‘More than a marketing campaign’
Over the last few years, brand health data has shown that global audiences knew and respected Ford, but the brand was in need of modernization, according to Alix Toothman, global executive strategy director at Wieden+Kennedy, which has worked with Ford since 2018.
The agency saw an opportunity to point the lens at Ford’s customers.
“There are so many Ford super fans,” Toothman said. “There aren’t many other brands that people will tattoo on their bodies.”’
They wanted their strategy to reflect Ford’s big bets, including phasing out sedans and doubling down on iconic products like the Bronco, which Ford brought back in 2021.
“Ready Set Ford” is “more than a marketing campaign,” according to Materazzo. Ford’s last global brand platform was “Go Further,” launched in 2012 to spotlight its innovation and manufacturing.
“Although what you’re seeing is the external expression of that in the form of a brand campaign, it’s important to understand that it’s deeply embedded internally within the organization,” she said. “We have reoriented all of our efforts internally around those four core equities and those three lifestyle audiences.”
Materazzo added that it was important to embed the brand platform into the organization to drive real change and unite under a single message.
“I truly believe that the hallmark of a world-class marketing organization is to show up globally in a very consistent and unified way,” she said.
