This time last week I would have confidently asserted that although some have dipped their toes in the water, no other car manufacturer is more deeply embedded in social media than Ford. On Wednesday, (July 28th), however, Ford well and truly became the mayors of their market. They are now the first car manufacturer to unveil a new model (The Ford Explorer) via Facebook rather than at an automotive show. A fairly bold move, even for a brand with one social media success story (The Ford Fiesta Movement) firmly under their belt.
How the Ford Explorer reveal worked
Pre-launch; Ford drummed up excitement and anticipation through the Ford Explorer Facebook page by promising that they would give away a new Explorer if the page grew to 30,000 fans; while driving traffic to the page with strategic interactive online media buys (including sites like AOL, Yahoo, Washington Post).
On the day; Ford delivered a considered performance, kicking off with a pre-reveal video featuring celebrity brand ambassador Mike Row and CEO Alan Mulally. Soon to follow was a very dramatic official reveal video in true auto-show-reveal style, detailed tours of the car, photo gallery, live Q&A session with the CEO and subsequent live chat with featured Ford employees.
To anyone who works in social media, the car industry, or indeed any industry that involves product launches â this is exciting. Ford seems to have embraced the concept of giving their consumers a voice, and turning up the volume. They clearly understand their audience, and where they spend their time. Whatâs more, their apparent willingness to invite unmediated feedback and commentary around their brand and products creates a much deserved sense of credibility and authenticity.
Exciting as it may be, the Explorer campaign is by no means over, and interestingly it still has the potential to be a flop. Why? Because there is still six months before consumers can actually buy the vehicle. The challenge for Ford â keeping the 56,552 Facebook fans engaged over the next six months. Extending the conversation, and ultimately converting some of these into customers. Six months is a long time, so I suspect that many other car brands will be closely watching how this pans out, hoping for some proof of concept before they embrace this new way of thinking about product reveals.
Time will tell, I guess. That said, Iâm sure Ford arenât the only car manufacturer to have considered doing it this way, and when it comes to experimenting with digital and social media, in my eyes, doing beats thinking. So, I think Ford should be admired for taking on uncertainty, and for their commitment to using social channels to shake up more traditional methods of bringing new models to market. Bravo.
To enjoy the how the campaign worked, have a look at this page on facebook.
Richard Webley, Engagement planner
@richwebley
