Branding Bosses (series 2): Aston Martin on its ‘Bond’ with 007 – not shaken or stirred

In the first series of Branding Bosses, I looked at the World’s Most Valuable Brands of 2016, according to Forbes.

This series, I’ll be interviewing ‘C-Suite’ executives (Chief Executive Officers, Chief Marketing Officers, etc) from some of the world’s most recognised and well-established brands. Welcome to Branding Bosses: Iconic Brands.

First up is Aston Martin. I reached out to Simon Sproule, the company’s Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

In an extended interview (which has been edited, but not condensed), Sproule talks about Aston Martin’s long-time association with the James Bond film franchise, recent media reports of Aston Martin’s “new logo” and the company’s transition from a luxury automotive brand into a global luxury lifestyle brand.

Credit: ASTON MARTIN

Simon, provide a thumbnail sketch of your role as the Vice President and CMO at Aston Martin and briefly explain how it influences the direction of the Aston Martin brand.

Aston Martin is not typical of an automaker in the way we structure marketing and communications. We take a totally integrated approach, meaning that both marketing and communications report to me as CMO and then I report to the CEO. This means every decision I take on matters concerning the brand and how we communicate – regardless of the channel – is made giving consideration to all stakeholders. The scope therefore covers brand management, marketing, advertising, digital, social media, public relations, internal communications and corporate social responsibility. The balance I try to strike is between the short-term needs of the business, such as launching cars or executing an event, and the long-term care of the brand. It’s an overstated idea, but taking care of a brand that’s 104 years old gives you the perspective that you’re simply trying to ensure that you hand the brand over to your successor in better shape than you received it.

Aston Martin is a luxury brand. What is the difference between a luxury brand and a premium one?

In simple terms, true luxury is defined by price and volume. A true luxury product should be rare (the consequence of price and volume) and something that’s coveted by those who own or interact with it. In the auto industry, there are probably less than 10 true luxury car companies, most of which come from either the UK or Italy.

The Aston Martin brand is synonymous with another iconic British brand – the James Bond film franchise. To date, the English spy has been behind the wheel of an Aston Martin in no less than 12 of the 24 Bond instalments – showcasing the DB5 in Goldfinger (1964) and, most recently, the DB10 in Spectre (2015). Is this 50-plus year association one that Aston Martin plans to strengthen, maintain or move away from?

We’re tremendously proud and respectful of our association with James Bond and the 007 film series. It’s a relationship we never take for granted and we hope that it can continue for as long as there are James Bond films being made. What makes the relationship so magical is that the creators of the James Bond films are permanently evolving the character and so, as a brand, when we’re involved, there’s always a new twist on that association. In some of the films, the gadgets were the focus. In some, it was the epic chase sequences and, in others, it was simply that James Bond had his Aston Martin waiting for him whenever he needed it.

According to the press, Aston Martin has two logos – the original 1927 ‘wings badge’ logo (for vehicles) and a new logo (for merchandise). If the press reports are to be believed, were there any concerns that the introduction of a new logo might affect the 90 years of brand equity that have been built-up in the original logo?

The discussion of our “new logo” was an interesting reminder of how closely we’re watched as a brand! In fact, we didn’t create a new logo, but wanted to protect a graphic element derived from our original logo, which combined the letters ‘A’ and ‘M.’ When all the discussion started on this “new logo,” we were somewhat surprised as we’d been using this graphic element for several months. In fact, we still use the famous wings logo for both the cars and merchandise and this new graphic is simply used for spaces where the wings wouldn’t translate effectively into a recognisable logo.

In one sentence each, summarise Aston Martin’s approach to...

...advertising

Re-affirming the core values of the brand – beauty and the celebration of beautiful things.

...branding

Always appropriately dressed for the right occasion.

...content

‘Goldilocks’ – just the right balance between exclusivity and access.

Historically, Aston Martin has attracted a predominantly male customer base. What advertising campaigns are in progress (or in the pipeline) to appeal to the female market?

We honestly don’t see the reason to try and be something different for different audiences. The values that make Aston Martin loved and respected are what we focus on, namely our love of beauty and beautiful things. While it’s true that our customer base is changing, it’s changing across every consumer demographic. When we talk to our customers – whether he’s a 42-year-old Englishman or she’s a 38-year-old Chinese woman – the attraction to Aston Martin is essentially the same, which is the love of beautiful hand-crafted cars.

Aston Martin has previously acknowledged that its brand awareness in the States is not what it is in the UK. As a result, some US customers would probably be hard-pushed to say what the Aston Martin brand actually stands for. How would you define the Aston Martin brand – i.e. in a game of word association, what are the first words that should come to mind when Aston Martin is mentioned?

Beauty. Hand-crafted. Elegance. Understated. Powerful. We’ve often likened our brand challenge in markets like the US and China to the game of cricket. Most people have heard of cricket but, if you didn’t grow up playing the game, it can take some time to understand. Worth the wait…cricket, too!

In February last year, Aston Martin entered the electric/hybrid car market by teaming up with leading global technology firm, LeEco. Are self-driving electric cars on Aston Martin’s agenda?

We have no doubt that electric cars will become part of our product offering in the near future and progressively integrated into our range. The promise of true autonomy – meaning all situations, all the time – is still some way off…maybe a decade or more. However, the technologies that are creating the path to autonomy, such as radar-controlled cruise control, lane keep systems, forward collision avoidance, etc. are now more and more commonplace on cars. We fully intend to adopt relevant technologies that will add valuable functionality to our cars. However, taking a step back, it’s important to understand the motivation to own an Aston Martin, which is to drive an Aston Martin. Last year, we brought back a manual transmission into our Vantage sports car and we made a commitment to our customers to always offer a car with ‘three pedals.’ One should never pre-judge the future, but we see a long and healthy future for Aston Martins that you drive by yourself.

Last July, Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing unveiled their hypercar named ‘AM-RB 001’ (now officially known as the Aston Martin Valkyrie). How did the collaboration come about?

It was a convergence of a number of factors from our side and from our partner, Red Bull Advanced Technologies. Following the success of our One-77 and Vulcan supercars, we’d started to imagine what a next generation Aston Martin supercar should look like. In fact, we knew that we had to go far beyond creating a new supercar, but aim to compete in the more rarefied hypercar segment. At the same time, Adrian Newey – the most successful designer in Formula One (F1) history – was looking to realise his long-held ambition to design a car for the road and track. With changes that took place in the Red Bull Racing team in early 2016 – notably, that they were independent of any automotive partnership – we could start the discussion on how to bring together the magic of Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies. In January 2016, a number of key executives from each side met in a pub and, over a traditional English meal of sausage and mash, we agreed to study the creation of a next-generation hypercar. Three months later, we announced the project on the eve of the Australian F1 race and then, in July, we showed the world the first prototype. We’ll start the first deliveries to customers in 2019 and will build just 150 road cars and 25 track specials.

Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar. Credit: ASTON MARTIN 

In September 2016, Aston Martin opened an exclusive boutique ‘concept’ store in the heart of London’s Mayfair, which showcases products and experiences offered on Aston Martin’s ‘Art of Living’ website. People can now buy everything from Hackett clothing, fashion accessories and Aston Martin eyeglass frames to bed linen, baby prams and even Quintessence yachts. They can also attend design classes, exclusive events and art exhibitions in-store. Describe the challenges that Aston Martin has encountered transitioning from a luxury automotive brand into a global luxury lifestyle brand.

We’ve been (and will continue to be) very cautious in how we grow Aston Martin into other product sectors. At the heart of everything we do must be the love of beauty, which is why everything we do with our brand is approved by our design team led by Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman. If you look at our first venture into the motorboat market – with the AM37 – the craft has been co-designed by Aston Martin and the boat manufacturer, Quintessence, and is simply stunning. Whether it’s a 52-knot powerboat, our association with Hackett or the development of our brand centres around the world, everything that’s not a pure automobile is created under the umbrella of the ‘Art of Living.’ We pass every brand decision through the filter of suitability for Aston Martin and ensure that it adds value to our core business of making beautiful hand-crafted cars.

Aston Martin AM37 powerboat (interior). Credit: MAX EAREY

Aston Martin magic: a whistle-stop tour of the company’s 104-year history

The first Aston Martin – the Coal Shuttle. Credit: ASTON MARTIN

Aston Martin is steeped in English history.

In 1913, Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin founded the ‘Bamford & Martin Ltd’ motor company in Kensington, London. The following year, the company was re-named ‘Aston Martin’ (after Martin’s successful run of races at the renowned motoring venue, Aston Hill Climb, in Buckinghamshire, England). In the same year, the first car – named ‘Coal Scuttle’ – was built and registered with the Aston Martin name.

Fast-forward to 1987 and none other than the Ford Motor Company entered the frame, becoming a shareholder of Aston Martin (eventually owning the company with a majority share). Twenty years later, in 2007, Ford sold Aston Martin to a group of investors.

This year marks the 104th anniversary of Aston Martin magic.

Aston Martin: a timeline of breath-taking, record-breaking success

Sir Sean Connery playing James Bond in Goldfinger (1964) alongside the Aston Martin DB5. Credit: ASTON MARTIN

• 1964: The Aston Martin DB5 was selected to be the vehicle of choice for the fictional British Secret Service agent, James Bond, in the film, Goldfinger, which starred Sir Sean Connery.
• 2003: Aston Martin was presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for outstanding achievement by a UK business in international trade.
• January 2006: A Swiss businessman paid ￡1.1m for a silver 1965 Aston Martin DB5 coupe, which was used to promote the James Bond films, Goldfinger and Thunderball. This is the most expensive James Bond memorabilia sold at an auction.
• July 2006: UK stuntman, Adam Kirley, achieved seven car rolls in an Aston Martin DBS during the filming of Casino Royale. This is the world record for the most ‘cannon rolls’ in a car.
• 2015: The Aston Martin DB4/GT Zagato (which originally cost ￡5,470 when brand new in 1962) was sold for ￡9.45m at RM Sotheby’s ‘Driven By Disruption’ event in New York. This is the most expensive British car ever sold at auction.

The Aston Martin experience

Aston Martin is about more than beautifully hand-crafted products – it’s about the Aston Martin experience. A favourite among the rich and famous, the Aston Martin brand is now extending its slogan – “Power, Beauty, and Soul” – to cover everything from cars and clothing to yachts and leather accessories. Aston Martin now has something for everyone.

Leading the charge for Aston Martin, on the brand ambassador front, is tennis phenom and 23-time Grand Slam singles title winner, Serena Williams. In 2015, Aston Martin appointed Williams – a long-time fan of the brand – as its Chief Sporting Officer.

Unlike some brand ambassadors, she isn’t just the ‘face’ of the brand. In the first summer of her appointment as Chief Sporting Officer, Williams visited the village of Gaydon, Warwickshire – the UK manufacturing home of Aston Martin – where she continues to work with the brand on a variety of projects, mainly focused on the future of sports and design.

Despite its 104-year heritage, Aston Martin still oozes ‘cool.’ Between 2008 and 2016, the company placed in the top four on the CoolBrands list on eight out of nine occasions. (Aston Martin did, however, win the automotive category on all nine occasions.)

In 2011, Stephen Cheliotis, former Chief Executive of The Centre for Brand Analysis and ex-Chairman of the CoolBrands Council had this to say about Aston Martin: “Smooth, sexy and sophisticated; British-built, high-quality and hand-finished. Let’s be honest, young or old, male or female, opinion-former or British public, who wouldn’t [italics added] aspire to own what is truly the coolest car on the road? This British icon is truly the coolest of the cool.”

Both beloved British icons, Aston Martin and James Bond are the epitome of ‘cool’ and, with its bond with 007 still very much intact, Aston Martin is still licensed to thrill.

Thanks for reading! Got an appetite for advertising? Want to “brand it like Beckham”? Captivated by ‘cool’ content? Check out Regal Content where we aim to make your brand reign supreme by creating content that’s fit for a king…or queen.