Lincoln to begin new ads to attract younger buyers -Gee Are Internet Users Young???

April 29, 2002 BLOOMBERG NEWS is reporting that Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln division is beginning an advertising campaign next week in an attempt to attract younger buyers and revive sales at the U.S. luxury-car division of the world's second-largest automaker.

Viacom Inc.'s CBS television network plans to start broadcasting a 60-second commercial for Lincoln models Monday, and three ads for the redesigned 2003 Navigator sport-utility vehicle are scheduled to debut next month, Ford said.

The average Lincoln customer is 59 years old, 10 years older than the typical Navigator owner. Lincoln plans to begin selling its midsize Aviator sport-utility this year and is focusing on consumers aged 30 to 54. Sales of Lincoln fell 18 percent to 158,934 last year, and declined another 21 percent to 33,922 in the first quarter, according to Autodata Corp.

"If you've got a dying buyer group and people are unwilling to replace them, you've got nothing to look forward to but shrinking sales," said Mike Flynn, director of the University of Michigan's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation.

Shares of Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford fell 2 cents to $16.30. They have declined 44 percent in the past 12 months.

Lincoln hasn't run advertisements for the overall brand since before it introduced the LS sedan in 1999, said Ann Kalass, marketing communications manager for Lincoln Mercury. WPP Group Plc's Young & Rubicam Inc. produced the ads.

Ford decided last week to separate Lincoln from the rest of its Premier Automotive Group of luxury brands. Lincoln appeals mainly to U.S. customers while the other luxury brands, based in Europe and including Jaguar and Land Rover, attract buyers across the world. Lincoln is now part of Ford's North American business.