I was wondering round Leeds the other week when I saw the new baby Range Rover Evoque on display in the middle of an upmarket shopping arcade.
Of course I had a nosey – I’m always on the lookout for my motoring holy grail, an automatic that’s good on the motorway, is small enough to park easily and can get down a 1in3 snow covered track in one piece.
Unfortunately, it also has to come in under budget, which I quickly realised ruled out the Evoque. It’s still on my list should my premium bonds come up next month, but it nearly lost it’s place when I saw this:
So it would seem Range Rover are not going after a target market like me. More like footballers wives, Essex girls and drug dealers. It suddenly feels like owning one of these cars would be like owning a particularly garish designer handbag.
Oh well, in my more affluent fantasy life I suppose I could always get it debadged…
I think you bring up an interesting point about how so much marketing today focuses on targeting a niche audience. I like how you draw the parallel between the car and a designer handbag- both are examples of lifestyle branding which I feel is becoming more and more potent in a market aiming to subtly differentiate products.