Ford Galaxy
Targeting families with compelling content to drive consideration and sales
Audio(.mp3)
Background
Most cars, especially Multiple Purpose Vehicles (MPV), have the same functionality – the same four wheels, engine and steering wheel – so the impetus to choose which new car to buy has to be driven by emotional factors.
Ford Galaxy’s positioning is all about first class travel, reflected to a large extent in the excellent in-car entertainment system (great radio, CD, MP3 player and TV). Ford wanted to give consumers a sense of the unique Galaxy travel experience for families.
Why radio?
Families spend a large amount of time in the car, a time when children are often bored and need entertaining, and is a major shared listening occasion for radio.
Classic FM insight demonstrated that parents feel that reading stories to their children is a hugely beneficial experience for both child and parent alike. Radio is an emotional medium and creating a connection between the child, parent and Ford was fundamental for the success of this activity.
Implementation
Classic FM produced a series of 20 Hans Christian Anderson stories such as The Princess and the Pea and The Ugly Duckling, voiced by famous voices such as Richard E Grant and Joanna Lumley, which ran during key family times on a Sunday afternoon. Linking with The Times and The Sunday Times the stories were reviewed on a weekly basis and were made available on The Times and Ford websites. In addition, podcasts were made available as downloads on iTunes.
Results
This was the only media activity for Ford Galaxy in 2007 and was responsible for increasing sales by 32% as well as increasing sales volume lead over the competition.
Listeners stated they were twice as likely to associate Ford with MPVs as non-listeners.
In terms of brand measures, 3 in 4 listeners surveyed said they gave Ford a +7 (out of 10) for family friendliness.
Finally, the podcast achieved 303,579 downloads sending it to number 1 in the family and kids iTunes chart.
RAB Comment
This award winning campaign delivered an integrated, cross media idea that enabled Ford to show they really understood the core emotional drivers of their audience. The solution gave something tangible back to the listener across a number of different media and platforms, and fundamentally drove sales.
"GCap’s compelling pitch made me devote the whole Ford Galaxy annual media budget to the activity. The results have been excellent; Ford Galaxy sales grew by 32% in 2007 and substantially increased the sales volume lead over its competition. The podcasts are still in the top 20 iTunes Kids and Family charts which is testament to the quality of this activity."
Mark Jones, Advertising and Sponsorship Manager, Ford