Fordâs Farley to Unveil Marketing Plan
By Michelle Krebs April 4, 2008Next week, Ford’s long-awaited marketing plan will be unveiled by Jim Farley, Ford’s
group vice president for marketing and communications who was lured away from Toyota last fall.
The marketing plan includes an experiential aspect taking place this weekend in conjunction with the ABC TV show "Oprah's Big Give"; a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, with the tagline "Drive One," rolls out Tuesday.
Farley is a big fan of experiential marketing so the first aspect of Fordâs marketing plan is an experiential one and rolls out publicly this weekend. The Ford Big Drive House Party recruits Ford owners to invite friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers into their homes Sunday night to talk up their cars, according to The New York Times.
A marketing services company named House Party is running the event and has selected the 10 party hosts based on submissions from Ford owners to the companyâs Web site and their responses to questionnaires. More than 4,000 applied. The parties are to be held Sunday night during the broadcast of âOprahâs Big Giveâ on ABC.
The parties play off the showâs altruistic theme, with contests in which Ford vehicles are the prizes, and $25,000 will be donated to a cause the winner chooses. The winner will be selected from entries submitted to a Web site and will be taped for a Ford commercial during the showâs season finale April 20.
Another aspect of the Farley Ford plan is a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign called âDrive One,â which was previewed to Ford workers Thursday and will be unveiled to the public Tuesday, according to Fridayâs Detroit Free Press. The campaign shows consumers why they should consider a Ford based on four key areas â quality, green, safe and smart â and invites them to a test drive. It is a similar approach to the 1982 âHave you driven a Ford lately?â â a phrase Ford CEO Alan Mulally is fond of using.â¢
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