MxMIndia

Tag: Ford India

  • It also celebrates the spirit of a changing India where UV owners are fuelling discoveries of their inner selves

    Ford’s latest campaign inspires consumers to discover more

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ford India has launched its latest television campaign – Discover the More in You – created by BBDO India.

     

    Said Rahul Gautam, vice president marketing, at Ford India: “Our latest campaign – Discover The More in You – draws from experiences of our customers for whom these situations in their Ford SUV led to self-discovery, making them choose what was right. Not only does it reflect a progressive outlook to societal issues but also a special aspect of human-machine interaction.”

     

     

  • The fact that more than two-thirds of close to 22,000 respondents of a survey by Ford India didn't consider safety as an important consideration while buying a vehicle proves the trend

    Ford urges customers to make safety atop priority

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ford India is back with a campaign where it urges customers to make safety a priority and not a choice. The campaign finds its roots in the research that shows safety in car buying decisions play second fiddle to every other parameter – be it looks or mileage and even convenience features.

     

    The fact that more than two-thirds of close to 22,000 respondents of a survey by Ford India didn’t consider safety as an important consideration while buying a vehicle proves the trend.

     

    “Sixty years ago, Ford was the first automaker to offer factory-installed safety belts, and our legacy of safety innovation endures to this day. Today in India, we are making sure that all our products with six-seven airbags are available at an affordable price. While we make safety accessible, and affordable across segments, with the latest campaign we want customers to prioritize it too for the sake of their loved ones,”

     

    The television commercial titled The Uncomfortable Question features a conversation between a doting father and his curious daughter as they go for a ride in their new Ford EcoSport.

     

    While the father familiarizes the daughter with a long list of Ford EcoSport’s features, the anxious daughter raises a pertinent question — how will he ensure her safety in the rear seat? The confident father, being happy with his choice, assures the daughter with the proven safety credentials of his EcoSport that boasts of six airbags for complete all-around protection. An assured smile replaces the daughter’s confused expression after hearing her father’s reassuring words on how he has prioritized her safety.

     

    The underpinning message in the commercial urges car buyers to make safety a top consideration in their purchase journey and choose a vehicle that priorities complete protection of their loved ones.

     

    “While Government policies and regulations evolve, we are ahead of the curve and are providing safety features not because we have to but because we see it as our responsibility. Your safety is our priority and thus the Ford portfolio in India today comes equipped with advanced safety features such as ABS, EBD, side & curtain airbags as well as industry-first knee airbag, making it up to seven to keep vehicle occupants safe,” said Rahul Gautam, Vice President – Marketing at Ford.

     

    Conveying an important message, the campaign will follow an integrated communication approach and optimally leverage all paid, owned and earned media channels including social, digital, television, print, radio and mobile for the campaigns.

     

    Added Sachin Ambekar, Vice President & Executive Creative Director, Global Team Blue India: “We find that people in India are extremely protective when it comes to the family. They use every mean to protect them. With the help of this campaign, we are pushing consumers to think hard and evaluate the choices they make when it comes to car purchase as well.”

     

  • The TVCs created by Global Team Blue (GTB) will target key sports, news and GEC channel along with significant digital and social presence

    Ford attempts to break stereotypes with latest TVC

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ford India attempts to break the myth and stereotypes around its cost of service feature in its latest TVC.The genesis of the campaign finds its roots in research that shows how consumers tend to believe others and blindly follow perceptions without knowing the truth.

     

    Taking a unique and fresh creative route to expose the trend, Ford’s latest campaign on the cost of service features well-known on-screen ‘villains’ – Singham fame Prakash Raj, Bad Man Gulshan Grover, and small screen vamp Sudha Chandran. All antagonists in the campaign highlighting how they get stereotyped as bad in real life too due to their evil appearances in cinema/ television.

     

    The narrative seamlessly builds connect with Ford’s continuing efforts in breaking the myth of being high on cost of service with hard hitting facts like the 5th year cost of service for Ford EcoSport being Rs 3,662.

     

    “Ford in India is transforming, and a key part of this success lies in winning the trust of the customer by passing the control back to them. Be it 800+ Sub Assembly Levels of Parts where we have broken big assemblies into sub-component or Longer Service Intervals, we are enabling substantial savings for customers,” said Rahul Gautam, vice president, marketing, Ford India. “With our new campaign, we want to break the myth and establish that Ford cars are surprisingly affordable using an interesting and creative way of storytelling.”

     

    The TVCs created by Global Team Blue (GTB) will target key sports, news and GEC channel along with significant digital and social presence.

     

     

  • Kinetic worked on creating an immersive, sensory experience at two of the country's busiest airports – Delhi and Mumbai

    Kinetic welcomes Ford Mustang in India with outdoor innovation

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kinetic India was recently appointed by Ford India ahead of introducing Ford Mustang in India. Ford Mustang is an automotive legend and is one of the most followed nameplates across the globe. Since the Mustang first went on sale in 1964, Ford has sold more than 9 million vehicles around the world.

     

    To capture imagination and create intrigue the audience ahead of the car’s introduction, Kinetic worked on creating an immersive, sensory experience at two of the country’s busiest airports – Delhi and Mumbai.

     

    In the first out of home (OOH) solution, Kinetic laid out the red carpets for customers arriving at the Delhi and Mumbai airports which were equipped with motion sensing technology and connected to a life-sized billboard. To grip an onlooker’s attention, a passerby who stepped on the carpet was welcomed with a gush of air and an evocative growl that the Ford Mustang is identified with. The billboard on the side played interesting visuals of the Ford Mustang and by the time a walker was off the carpet it switched to an enticing line – ‘The legend makes its way’ – with smoke coming off from either sides.

     

    “Ford Mustang stands for freedom of expression and embodies the passion and fun-of-driving inherent in all Ford vehicles. The arrival of Ford Mustang in India needed to stand-out and leave a lasting impression on everyone who experienced our touch-points. We wanted create an experience that personifies all that this iconic car stands for by innovatively demonstrating its fun-of-driving, legendary engine growl and raw power,” said Kaushik Prasad, general manager for consumer marketing at Ford India said.

     

    The second OOH display was strategically placed at the high traffic Delhi-Noida Expressway to attract significant eyeballs. The hoarding featured the side profile of the Ford Mustang, depicting a high-intensity drift to demonstrate power and a furiously rotating rear tyre emitting continuous smoke.

     

  • Bold, independent and confident of making right choices is how Ford's new TVC celebrates the empowered women in India of today

    Ford India’s latest TVC celebrates the women of today

    By A Correspondent

     

    Playing on the theme of taking safety in your hands, the new commercial shows a self-assured Kalki Koechlin celebrate the essence of ‘Raksha Bandhan’ by tying Rakhi on her wrist before driving off in a Ford EcoSport.

     

    The commercial also reinforces Ford’s focus on safety as it announces the introduction of dual front airbags as standard across all variants of its compact SUV EcoSport. With the latest announcement, the entire Ford product portfolio comes equipped with standard airbag making them the best or shall we say the safest bet against the competition.

     

    “The new EcoSport commercial salutes today’s progressive, spirited women who are confident in the choices they make. Set against the pious context of Raksha Bandhan, the commercial gives a new definition to the theme of safety and shows how the women of today are demonstrating their focus on this important aspect through their purchase decisions.” said Rahul Gautam, Vice President, Marketing, Ford India

     

    Created by Global Team Blue, the new EcoSport TVC targets key GEC, entertainment, movies, regional and news channels across India, along with a significant digital and social presence. Moving beyond the traditional approach, the commercial communicates the empowered and progressive outlook of the modern women and shows how the women of today are taking charge of their safety and making right choices in selecting products.

     

    The concept draws its strength from research and data which depict that from being a key influencer deciding on the colour a decade ago, the role of women in car buying has evolved. According to Ford’s New Car Buyer Study the women, many of them being first-time car owners, are going beyond aesthetics to understand different technologies – be it SYNC or Safety features.

     

    “Women, for far too long, have been portrayed as those seeking safety. With the new commercial, we wanted to break this stereotype and show how empowered today’s woman are,” said Sujatha Chakraborty, Sr. Creative Director, Global Team Blue India.

     

  • The Ford India management will take action after its internal investigations are done, but since the Abby entry was approved by a Ford official, it's wrong to make the JWT India folks the scapegoat

    #Scamadgate: Ball in Ford India’s court now

    By A Correspondent

     

    Everyone likes free publicity, but Ford India couldn’t have bargained for this. As MxMIndia Editor-at-Large Anil Thakraney wrote in his tri-weekly blog ‘Hard Knocks’: It’s only within the global ad frat that the names of WPP and JWT crop up. To the rest of the world, Ford is the offender.

     

    Ford has been in damage control mode as it apologized on Day 1.

     

    “The investigation over what happened is ongoing,” Ford spokesperson Chris Preuss told Advertising Age. “Obviously, appropriate actions will be taken up to and including the dismissal of individuals who were found to be culpable.”

     

    To the questions, MxMIndia sent to Ford India, Head of Communications Deeptie Sethi wrote back: We have a process to investigate internal matters, and as such, we are conducting an investigation to determine how this happened. Once the investigation is complete we will take the appropriate action, if needed.”

     

    But there’s a problem with what the folks at Ford are quoted at various places.

     

    Like this one from Scott Monty who oversees Global Digital Communications. Reacting to  a post on the Wall Street Journal’s CFO Journal editor Nicholas Elliott where he has said among other things that “this kind of control failure can require serious remedial work and put a company’s good name at risk”.

     

    Mr Monty wrote to Mr Elliott:

    “Nick,

    You neglected to share that these were not part of any ongoing or commercially commissioned work for Ford by JWT and that the images in question were not part of our standard review and oversight process. In short, these were not Ford ads.

    Hoping you can clear this up.”

     

    This message was posted on Tuesday, March 26, by which time one is sure Ford officials would know what really happened. But if the ads weren’t part of any ongoing or commercially commissiond work, then what were they were doing at the Creative Abby, where an entry requires the okay of the client and the ads entered should’ve been used commercially, unless used for charity.

     

    On the issue of Ford firing JWT, there has been some discussion online. To a comment by BL Ochman to an AdAge story where s/he said (edited):  “These ads were despicable on every level. Agencies have been fired for one errant Tweet, and Ford’s keeping JWT India?! Seriously?”, Mr Monty wrote back: “As we said, BL, the relationship with WPP goes way back and is a global one. It’s not quite as simple as you describe.”

    JWT, we believe, shouldn’t be too worried about the sack, because right now, it’s Ford that’s goofing it.

     

    In response to the MxMIndia tweet promoting our Big Story on Wednesday, Sanjay Tripathy, Executive Vice President – Head Marketing, Products and Direct Channels at HDFC Life, tweeted back: “Completely agree.. Ford India Marketing Head should also go”.

     

    Elsewhere to a Facebook post, KR wrote: “Without Ford agreeing to this JWT India scam ad, this would have never ever seen light of the day. All I feel is that, Ford India folk’s heads should have been rolled, not JWT India guys..!!!”

     

    To repeat what Ford India’s Ms Sethi told us: “We are conducting an investigation to determine how this happened. Once the investigation is complete we will take the appropriate action, if needed.”

    Clearly there will be a lot of people to know what’s come out in the problem. Anyone for ACP Pradyuman? We have one  in our midst.

     

  • Ford India has announced the appointment of P K Umashankar as vice president, customer service operations.

    P K Umashankar appointed VP of Customer Service Operations, Ford India

    By A Correspondent

     

    P K Umashankar has been appointed to a newly created executive position that will involve focusing on Ford India’s growing strategic emphasis on customer satisfaction as it gears up to live its commitment to the market and customers.

     

    In his new role, Mr Umashankar will lead the customer service and satisfaction initiatives across the company’s ever-expanding sales and service network in India and growing customer base and report directly to Nigel Wark, executive director, marketing, Sales & Service, Ford India.

     

    “Customer satisfaction is at the core of Ford’s commitment and we are delighted to have Uma lead our efforts on this front. Given his strong experience in ensuring quality, leadership skills and deep understanding of Indian customers, we are sure that in this strategic role Uma will lead in bolstering our efforts to achieve and grow more and more happy customers for Ford.” said Mr Wark. “This appointment also signals Ford’s focus on ensuring new levels of engagements and delighting customers through their complete ownership experience in India.”

     

    Mr Umashankar is passionate about quality enhancement and is a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and a certified Six Sigma trainer. He was responsible for all Six Sigma projects in Distribution areas spanning Quality, Sales, Finance and Service at Ford India.

     

    In his over decade and a half long career with Ford India, Mr Umashankar has served different roles that include heading Regional Sales & Service Operations, North & East , Service Engineering, Service Marketing and Parts Operations. He steps up to the new role from being the General Manager, Product Marketing driving the product growth plans for India. Prior to that, he was General Manager, Customer Service Operations, where he looked after customer satisfaction and Parts & Service business at Ford India.

     

    Before joining Ford India, Mr Umashankar, who graduated in mechanical engineering from Madras University, served in the Indian Air Force as an aeronautical engineering officer for six years. He specialized in Aeronautical Engineering at the Air Force Technical College. He also holds an Executive MBA in Finance from LIBA, Chennai where he was a topper and a gold medallist.