Tuesday, November 04, 2008
ford motors: doing internet marketing right

Marketers, pay attention: harnessing the power of the internet does not mean a YouTube video contest. (Well, it did a few years ago, but we're all over that now.) It IS about utilizing existing tools, creators and audiences and allowing them to do what they do best.

Here's a sweeet example: CommonCraft (maybe you've seen their explanations of Twitter, or the electoral process) produces a video showing exactly how Ford Sync works. And guess what? Without overtly "selling", they've shown product benefits and created desire. Bravo, Ford. And Common Craft. And all who use the internet for goodness.

From GeekMommy, via Twitter

Labels: ads, automotive, marketing, social media

posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:45 AM   5 comments

5 Comments:

At 9:26 AM,  Kyle Studstill said...

zune: no
Embarrasing number of hair metal playlists: CHECK.

Haha. Great find guys, I agree it's time to get past the "YouTube=viral" stage  

At 12:44 PM,  Lee LeFever said...

Thanks for the nice words Darryl. It was a pleasure to work with Ford on this video and we're excited to see positive feedback. There's always a fine-line when it comes to promotion. We're much more comfortable educating than promoting anyway, so I hope we've been able to strike a balance.  

At 4:13 PM,  Chris Monty said...

That is a great video. This should put Ford back on the map again.  

At 8:58 AM,  Scott Monty said...

Thanks for the shout-out, guys! We're working hard here to share some of the amazing stories from within Ford to an audience that hasn't had much exposure to or interest in the brand in the past. Believe me, I wouldn't have taken a job with Ford unless I really believed it what they were doing.

And let me be perfectly clear about SYNC: this is not Zune-specific technology. The system works with most mp3 devices (as in, ahem, the iPod) and most Bluetooth-enabled phones. For more information, you can check out Sync My Ride, where there's also an owner-to-owner community and there's information about a couple of new driver services available on SYNC.

And finally, I am in no way related to Chris Monty above (at least not that I'm aware). :)

Scott Monty
Global Digital Communications
Ford Motor Company  

At 1:25 PM,  chuck rampart said...

It is such a relief to get actual information in a mildly entertaining way as opposed to entertainment without real information. Really nice.  

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