‘TOWN-TO-TOWN, FRIEND-TO-FRIEND’ AD PARTICIPANT TRADES HONDA FOR NEW FORD EDGE – PERMANENTLY

[range]

LINK

[rmc523]

LINK

 

Good to hear that she liked it so much that she bought one almost immediately.

[Mark B. Morrow]

I guess that is the point of the campaign. She would probably good for an ad.

[rmc523]

I guess that is the point of the campaign. She would probably good for an ad.

 

I agree....I'd like to see an ad telling her story.

[goinbroke2]

Excellent! (waiting for the negatards to come on again about how Farley is being payed too much like Mullaly)

 

This is so good to see.

[grbeck]

This is good news.

 

Here is the important quote in the whole story:

 

Before she was approached to participate in Ford’s “Town-to-Town, Friend-to-Friend” campaign, Christine Wall thought the only thing the company made was trucks. She had never even heard of the Ford Edge. (emphasis added)

 

“When they showed me the car I’d be test-driving, I was shocked,” says Wall. “I said, ‘That’s a Ford?’ ”

 

The vehicle has been out for two years now...I find this be more than a little amazing and troubling. She's a financial analyst, so one would assume that she is well-educated and reasonably well-informed.

 

I don't think we realize just how far off the radar Ford has fallen for many buyers. If Farley can overcome this...disinterest...in Ford on a large scale, he will definitely have earned his paycheck.

Edited May 1, 2008 by grbeck

[NickF1011]

This is good news.

 

Here is the important quote in the whole story:

 

Before she was approached to participate in Ford’s “Town-to-Town, Friend-to-Friend” campaign, Christine Wall thought the only thing the company made was trucks. She had never even heard of the Ford Edge. (emphasis added. The vehicle has been out for two years now...shouldn't this be rather amazing and troubling to all of us? She's a financial analyst, so one would assume that she is well-educated and reasonably well informed.)

 

“When they showed me the car I’d be test-driving, I was shocked,” says Wall. “I said, ‘That’s a Ford?’ ”

 

I don't think we realize just how far off the radar Ford has fallen for many buyers. If Farley can overcome this...disinterest...in Ford on a large scale, he will definitely have earned his paycheck.

 

Overall, I don't really find it surprising at all. Sure, it might be SOME reflection on Ford's poor advertising over the past few years, but the Edge was actually one of the more heavily advertised ones.

 

I'll bet she didn't know about the existence of a LOT of newer vehicles on the market. Doubt she knew what a Hyundai Tucson was, or a Mitsubishi Endeavor, or a GMC Acadia, or a Saturn Outlook. Most consumers stick with what they know and tend to block out the rest anyway. Of course, that's where effective advertising does come into play. You need to find a way to get through that block out.

[V8 Ford]

I agree, its just us car nuts that know every model from every company. Maybe there's a few iconic cars like the mustang that just about everyone knows about but for the most part people only know about cars through personal experience, friends and family, and the occasional car advert they actually pay attention to.

[rmc523]

I agree, its just us car nuts that know every model from every company. Maybe there's a few iconic cars like the mustang that just about everyone knows about but for the most part people only know about cars through personal experience, friends and family, and the occasional car advert they actually pay attention to.

 

I'm sure you're likely right.

[grbeck]

Overall, I don't really find it surprising at all. Sure, it might be SOME reflection on Ford's poor advertising over the past few years, but the Edge was actually one of the more heavily advertised ones.

 

I'll bet she didn't know about the existence of a LOT of newer vehicles on the market. Doubt she knew what a Hyundai Tucson was, or a Mitsubishi Endeavor, or a GMC Acadia, or a Saturn Outlook. Most consumers stick with what they know and tend to block out the rest anyway. Of course, that's where effective advertising does come into play. You need to find a way to get through that block out.

 

 

But Ford is still one of the big players. Hyundai, Mitsubishi, GMC and Saturn are bit players, and GMC is still better known for pure trucks than crossovers. Ford is up there with Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda and Nissan. I would think that people would pay more attention to the major brands (and high-visibility "prestige" brands like Porsche, Mercedes and BMW) than, say, Saturn.

[NickF1011]

But Ford is still one of the big players. Hyundai, Mitsubishi, GMC and Saturn are bit players, and GMC is still better known for pure trucks than crossovers. Ford is up there with Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda and Nissan. I would think that people would pay more attention to the major brands (and high-visibility "prestige" brands like Porsche, Mercedes and BMW) than, say, Saturn.

 

Ok. We'll go with the big players. I'll bet there are plenty of people who have no idea what a Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, Chevy Aveo, or Honda Fit are.

[jpark]

If she's a financial analyst, despite being well-educated, some people just aren't car people, and they go straight to the Accord, CR-V, Camry, or Highlander without even looking at anything else.

[NLPRacing]

If she's a financial analyst, despite being well-educated, some people just aren't car people, and they go straight to the Accord, CR-V, Camry, or Highlander without even looking at anything else.

 

Exactly, the Ford name is damaged to a lot of people. There are still many people who talk about how they will never buy a Ford because of "how crappy their 10 year old Tempo was" or some other asinine reason like that. I think Ford's "Drive One" campaign is a good start, but they really need to go a step further. They need to get people that would never consider a Ford into one for a test drive. They need to display these cars in public places (grocery stores, retail stores, malls, amusement parks, etc.). The more people that check them out, the more people will buy them. But, if you can't get them to even look, you've already lost.

[rmc523]

Exactly, the Ford name is damaged to a lot of people. There are still many people who talk about how they will never buy a Ford because of "how crappy their 10 year old Tempo was" or some other asinine reason like that. I think Ford's "Drive One" campaign is a good start, but they really need to go a step further. They need to get people that would never consider a Ford into one for a test drive. They need to display these cars in public places (grocery stores, retail stores, malls, amusement parks, etc.). The more people that check them out, the more people will buy them. But, if you can't get them to even look, you've already lost.

 

I agree, they need to be on display. I know my soccer coach just got a Flex Limited and we saw him at an ice cream store just after he got it. Anyways, it was parked in a spot across the small two lane, divided road (by the beach, so not much fast traffic), and I noticed people looking at it, pointing, etc. as they walked by.

[DUCKRACER]

Overall, I don't really find it surprising at all. Sure, it might be SOME reflection on Ford's poor advertising over the past few years, but the Edge was actually one of the more heavily advertised ones.

 

I'll bet she didn't know about the existence of a LOT of newer vehicles on the market. Doubt she knew what a Hyundai Tucson was, or a Mitsubishi Endeavor, or a GMC Acadia, or a Saturn Outlook. Most consumers stick with what they know and tend to block out the rest anyway. Of course, that's where effective advertising does come into play. You need to find a way to get through that block out.

What is she going to do when she sees all of the FLEX ads that are on TV every 20 min? :-0

Edited August 15, 2008 by DUCKRACER

[Bleed Blue]

Exactly, the Ford name is damaged to a lot of people. There are still many people who talk about how they will never buy a Ford because of "how crappy their 10 year old Tempo was" or some other asinine reason like that. I think Ford's "Drive One" campaign is a good start, but they really need to go a step further. They need to get people that would never consider a Ford into one for a test drive. They need to display these cars in public places (grocery stores, retail stores, malls, amusement parks, etc.). The more people that check them out, the more people will buy them. But, if you can't get them to even look, you've already lost.

My wife has commented to me that she has had quite a few people ask her about her car (black fusion, dark tinted windows, rear wing etc). Pretty good looking car (in my/our opinion). They want to know what it is and who makes it. The car has been out for what, almost 4 yrs now and people still don't recognize it. Marketing? Clueless/scary people? I don't know. I guess being a total car guy I pay a lot more attention I suppose. She came out to a parking lot and a lady was standing there waiting for her. Wanted to know what kind of car it was. I guess the blue oval and lettering that spelled out FUSION SEL didn't help her....LOL.