Ford Picks Exec to Manage Irvine-Based Mercury Brand
Longtime Ford Motor Co. executive Jennifer Moneagle has been appointed group brand manager for the company’s Mercury unit, making her one of the highest-ranking women in the U.S. auto industry’s marketing segment.
Moneagle, 43, will be responsible for marketing and strategies for all of the Mercury brands. The sales specialist, who is scheduled to relocate to Mercury’s offices in Irvine on May 17, will be charged with revving up consumer interest in a once-proud brand name that has been slumping for decades.
Moneagle, who joined Ford in 1981, was not available for comment Thursday.
Irvine-based Lincoln Mercury has been a problem unit for Ford for a number of years, and the giant auto maker has been focusing on improving both Lincoln and Mercury brand sales.
Moneagle takes over from Alfred Giombetti, who has returned to Ford headquarters in Michigan to serve as brand manager for Ford trucks. Giombetti, 42, became Mercury’s first group brand manager last June, when Ford moved Lincoln Mercury to Southern California to infuse new life into the two upscale brands.
Lincoln sales took off two years ago with the introduction of the Navigator luxury sports-utility vehicle, and the company hopes for another boost this summer with the introduction of the new LS--an entry-level luxury model built on the same platform as the new S-Type by Jaguar, Ford’s British luxury performance subsidiary.
Mercury has been helped by the sporty new Cougar coupe--the only model it doesn’t share with Ford. But generally, industry analysts have faulted Mercury for being little more than a steppingstone brand in recent years, offering models that merely added some chrome and trim to basic Fords and trying to sell them to customers who have progressed beyond Fords but can’t quite afford Lincolns.
There was intense speculation by industry analysts and the automotive press earlier this year that Ford was planning to eliminate Mercury entirely.
Ford, however, has said it intends to keep Mercury and restore it to health.
In Ford’s marketing plan, Mercury will be the division used to experiment with styling and features. Mercury officials won’t discuss plans for future models except to acknowledge that a new sport-utility, smaller than the Ford Explorer, will be added to the lineup next year. Earlier this year the company said it would stop selling the compact Mercury Tracer, a nonstarter in the sales race.
Moneagle’s job will be to make Mercury fly with consumers--to start drumming up interest in the brand even before new models with distinct designs from Ford’s Southern California styling studio start appearing in the lineup.
Moneagle, who has been Chicago regional sales manager for Mercury, also brings a much-sought woman’s point of view to the company.
Recent studies by marketing companies such as J.D. Power & Associates show that more and more women are being promoted to critical decision-making positions in the auto industry as the industry realizes that women make or influence almost 75% of all car-buying decisions in the U.S.
“As a brand in transition, Mercury needs a bold visionary to carry it forward,” said Mark Hutchins, Lincoln Mercury president.
Moneagle’s “proven success in sales” won her the job, said Jim Rogers, Lincoln Mercury’s general marketing manager and Moneagle’s new boss. Mercury’s retail sales in the Chicago region jumped 19% in the first quarter under Moneagle, and the region was the national sales leader for the Cougar.
“Obviously, she has a clear understanding of how to market this vehicle, and we want her to apply that expertise to all Mercury vehicle lines,” Rogers said.
