Filed under: Industry, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Ford Motor (F), Marketing and advertising, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)
Ford (NYSE:F) is starting a new marketing campaign that will allow it to work more directly with its dealers to get back customers it has lost to the Japanese and European vehicle companies. But, the horse has already left the barn.
The automobile company is launching a new advertising message called “Ford. Drive One”. According to The Wall Street Journal ,”While the slogan will appear in television commercials, Ford is counting on aligning dealers nationwide to echo the same message in their advertising efforts aimed at local audiences.”
Ford is gambling that by getting dealers excited about new cars from the company it will be able to rally its outlets to push harder in their local markets to take share from companies like Toyota (NYSE:TM).
The new push to some extent ignores that fact that Americans want cars from Japan and Europe because they work better and have superior resale value.
Ford cannot get people to come to dealers if consumers don’t like its cars. If it had a hot model like the Prius or the Accord, the traffic would come based on the demand for a better-built, more fuel-efficient vehicle. That lesson seems to have been lost on the US company.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
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