The Pontiflex Blog

How Ford Got Social Marketing Right

March 12, 2010

How the times change. A year ago, we were praising Japanese car makers with being able to cure every problem in the world – from the energy crisis to the common cold. And that perception has changed faster than a Toyota vehicle tailgating you in your rearview mirror.

And now its is the American car company Ford that seems to be rejuvenating the spirit of innovation that at at deeper level, we used to (and would still like to) associate with the car industry.

Ringing out the old

An incisive article by Grant McCracken on how Ford got social marketing right. The automaker engaged culturally sensitive consumers to unleash a force that bounced back with exponetially greater goodwill for the brand.

To quote from the article:

The digital space is an economy after all. People are creating, exchanging and capturing value, as they would in any marketplace. But this is a gift economy, where the transactions are shot through with cultural content and creation. In a gift economy, value tends to move not in little “tit for tat” transactions, but in long loops, moving between consumers before returning, augmented, to the corporation. In this case, adventures inspired by Undercurrent and Ford return as meaning for the brand and value for the corporation.

Entry Filed under: Social Marketing. .