Have you noticed over this year that Aston Martin is slowly moving away from the association with 007? The display at Las Vegas is the most recent example. Projected was a big dollar Aston Martin montage yet no scenes with DB5 or anything Bond with Aston Martin.

Thoughts?

 

I think there is a confluence of things influencing that. I'm not sure it's an active decision to separate the branding, but my wife has observed (we're both in our 40s, and Bond fans) that younger people she works with by and large have no idea what the Bond franchise is, so the marketing team may be leaning less into it while trying to target younger buyers. What that age group and demographic is I'm not sure. I don't know many people in my own age group that can afford to swing for a Vantage, or the perceived risk of buying a used one -- even knowing what we know here from experience.

It may simply be that after Daniel Craig has left the role there is a lot up in the air with the movies, and they're waiting to see. Or they didn't see a reflection of DBS sales after No Time To Die to justify the ongoing expense until a new script is out?

An interesting question for sure!

 

I am thinking more of Sean Connery and DB5 imagery primarily. The coolness and British style was devoid in the Las Vegas promotion.

 

That does seem to be a very big hole to have in general Aston history!

 

007 died... for now

 

Go to astonmartin.com and look for 007. Nothing to be found or at least so easily. I think this is a big mistake to abandon James Bond's association to Aston Martin

 

I don't necessarily see the brand moving away from Bond, but as someone in marketing, I do think there are a few things happening which make it seem that way.

First, Aston Martin doesn't have a fraction of the marketing budget that Eon Films has for Bond movies...so with no movies out, there's going to be MUCH less Bond/Aston advertising. Every dollar AM has for marketing is going to be used in highly focused ways on specific audience segments most likely to make a purchase.

Next, from Aston's perspective, there's almost zero Bond equity trending at the moment—no movies in production and one reality TV show on Amazon Prime. So, they'd be doing a lot of heavy lifting at a time when the mass market isn't hungry for the theme of the content. If Aston Martin were to use Bond IP in content, they'd need to pay for a license...and they can't bank on Eon Films' budgets to help promote that content to a point where that investment is worth it.

Last, I'd argue that there's more Aston/Bond collaboration than EVER before, but it feels like less because the marketing landscape is more inundated with messaging. Here's a snapshot of the past two years:

• No Time to Die featured FOUR models, the most of any movie to date.
• Aston Martin's custom vehicle program is named Q
• 007-Themed Special Editions for Vantage and DBS in 2021/2022
• The "007 Road to a Million" reality show currently airing on Amazon Prime has an entire challenge involving driving an Aston Martin
• ...even Aston's "Q New York" dealership currently has a DB5 from Bond 25 on display

When the media landscape is inundated with cross-brand collaborations like this, each one is less impactful by default. 20 years ago, there was one movie scene that would need to satisfy fans for years until the next collaboration. Today, marketing teams try to make everything iconic from the start...which too often means too many messages achieving the exact opposite.

Just my two cents. As a Bond fan, I love the partnership with AM, so like you, I hope it continues to grow.

 

Thank you for the marketing perspective, you make some really excellent points!

 

I don't feel the current marketing is doing much to spawn interest any of the models. There's little sex appeal. Little to reinforce how special an Aston is or how it feels to drive one. It's not evoking emotional appeal.

 

As 1stV8V mentioned - this probably has a lot more to do with where the Bond franchise is at more than something going on with the partnership. The Daniel Craig era is (sadly) at an end and they've yet to announce the next generation of the franchise. For the vast majority of consumers James Bond is the movie franchise and nothing more, so they're likely just holding off any joint marketing until the new Bond is announced and the movies start again. I don't see a world where both Bond and Aston continue to exist and they're not linked in some way.

 

They could've use iconic Aston Martin model driving imagery reminiscent of a Bond movie that still evokes a similar feeling. They're missing the mark on trying to aim for hip and young IMO.

 

Someone is overthinking the important aspects of the franchise. The franchise could also be timeless....Give people what they want....Not what the producers think the audiences wants.

 

People still ask me if it's the James Bond car...

 

The association is there, and its a good thing, but I really think these cars need to speak for themselves and not depend on any marketing scheme to be successful.