Another opportunity missed by Ford's poor marketing

[SpoolMan]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Understand where you are coming from but then why bother dropping money into teams...why bother racing at all?

Its about building the brand and awareness, sprouting your name when they do something good, not only being heard when there is a recall or issue.

I agree Falcon goes back to back to back, 3 in row Australians premier motor-sport event has to be the best marketing position any manufacture would like to be in..

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by oranpark addict

Look at it this way boys. Would you rather have a great car with 'dodgy' marketing or a lesser car with excellent marketing

Why do we have to choose? don't you want Ford to be No 1?
Why do ford spend money on participating in the V8SC if they are not going to capitalise on the win? i made a similar post not realising this one was going on. it was poorly marketed.

[HSE2]

I have said my part in the pit section but I am a vindictive person who would take the chance to rub Danes face in the mud no matter what the cost.

Under the circumstances Ford haven't done enough in Falcons 50th for mine. This would not kill them. What price company pride and they do have a right to be proud.

However we do need to keep in mind Holden didn't promote the Bathurst victory like they normally do either it’s a tough one.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Are we all dumb..

It comes down to cost. Ford dont have any money to waste on marketing..

When you don't have the budget, your better off marketing what you need to, e.g. your core product, not some championship win that most people who buy Fiestas, Focus, Mondeo etc dont care about.

Agree.. and if they have a spare few $Mill i want them to spend it developing better features on the FG, not buying air time to tell us something we already know.....

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by HSE2

I have said my part in the pit section but I am a vindictive person who would take the chance to rub Danes face in the mud no matter what the cost.

Under the circumstances Ford haven't done enough in Falcons 50th for mine. This would not kill them. What price company pride and they do have a right to be proud.

However we do need to keep in mind Holden didn't promote the Bathurst victory like they normally do either it’s a tough one.

Mate its all to do with money money money money...

Im sure if they had the cash laying around they would have put more into 50th Annivesary. To be honest they cant even move the 50th annivesary cars like they thought they could. For the money the 50th cars are unbeleivable value, but its a dieing market. They are still feeling the GFC and a dieing market in Falcon / Falcon ute and Territory, some of which is their doing by not pushing the product, the rest is just becasue those markets have changed from where they were 10 years ago. Id give anything go back to 2003 - 2004 when both Ford and Holden were out there actively pushing for new models like the Crewman and Territory, now all we have is 2 manafacturers which are depleting their local production :(

[prydey]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

So the millions they spend on paying for all the stickers on cars and all the billboards around the track that get 3 hrs of TV coverage (let alone zillions of magazine pics) on prime TV 28 days a year isn't enough?
They have to draw the line somewhere... Even Holden have a similar attitude to it.

not to mention the fact that they are a major sponsor of the cricket. there's ads every few minutes for the bulk of the day for 5 days. that'd be 25 days all up over the summer period.

while ford seem happy to tip a fair chunk of money into v8's, i get the feeling they don't rate it as a strong selling point to the general public. if someone told you ford won the v8's again, would that really make you want to go and buy one??

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by prydey

not to mention the fact that they are a major sponsor of the cricket. there's ads every few minutes for the bulk of the day for 5 days. that'd be 25 days all up over the summer period.

while ford seem happy to tip a fair chunk of money into v8's, i get the feeling they don't rate it as a strong selling point to the general public. if someone told you ford won the v8's again, would that really make you want to go and buy one??

Yep.. the best spinnoff for Ford came a few years ago with their association with the cricket and Mathew Hayden...
Ford got huge exposure from Haydos and those commercials.

[fmc351]

Originally Posted by SpoolMan

I agree Falcon goes back to back to back, 3 in row Australians premier motor-sport event has to be the best marketing position any manufacture would like to be in..

Only if people who care about race results are swayed by advertising. They arent though, the people who care about racing are usually dyed in the wool fans of a brand.

People buying runabouts couldnt care less about race results. They care about boot space, leg room, ease of parking, looks, iPod, what the girl next door will be jealous about and many other things not related to racing.


All it would do is give 15yr olds something to shove in the face of other 15yr olds. The only argument I can see, is gaining a future in said 15 yr olds, but I dont think they are much different from dyed in the wool fans mentioned before. I know I wasnt tuned onto Fords by advertising.

[HSE2]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Mate its all to do with money money money money...

No doubt it is but the problem isn't the product either. There is an image issue that needs to be addressed at Ford.

Ford can’t continue to do the same thing and expect a different result. If you are spending money in motor sport you have to capitalise where you can. If the budget is not there to promote the success, then the budgets not there for motorsport at all. Motorsport is all about company promotion and you have to do that affectively to explain your participation in it to see any sort of return. There is no tangible product benefit involved in the first place so rationalising it on that front doesn’t really work.

You may as well concede withdraw completely and spend on product development that doesn’t seem to be embraced in the first place. If you have a problem you first have to understand the issue with it and form mine it can’t be about the products Ford offer now.

After experiencing a Holden rental recently I have no idea how that model sells like it does. Seriously it just not close.

They have a lot of material they can use that is in line with their current promotion that doesn’t require new promotions just changes to what they have. Against the odds they came up trumps and this year above all else certainly would add to the momentum heading into a new year.

Something needs to change. Telling people they are winners is a pretty good place to start for a company that doesn't seem to be able to get the message across. What you see today is the individual sponsor spending more money to bring awareness back towards their own involvement in DJRs success.
Gaining a bit of mongrel about them wouldn’t hurt when nothing else seems to be working.

If I were consulting to Ford it would happen but cost effectively. I can not justify my expense to invest in a promotional tool then not capitalise on it.

Faced with the same situation I would either withdraw completely or promote the success when fortunate enough to do so.

[fmc351]

Originally Posted by HSE2

No doubt it is but the problem isn't the product either. There is an image issue that needs to be addressed at Ford.

Ford can’t continue to do the same thing and expect a different result. If you are spending money in motor sport you have to capitalise where you can. If the budget is not there to promote the success, then the budgets not there for motorsport at all. Motorsport is all about company promotion and you have to do that affectively to explain your participation in it to see any sort of return. There is no tangible product benefit involved in the first place so rationalising it on that front doesn’t really work.

You may as well concede withdraw completely and spend on product development that doesn’t seem to be embraced in the first place. If you have a problem you first have to understand the issue with it and form mine it can’t be about the products Ford offer now.

After experiencing a Holden rental recently I have no idea how that model sells like it does. Seriously it just not close.

They have a lot of material they can use that is in line with their current promotion that doesn’t require new promotions just changes to what they have. Against the odds they came up trumps and this year above all else certainly would add to the momentum heading into a new year.

Something needs to change. Telling people they are winners is a pretty good place to start for a company that doesn't seem to be able to get the message across. What you see today is the individual sponsor spending more money to bring awareness back towards their own involvement in DJRs success.
Gaining a bit of mongrel about them wouldn’t hurt when nothing else seems to be working.

If I were consulting to Ford it would happen but cost effectively. I can not justify my expense to invest in a promotional tool then not capitalise on it.

Faced with the same situation I would either withdraw completely or promote the success when fortunate enough to do so.

Even if it didnt result in additional sales that covered the cost of the additional ads? You would advertise at a loss just to justify participation in motorsport?

The argument is, that not enough sales would result to justify the additional advertising. Ford arent imbeciles, Im sure they have researched it heavily.

Ford already advertise on what they see as the best strategy, "compare it". That line suggests they have the confidence that the competition has nothing on them, and directed at the market they can tap.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by HSE2

Faced with the same situation I would either withdraw completely.....

There are quite a few around (myself included) that believe if given the opportunity Ford would like nothing more than to pull out completely from V8SC, I think the only thing that is stopping them doing is the fear of a backlash in sales from the "Die Hard Blue Tribe".....they would like nothing better than to see the old Ford v Holden thing dead and buried, it's a fight that just doesn’t seem profitable to them anymore.....

Just my 2c worth.....

[HSE2]

Originally Posted by fmc351

Even if it didnt result in additional sales that covered the cost of the additional ads? You would advertise at a loss just to justify participation in motorsport?

There is no justifying motorsport on a sales basis in the first place. There hasn't been for many years.

It’s about image or as some might like win on Sunday sell on Monday in 10 years time. It’s an investment on image and brand promoting purely in the first instance that can’t be justified in the first place with increase volume leaving the showroom floor today.

All advertisement is done at a loss to start with. We have all heard about Fords age issue and if you spend some time at a race event there is a new breed of person wearing Ford merchandise. It’s a lot more prevalent in the streets than it was before the Ambrose era. The assumption is that if people are prepared to wear the brand they are prepared to buy the brand but it doesn’t stop there. Marketing has shown that this new generation of consumer is much more brand specific and aware than at any time in the past and it’s not likely to become less of an issue.
What I am saying is that if you are investing in motorsport to enhance you image and brand more so than a product it’s critical that it extends to the promotion of any success that is derived by that initial investment.
It’s not dissimilar to Ford not having a motorsport manager to look after fords interests and investments. It does not work. Ford appear to not know why they are involved in motorsport and let’s be honest they are because Holden are and can’t afford not to be seen as the pationate company. That’s what it’s all about. Winning for the brand not winning for the product and again for the sake of the teams it’s the right thing to do too.

[4Vman]

Agree... Advertising and brand promotion is planting trees for the future, it isn't an instant fruit tree...

[fmc351]

Originally Posted by HSE2

There is no justifying motorsport on a sales basis in the first place. There hasn't been for many years.

It’s about image or as some might like win on Sunday sell on Monday in 10 years time. It’s an investment on image and brand promoting purely in the first instance that can’t be justified in the first place with increase volume leaving the showroom floor today.

All advertisement is done at a loss to start with. We have all heard about Fords age issue and if you spend some time at a race event there is a new breed of person wearing Ford merchandise. It’s a lot more prevalent in the streets than it was before the Ambrose era. The assumption is that if people are prepared to wear the brand they are prepared to buy the brand but it doesn’t stop there. Marketing has shown that this new generation of consumer is much more brand specific and aware than at any time in the past and it’s not likely to become less of an issue.
What I am saying is that if you are investing in motorsport to enhance you image and brand more so than a product it’s critical that it extends to the promotion of any success that is derived by that initial investment.
It’s not dissimilar to Ford not having a motorsport manager to look after fords interests and investments. It does not work. Ford appear to not know why they are involved in motorsport and let’s be honest they are because Holden are and can’t afford not to be seen as the pationate company. That’s what it’s all about. Winning for the brand not winning for the product and again for the sake of the teams it’s the right thing to do too.

Yeah, so advertising based on that will not enhance anything either. They stay in the game for the die hard fans, and to some extent if they left, that would be a win a for Holden that may, or may not, cost Ford in other ways. It would certainly give Holden a lot of mileage if Ford just packed up and left motorsport. What is telling, is if Holden left motorsport, it wouldnt be the same for Ford.

However, advertising based on race results does have the potential to damage Ford. They are not seen as the 'Aussie" car, yes I know, but the market doesnt seem to know. Holden are seen that way, but they are also seen as the Hoon car, the bogan mobile to people both into motorsport and those not into it. While the Holden being Aussie has benefited Holden and Ford has always played second fiddle even when they win and that goes back to the 70's AFAIK, it can work to Fords advantage with the segment of the market who dont pay attention to motorsport, or more importantly, dont like motorsport.

No matter what the truth is, Ford have never been able to shake the image they are not Aussie, while Holden is seen as 'ALL' Aussie, albeit wrong. Despite the number of wins for Ford, the steep history and early Aussie GT's, there are still more Holden fans. Its the Aussie thing to do, love the Holden. Ford is somehow unAustralian. The point is, Ford cant win the PR battle based on motorsport, most people dont understand the 'spin', they just buy into it based on the colour of the stable.

Ford can tread lightly, and carry a big stick, while not making a noise and creating negative attention from a segment that see motorsport as hooning. They cant emulate Holden, they have to do something outside the box, and they have done for a long time IMO.

[SpoolMan]

Poor millions into a sport no need to promote 3 wins on your 50th birthday.

Anyway Ford just rang me and are now starting to send out 50th anniversary hampers for all those who purchased a 50th anniversary Falcon, you will all be getting phone calls to confirm your address.

[Brazen]

This feeling that Holden benefits as being 'Australian' is way overplayed. If anything a bit of cultural cringe by many people who can afford to buy brand new must hurt Holden a bit.

Anyway Toyota sells as much as Ford and Holden put together, and there is no way they are seen as Australian.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Agree.. and if they have a spare few $Mill i want them to spend it developing better features on the FG, not buying air time to tell us something we already know.....

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Brazen

Anyway Toyota sells as much as Ford and Holden put together, and there is no way they are seen as Australian.

Must be all those Bathurst and V8SC titles they keep winning.

[Joe5619]

Originally Posted by XR

This on so many levels, Holden are number 1 and look like they'll be number 1 for a while.

Sorry, last time I check Toyota where number 1!! Have been more many many many many years!!


Also the question as been asked a few times on here "why is Ford in V8 supercars?"... I'll asnwer that simiply by saying to create brand loyalty.. People like me, just bought a Falcon without cross shoping it to anything, simiply becuase I grew up as a Seton/ Ford fan.. This is why Ford are in V8s & wasting money on an add to say "we won", when I already know we won is a waste of time & money.. Again Ford are in V8 supercars to increase Brand Loyalty!! This is done by winning on the track & being part of the sport , not some dumb **** add saying "we won"..

[EgoFG]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

Also the question as been asked a few times on here "why is Ford in V8 supercars?"... I'll asnwer that simiply by saying to create brand loyalty.. People like me, just bought a Falcon without cross shoping it to anything, simiply becuase I grew up as a Seton/ Ford fan.. This is why Ford are in V8s & wasting money on an add to say "we won", when I already know we won is a waste of time & money.. Again Ford are in V8 supercars to increase Brand Loyalty!! This is done by winning on the track & being part of the sport , not some dumb **** add saying "we won"..

And to add the Official reason from the Ford Australia Racing website:

Originally Posted by FordAustraliaRacing

Racing is a vital part of Ford's DNA; without it the automotive giant may never have been born. It was through motorsport Henry Ford demonstrated his ability to manufacture strong, dependable, lightweight and inexpensive vehicles, beating 1901 racing hero Alexander Winton in the only race of his career. The feat created a wave of momentum, which resulted in the Ford Motor Company's founding two years later. Since that momentous contest Ford has gone from strength to strength in the world of motorsport, winning NASCAR, Le Mans, Formula One, Indy Car, World Rally and, of course, V8 Supercar Championship titles.

http://www.ford.com.au/racing

[Fairmont Man]

Looks like I opened a can of worms here with this topic. Plenty of interesting points of view. I agree with some, and disagree with others. No one is really right or wrong, good to see people expressing their opinions. I just think any time you have something positive to share about your product it's worth the exercise. I strongly agree with SpoolMan, 3 in a row is worth promoting. Even if there isn't much left of a Falcon, it looks like one and has the name, they'd still be some people out there that would be influenced by that. It's a vicious circle at times, what's that old saying, sometimes you have to spend money to make money.

[04redxr8]

To the OP. This question is asked everytime we win a championship.

Have you ever purchased a brand new Ford? If not, are you waiting for a man in the box on the wall to tell you to?

I had a look, they (the Marketing Departnment) are a little busy at the moment. Seems they have a full time job defending the company from their own fans. There is apparently a Ford Forum website (allegedley they are fans) who do nothing but discredit Ford. The marketing guys have a full time job telling people that they really are not as bad Ford Forums make out.

Most people who don't know much about cars research them on the internet. When they find our little home on the intraweb, what do you think find? 50 threads bagging Ford to 1 thread praising them. And we are the Fans?

I heard a report that a girl was given 4 minutes of prime time airtime to convey a message regarding Indigenious Health issues. That 4 minutes they said was worth about $4,000,000. Thats $500,000 per 30 sec block. If Ford makes only $5,000 clear per car, it needs to sell an extra (above and beyond what they are already doing) 100 cars for every 30 seconds of prime time advertising.

I have bought 2 brand Fords. Would be 3 but the idiot dealer I ran into at the end of the financial year really seemed like he didn't want to sell a car. Again, another fool serving the brand poorely.

For those who have bought new Fords, I think would agree, that advertising dollars saved and passed back to customers in way of better deals is always more beneficial.

Instead of making posts about Ford not marketing, how about you go down to your local dealer and buy a new Ford. Help them extend their marketing budget.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by HSE2

No doubt it is but the problem isn't the product either. There is an image issue that needs to be addressed at Ford.


After experiencing a Holden rental recently I have no idea how that model sells like it does. Seriously it just not close.


Something needs to change. Telling people they are winners is a pretty good place to start for a company that doesn't seem to be able to get the message across.

If I were consulting to Ford it would happen but cost effectively. I can not justify my expense to invest in a promotional tool then not capitalise on it.

Faced with the same situation I would either withdraw completely or promote the success when fortunate enough to do so.

Agreed its baffling to think they can tip X amount into the whole V8SC circus and then when they get the result they want, the whole point of being there in the first place, they dont tell a soul?

Dont tell me they set the budget thinking they are going to lose.....all the stars lined up this year in the face of it all, 888, 2:1 etc...golden opportunity.

Originally Posted by 04redxr8

Instead of making posts about Ford not marketing, how about you go down to your local dealer and buy a new Ford. Help them extend their marketing budget.

Oh please... ....you want me to make a pity purchase? Fords issues are greater than this forum. This place just magnifies it.

[Dr Smith]

Advertising your successes is an image things, no-one wants to hang out with losers, from the school yard to cricket teams ()..would $250,000 on advertising the V8 success tied to the 50th anniversary year have such a drastic effect on next years announcement of Ford's profit/loss..don' think so... however image is everything otherwise how does Holden sell VE's or BMW convince people to buy "bangleised" cars that are butt ugly....

[DJR-351]

I would settle for a one (or half) page add in the paper, something I can cut out and plonk in the scrap book with the rest of the stuff collected over the last 40 years....

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by 04redxr8

To the OP. This question is asked everytime we win a championship.

Have you ever purchased a brand new Ford? If not, are you waiting for a man in the box on the wall to tell you to?

I had a look, they (the Marketing Departnment) are a little busy at the moment. Seems they have a full time job defending the company from their own fans. There is apparently a Ford Forum website (allegedley they are fans) who do nothing but discredit Ford. The marketing guys have a full time job telling people that they really are not as bad Ford Forums make out.

Most people who don't know much about cars research them on the internet. When they find our little home on the intraweb, what do you think find? 50 threads bagging Ford to 1 thread praising them. And we are the Fans?

I heard a report that a girl was given 4 minutes of prime time airtime to convey a message regarding Indigenious Health issues. That 4 minutes they said was worth about $4,000,000. Thats $500,000 per 30 sec block. If Ford makes only $5,000 clear per car, it needs to sell an extra (above and beyond what they are already doing) 100 cars for every 30 seconds of prime time advertising.

I have bought 2 brand Fords. Would be 3 but the idiot dealer I ran into at the end of the financial year really seemed like he didn't want to sell a car. Again, another fool serving the brand poorely.

For those who have bought new Fords, I think would agree, that advertising dollars saved and passed back to customers in way of better deals is always more beneficial.

Instead of making posts about Ford not marketing, how about you go down to your local dealer and buy a new Ford. Help them extend their marketing budget.

This post should be made a sticky....

Well said, and spot on.

[HSE2]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Agreed its baffling to think they can tip X amount into the whole V8SC circus and then when they get the result they want, the whole point of being there in the first place, they dont tell a soul?

Dont tell me they set the budget thinking they are going to lose.....all the stars lined up this year in the face of it all, 888, 2:1 etc...golden opportunity.



Oh please... ....you want me to make a pity purchase? Fords issues are greater than this forum. This place just magnifies it.

Well I think some people have got a bit confused here. You don’t promote the achievement to appease people like us and that’s being forgotten by some.

We can't be promoted to effectively because we go out of our way to know about the product, the company and race results. We obviously know about all that so yes advertising to us is wasted money.

Marketing is aimed at people who don’t buy your product, don’t attend races don’t have an appreciation of brand values. If you reach those people with a positive message, change that perception in anyway, that’s not wasted money but it’s not easily measurable either.

Don’t get the two confused. Marketing to people you have is very different to marketing to people who don’t yet know about you. The benefits to changing those perceptions of your product or brand are immeasurable.
Us saying ford should gain a voice and promote is fine for our egos but the motivation has to be aligned with Fords involvement in the sport in the first place and that is purely to appeal to the younger generation. If you want more evidence of this shift then you need not look further than the stand at the AMS, its construction and content. Fords biggest issue is that the message been sent is scrambled and inconsistent

Under the circumstance yes this should be promoted. Just like the product they sell, Ford is written off and not on everyone’s shopping list and they should be. It’s not just the product faults- there is an image issue.

You have to get consumers to reconsider the brand and telling those consumers you are a winner is a pretty good start I would have thought especially in the face of nothing else working.

[csv8]

What happened to win on sunday..sell on monday????????

[HSE2]

Originally Posted by 04redxr8

For those who have bought new Fords, I think would agree, that advertising dollars saved and passed back to customers in way of better deals is always more beneficial.

Instead of making posts about Ford not marketing, how about you go down to your local dealer and buy a new Ford. Help them extend their marketing budget.

No I don’t agree on either count because it suggests one opinion is more valid than another and that’s not the case because every man and his dog has an opinion on how to fix Ford and funnily enough it’s not actually product related.

Its just a dicussion topic.

Ford for as long as I can remember have had very competent if not the best products on the market at any given time. There is no point spending money on improving the product if those improvements are not first valued buys the consumers you are trying to win over.

The next generation you have to appeal to, want it all. They need to hear and see success then they need to feel it into product. You have to align the lot in a giant balancing act to move towards a more sustainable age demographic of consumer.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by csv8

What happened to win on sunday..sell on monday????????

It stopped working in 1985......

[fmc351]

Originally Posted by HSE2

You have to get consumers to reconsider the brand and telling those consumers you are a winner is a pretty good start I would have thought especially in the face of nothing else working.

How many of those people also think speed cameras are a good thing? Cant imagine the image of 'winner' in that sense makes them want to buy a 'hoon' car. My take is Ford are trying to set themselves up as an alternative to Toyota, Mazda etc while maintaining itself as a superior product to Holden in the traditional sense. They are seeing a different future for auto-markets and trying to reposition themselves in that mix. You cant do that overnight, my guess is they see the writing on the wall and are getting in early.

Zoom Zoom says all the things Mazda want, without really saying 'hoon'. Zoom zoom is more childish, kitch, or cutesy. It sounds more like fun of being on the open road and freedom, rather than neck snapping acceleration and awesome cornering at mach 1 fun of driving.