Will Ford Brag About The Big Win?

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by Plugg3r

And i heard even the extent that Ford's are even running the Chev 304 V8 Block.

Where did you hear that rubbish???!!!

[Perana]

Originally Posted by Plugg3r

Though isnt the case they are all running 5.0L 304's?
And i heard even the extent that Ford's are even running the Chev 304 V8 Block.

No they're not,

They run SVO R302 blocks, which are based on the Windsor design.

Co-incidentally the Chev Aurora blocks are also quite similar to that design...

[Sam_Boss260]

Was it last year or the year before when Ford had that ad on the internet, where the ford execs were kicking this giant lion? I think it was when we won 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Was that last year? And that played on the www.ford.com.au website for a few weeks too.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by ESP

You have to click on the banner and there is no real lead into the BATHURST Victory............but once you're into the linked site.............its great to see that the win has been celebrated.....albeit very backdoorish..........

What do you mean? When I click the link I get a page up for about 10 secs that shows the boys on the podium, says "FORD WINS BATHURST 1000 2008!!" and then says something about "Team Vodafone Kings of the Mountrain".

[Grechie]

http://www.ford.com.au/servlet/Conte...YPage&site=FOA

wooooohoo

[barra240t]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

I think you'll find they're banned now by VESA...

Oh really? Why is that?

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by Plugg3r

Though isnt the case they are all running 5.0L 304's?
And i heard even the extent that Ford's are even running the Chev 304 V8 Block.

Although the way the heads of power in V8SC are going, I would not be surprised if they go a "control block". Keep going the way they are and teams will buy a race chassis and fit their manufacturers body to it. But that is a whole new can of worms, back on topic.

[XR4568]

The fact that they are now selling FG Falcons yet still racing BF Falcons will make it a tad difficult to really promote

[outback_ute]

Originally Posted by barra240t

Oh really? Why is that?

The posters were banned from parc ferme at the race finish to avoid ambush marketing of the event sponsors.

I think Ford should be putting out a run of posters that you could collect from Ford dealers, it may not help sell too many extra cars this week but having posters on bedroom walls could mean a customer in future years. Also a limited edition XR8 to commemorate the win - if they think they will sell another 200 GT's for something as poxy as FPV's 5th anniversary they should do 4x that many for this!

[Jason[98.EL]]

Originally Posted by XR4568

The fact that they are now selling FG Falcons yet still racing BF Falcons will make it a tad difficult to really promote

yup was thinking the same thing

but i did have a ripper of an argument with a die hard holden guy yesterday about the fact as well

i had to pull pics of a bf up then the same with the fg just to get him to see the point

you have to love the fact that ford has one it 3 yrs in a row with what is now a superseded model

just my 2c worth

Grimus

[mik]

Originally Posted by XWildGT

Check this out then
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=lQXgLW...eature=related

nice one :

[220XR8]

Everyone on this Forum already knows about the FG,
How many have bought one?
Was it the advertising that made you buy it?
Was it brand loyalty?
If diehard Ford fans are not buying the car why do you think advertising will sell it ?

I personally can't see the point in bagging Ford for it's lack of advertising on a car thats not selling well, even to brand followers..

[mik]

moraly it probably is`nt politically correct to capitalise on a racecar win ....however it has a Ford badge on it and regardless of modifications, it would be foolish to throw away a good chance at the Ford brand name having some good press in tuff times, racecar or not the more a brand name is mentioned (with good press)has to help sales to a degree imo.

[RIPGMH]

V8 Supercars must cost Ford and Holden a packet, maybe not as much as previous years but there would still be a fair degree of cost involved. Does anyone really think they would sink money into something that didn't give a return? It might not be worth promoting a Bathurst win but don't underestimate the value in it.

[XR6_190]

I don't really see the point, like most people have said, whats the point, anybody who cares that Ford won Bathurst already knows, so it really is a waste of money, especially with ford trying to entice a 'more sophisticated' customer base.

On an off topic side note, does this now mean that the BF Falcon is unbeaten in all of it's outings at the mountain?

[efI_Fairmont]

Originally Posted by EgoFG

I believe that the gain from boasting about race victories is there, but there is at least a 5 year turn around.

Holden is still basking in the glory of the Brock days, and the 90s bias days.

But FORD take note (subjective estimates follow):
the crowd this year was very close to 50/50, last year it seems more like 70% holden.

And, yes there are bogans at Bathurst, but a lot of professionals and families as well.

From where I was sitting I would say the crowd has 10-15% bogans. These are vocal and stand out. but even bogans are potential customers.

I think that is definately true. Holden definately have alot of dedicated followers, who are now loyal customers, that grew up with Brocky and HDT dominating the ATCC in the 80's and 90's. Now those wide-eyed kids who were watching are buying.

If Ford were to advertise this win, and others, then it most likely would do nothing to their current sales now, but it may just help to build the brand, which is something they desperately need to do.

[EgoFG]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Ford and Holden can not do this; the bodies are heavily modified and in Fords case not even the current model. The diffs, gearboxes, soon to be brakes, engine management and often suspension and other components are identical between both manufacturers. In fact it is only the engine s and the bodies that are unique to each manufacturer. There is no correlation between race equipment and my car, additionally no development that the race teams do has flow on effects to what our cars on the road have.

That is one of the reasons why V8 Supercars mean nothing to the car buying public as a majority, the V8 Supercar fanatic population is a very small % of the car buying demographic. The category is just plain not popular enough, an example of this is I have Craig Lowndes’s signature on my steering wheel. I get asked constantly "who is that" to which I tell them and then I get asked "who is he then?". Mass advertising value there!

Very Logical and well thought out .....
But if the buying public were logical and thinkers every FG made would be sold, and only disappointed people who cannot wait for an order would be looking at a VE.

It is about brand name building

You have seen the new Cadbury ad. ?
Think about it ....
What has that song got to do with Chocolate ? What relationship is there between Cadbury and gorillas ?

And yet that ad was a an extremely well thought out recovery from a huge hit the Cadbury brand took in the UK.

It was extremely successful, and yet does not relate to the product ---- at all !

If Vodafone can boast over the win, so can Ford !

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by Aaron Hunter

I wonder if Ford Aust will use the win yesterday. ........To help sell more cars in a ad campaign- My guess is they dont know how to do ads anymore..........
Let me tell you Holden would .......come one FPV to your best to sell the best

Mate advertise ya stuff ford

Bugger that. Can they just put the same diff from the race cars in the GT. Any diff from Ford that can go for that long, without problems is something FPV need to hear about.

:alien2:

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by EgoFG

Very Logical and well thought out .....
But if the buying public were logical and thinkers every FG made would be sold, and only disappointed people who cannot wait for an order would be looking at a VE.

It is about brand name building

You have seen the new Cadbury ad. ?
Think about it ....
What has that song got to do with Chocolate ? What relationship is there between Cadbury and gorillas ?

And yet that ad was a an extremely well thought out recovery from a huge hit the Cadbury brand took in the UK.

It was extremely successful, and yet does not relate to the product ---- at all !

If Vodafone can boast over the win, so can Ford !

Funny you mentioned the cadbury Gorilla ad, i was speaking with one of their advertising people today about that very ad, Cadbury did not see one iota of difference in sales from the ad, but Phil Collins record sales spiked....

[irlewy86]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Funny you mentioned the cadbury Gorilla ad, i was speaking with one of their advertising people today about that very ad, Cadbury did not see one iota of difference in sales from the ad, but Phil Collins record sales spiked....

Yep sometimes you can have a great campaign (talked about, awarded etc) and still not see any sales succsess. Budwiesers "Man law" campaign is another example.

[AUIIForte]

Originally Posted by Pinkbits

The only thing that the race cars have in common with joe blow publics is looks.
"Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" went out the door back in the 80's.

And thats why since then FORD have been selling S.H.!.T compared to their rivals.

How much technology from the F1 do you see in Honda? None, but they advertise like their road cars have something of the race cars! And they sell!

What makes a car sell? Showing off. That's that, even if its not half true. Thats business.

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by GTP006

What do you mean? When I click the link I get a page up for about 10 secs that shows the boys on the podium, says "FORD WINS BATHURST 1000 2008!!" and then says something about "Team Vodafone Kings of the Mountrain".

I just clicked it again and you're right.........seems like they changed something since I last clicked the link ?????????

Maybe they ( FORD PR ) do read this site after all..........!!!!!!!!!

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by RIPGMH

V8 Supercars must cost Ford and Holden a packet, maybe not as much as previous years but there would still be a fair degree of cost involved. Does anyone really think they would sink money into something that didn't give a return? It might not be worth promoting a Bathurst win but don't underestimate the value in it.

V8SC probably does not cost them very much at all when you think about, I mean what do they supply to the teams? Realistically it is just body shells in terms of materials. The teams and their individual sponsors buy the engines, suspension, safety equip, drivelines, brakes etc because none of it is Ford or Holden equipment.

The other cost for the manufacturers is sponsorship of their individual teams (FPV has one, HRT and Ford doesn't), these are costs that all other sponsors have. The difference between the manufacturers and other sponsors is the manufacturers get massive exposure through the fact that it is a 2 make class of racing. I wonder if they have to financially contribute to V8SC to keep it that way.

How much technology from the F1 do you see in Honda? None, but they advertise like their road cars have something of the race cars! And they sell!

Are you serious? Honda put massive development into turbo cars during the eighties using F1, so successful; that they had to change the rules and ban turbo’s to stop them. Now everyone uses intercooled turbos with bypass valves on there road cars for more power, more efficiency and less turbo lag. Honda also developed VVT technology in F1, now their trademark technology, everyone else is copying. They used F1 to develop fly by wire throttle control which allowed better development of launch control, stability control etc. The list goes on.

In the eighties at the height of Honda domination they were getting power figures from 1.5L V6 engines that was untouchable by larger V12's and with such good fuel economy that a pit stop in F1 was something that only happened when there was a fault.

Prior to this assault on F1, Honda was only a marginally respected Japanese manufacturer, after their success in F1 they became an automotive super power. I believe there was a number of reasons for this success in sales, first off F1 gave them the platform and funding to make some major innovations in automotive engineering. Secondly they allowed this technology to flow down to their road cars, at all levels. Finally they beat their chest about it, so much so that even people that don't follow F1 know that Honda are big and are likely to mention Honda and Ferrari in the same sentence.

Can Ford and Holden do the same thing with V8SC? Not any where near the same level. First off, none of the development on the cars except body design makes it to the road cars (even then the manufacturers do not design a race body and adapt to road use, it’s the other way around), I mean even the Ford engine is based on 1960's design. Secondly there is not the same level of interest or respect in V8SC as there is F1, F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, period (everyone from the queen to an out of work school leaver knows this). Finally there is not the financial support in V8SC that there is in F1, due to the fact that F1 has global exposure and therefore budgets that make V8SC look like pocket money.

Finally, I believe it would be hypocritical for Ford to beat their chest over the win on the weekend. Imagine it "we won Bathurst" only a couple of months after they withdrew all factory support of 888 racing and DJR, 2 of their strongest campaigners and then stated that they wish to distance themselves from V8SC.

Really their only right is to beat their chests that they came third. I wonder if next years car bodies will be donated to 888 or will they have to buy them?

[4Vman]

It Costs Ford millions of dollars to be involved in V8SC.. the money goes in getting advertising space as well as support of teams, and contracts to drivers..

[Scott]

Ford don't have to say they did it, they can simply advertise their congratulations to Team Vodafone and show lots of pics of their race suits and cars.

[The Yeti]

well its wednesday and apart from the website Ive seen nothing, you can bet Holden would be siinging form the mountan top if they had won but not ford, they'll say nothing and get nothing out of it

[LTDHO]

Ford don't associate themselves with motor racing.

If they did they would sell cars!

[Sorted]

Originally Posted by ESP

I just clicked it again and you're right.........seems like they changed something since I last clicked the link ?????????

Maybe they ( FORD PR ) do read this site after all..........!!!!!!!!!

:thebirds: : : AWESOME STUFF !!!! just had a look

[IDT]

The answer to this question is simple, Who (like me) walked into work grinning like an idiot at all the Holden drivers who were quietly waiting for you to rub Sundays results in thier faces. I don't give a rats about the technical its about the BADGE.

To say that Sundays results are irrelevant in advertising is saying the hype about XAGT's is also irrelevant as technology has left that car far behind years ago. How many people would love to own an old GT for what it represents if nothing else? Bathurst wins are fantastic opportunties, what other single motor event draws as much attention. It sells cars and to say otherwise is idocy.

[Swordsman88]

Rightly or wrongly Ford has obviously decided that they put more than enough money into V8SC....advertising on top of that is not needed even if you do win Bathurst 3 years in a row.

The decision by Ford to cut back funding next year to v8s illustrates the simple fact that they believe that you simply don't sell cars (falcons obviously) based on V8 supercars. Given the pretty damn good job Ford has done in recent times (particularly bathurst) it is clear they are right...Falcon sales haven't been helped.

Most of the public don't know jack about motorsport anyway, the only benefit of motor racing in terms of advertising is brand awareness. If you are out there with your car and winning stuff people might take notice and consider your brand for their next purchase. Bathurst is one of the few motor races the average non V8 follower still notices, mostly because its on all day and you can hardly miss it with media reporting. A simple 'Ford has won bathurst today for the third straight year.....the falcon of Craig lowndes and Jamie Whincup dominated......with arch rival holden having a shocker...' on the nightly news is more than enough brand awareness thanks.

Finally, the australian market has continued to mature and Ford is trying to reposition itself within that market. The euro influence is strong in australia, with the jap brands also dominating. The 'bogan' association of V8 supercars is not what Ford wants right now - a diesel mondeo is more acceptable at the moment than a V8 falcon - sad but true. Ford will keep pumping cash into V8 supercars to build the brand - its alot of logos running around a race track every second weekend on TV, but that is it. Forget this whole race on sunday sell on monday mantra...hasn't been the case for years. Its not because a diesel Mondeo is not relevant to winning bathurst (they're both fords after all) its because the mondeo buyer COULDN"T GIVE A TOSS ABOUT BATHURST/V8SUPERCARS!!!!