It's too bad then that Jaguar's real-life branded film is so poorly targeted since Mad Men set the brand up with such a meatball opportunity.

For months, the auto-watching world has wondered about the Jaguar mini-film. When the music video tie-in from Jaguar music partner Lana Del Rey was released on Valentine's Day, it sucked up attention. The video has since logged over 300,000 views.

The full, quarter-hour mini movie is now here and it's hard to argue that Jaguar's Desire isn't a rather naked attempt to recreate the themes of BMW's decade-old iconic branded film series The Hire.Continue reading...

The upcoming re-imagined Great Gatsby 3D has a slew of roaring '20s brands going along for the ride. Moet & Chandon and MAC Cosmetics are listed among the film's partners in its official "Guide to Style." As is New York's Plaza Hotel, which will "celebrate the Roaring `20s with period-inspired affairs throughout the spring," while Brooks Brothers has released a special Gatsby collection. While not listed in the film's official style guide, Prada has its own major partnership and Gatsby-inpired line. Tiffany & Co. has embraced its tie-in as well.

But one needn't be at entertainment's high-end to grab a fashion line tie-in. Clothing brand Opening Ceremony partnered with Spring Breakers to release a line based on the exploitation film: "Accessories include unicorn bandanas, mesh backpacks, lighters, cotton beach towels, 'HARMONY' friendship bracelets, and 'SPRING BREAK 4EVER BITCHES' wristbands."

It's all part of a booming product placement business that grew 11.7 percent in 2012 and promises to get bigger this year.Continue reading...