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Archive for the ‘Ford Explorer’ Category
Monday, February 21st, 2011
Ford’s hot-selling Ford Explorer will make some waves during the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards this Sunday in a 60-second television spot that will feature hip hop recording artist Nelly and the Explorer’s new Audio System from Sony. . .
- Ford Explorer’s heavy presence during this Sunday’s 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards® will showcase the SUV’s reinvention to millions; the GRAMMY awards air Sunday, Feb. 13, at 8 p.m. EST on CBS
- Ford will air three Explorer ads, including the premiere of a unique 60-second television commercial featuring hip hop recording artist Nelly and the Audio System from Sony in the new Ford Explorer
- All the ads lean heavily on music to tell the Explorer story; they are part of an integrated campaign designed to help people reconnect with Explorer and the shared adventures an SUV can deliver
- Since the July reveal of the reinvented Explorer, Ford has been engaging with consumers in one-on-one conversations on Facebook using text, videos and images; Nelly is one of a number of celebrities – including Bret Michaels, Snoop Dogg and professional pool player Jeanette Lee – who have appeared in Explorer Facebook videos
CHICAGO, Feb. 10, 2011 – Ford’s hot-selling Ford Explorer will make some waves during the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards this Sunday in a 60-second television spot that will feature hip hop recording artist Nelly and the Explorer’s new Audio System from Sony.
“The GRAMMY’s provide an opportunity to reach a broad audience with our message, and we want to make sure everyone knows about the new, totally reinvented Explorer,” said Matt VanDyke, Ford’s director of U.S. Marketing.
Since the launch of the reinvented 2011 Ford Explorer, Ford has been interacting with consumers on Facebook – more than 138,000 fans to date – posting videos featuring engineers and a variety of celebrities answering questions people have about the popular SUV.
One of those celebrity videos with Nelly has been modified into a 60-second television spot featuring Nelly interacting with a television director about the “best” way to tell people about the Explorer’s cool sound system. The director wants to use a lot of theatrics, and Nelly wants to keep it real. Nelly’s new song “Gone” is playing as the two go back and forth about which approach is best.
The unique ad featuring Nelly is one of three commercials that will run during the GRAMMY’s. Explorer also will be seen in three other ads that lean heavily on music to tell the Explorer story.
“We are always looking for relevant opportunities to get our messaging out there, and this really came together in an interesting and timely way for the GRAMMY’s,” said Eric Peterson, Explorer communications manager. “The GRAMMY’s are about music and personalities, and these ads fit in that setting.”
Nelly is one of a number of celebrities who have appeared in videos on Explorer’s Facebook page. Others include Bret Michaels, professional pool player Jeanette Lee, Snoop Dogg and reality stars from the History Channel television program Pawn Stars.
Ever since the new Explorer was revealed on Facebook last summer, Ford has been using Facebook as a forum to engage fans and prospective Explorer customers in one-on-one conversations using text, videos and images.
“The nature of social media changes so rapidly that you have to reinvent yourself every time you go to market,” said Peterson. “If your content is not engaging, informative and authentic, customers will tire of you quickly. They won’t wait for you, and they will go somewhere else.”
To learn more about the reinvented Ford Explorer and find out what consumers are saying about it, log on to www.ford.com/explorer or www.facebook.com/fordexplorer.
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Monday, October 25th, 2010
Two decades ago, Ford introduced a mid-size, body-on-frame SUV named Explorer that traded some off-road performance for a measure of on-road comfort. In so doing, the Explorer struck a chord with wagon-weary (and wagon-wary) families, ushering in the SUV era. Now, of course, that era has passed, and the final nail in the coffin comes in the form of the 2011 Ford Explorer, which, after years of speculation, has been spied on the street with new crossover-style proportions, abandoning its trucky body-on-frame construction in favor of carlike unibody.
What we can expect from the fundamental change is a far more comfortable—and relevant—Explorer. It will retain its up-to-seven-passenger seating (to differentiate it from the five-passenger Edge), sitting on a wide track and a long wheelbase, and thus is expected to bring comprehensive dynamic improvements, including a smoother ride, tauter handling, and better sound insulation. Aerodynamics will be far better than those of today’s brick-like Explorer for vastly better high-speed fuel efficiency and stability. Even more helpful will be the installation of more powerful and fuel-efficient powertrains, likely the same 3.5-liter V-6s cribbed from the Taurus and Flex, both with and without EcoBoost (Ford-speak for turbocharging and direct injection). That’s right, we are likely to see a 350-hp Explorer next time around. Also expected is a low-end model with a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine making up to 230 hp, as Ford has said that nearly all of its passenger vehicles will be offered with a four-cylinder in future iterations.
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Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
Ford unveiled the 2011 Ford Explorer in a unique way – making it’s commitment to social media more significant than any automaker has ever done.
The first time any automaker has chosen a virtual unveiling now gets credited to Ford. Aside from the obvious hope that people will actively engage, share with friends and comment on the pieces of content to the extent it leads to sales remains to be seen.
The decision to use Facebook, and to integrate the Facebook “Like” buttons in it’s material is definitely a good idea should Ford want to study the effects of the social graph and the characteristics of “influencers”.
Influencers are people who are very active only, blog, tweet and often stimulate great discussions about topics their audience is interested in. If Ford can figure out what makes these people tick, they’ll definitely have some ideas on how to create a network of influencers.
It’s still a gamble worth taking because being on the front lines and differentiating yourself will get people’s attention. People want to break free from the norm, they want to experience remarkable things in their own space and not have to physically travel to an auto show to experience the excitement.
That being said, there is still definitely something missing from online media and it’s certainly the inability to replicate human interaction and physical emotion from an event.
Ford hopes that the people will appreciate this effort in being different in hopes that it will generate specific conversations about the new product. Ford has invested in social media with campaigns like the Ford Fiesta movement where they gave cars to people who are active online and allowed them to become the voice behind the brand.
There is no doubt that great things have been happening for Ford with it’s second quarter income of $2.6 billion, a sign that they are doing a lot of things right.
It still comes down to the product in the end. Ford products have been brilliant, so the 2011 Ford Explorer should be no exception. The focus on technology and marrying the online experience using the vehicle as the connection is proving that Ford is listening and taking full advantage of utilizing social networks to their greatest extent.
Tags: 2011 Ford Explorer
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Monday, July 12th, 2010
Even when the all-new Explorer existed only on a computer screen, Ford was scrutinizing every inch of the redesigned SUV. Every seam, every button, every dial has been studied to make sure Explorer stands out in a crowded, competitive marketplace. In fact, Ford used such high-tech equipment as laser wands and an innovative “e-cube” to ensure the rugged, repackaged Explorer will meet the toughest craftsmanship standards when it debuts later this year. more…
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Monday, June 7th, 2010
 Ford’s totally revamped, unibody Explorer has been big news since word broke about two years ago. Ford’s already given their dealer network a preview of what the revised SUV will look like, and the general public will see the new design sometime this summer. The new Explorer will come with an EcoBoost four cylinder motor as standard equipment, and will be be offered in either FWD or 4WD, with RWD sadly going away. Photos of the new Explorer in testing show an SUV with styling influences borrowed from Ford’s very successful Edge crossover.
Production is slated to begin this fall, alongside the Taurus in Ford’s Chicago assembly plant. If Ford runs into production delays (to be expected with any new-from-the-ground-up model), it’s likely they’ll hold back deliveries to dealers until after the first of the year. Under this scenario, Ford will skip the 2011 model year and launch the new Explorer as a 2012 model. If all goes well and they can begin shipping inventory by year end, it’s likely the new Explorer will launch (as planned) as a 2011 model.
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