Ford partners carsales.com.au for Focus launch
Carmaker Ford has joined forces with Carsales.com.au in a deal to promote the new version of the Ford Focus.
The announcement:
Ford Australia has partnered with Australia’s number one automotive website carsales.com.au to launch the latest version of the Blue Oval’s popular small car, the Focus. The all-new model enters Australia’s toughest new car segment and will arrive with the support of an innovative online campaign that centres on user-generated content.
The Ford Focus Ultimate Test Drive campaign went live at carsales.com.au on May 20. It features a bespoke online engagement hub and invites visitors from around Australia to earn the opportunity to test drive a top-of-the-range Focus for an extended period.
Based on users’ initial video and written entries, Ford will select 12 members of the public to participate in a number of challenges in a Ford Focus and blog about the experience using text, images and video over a six-week period. Each Focus blogger will have his or her own homepage at the Focus Ultimate Test Drive hub housed at carsales.com.au as well as a Focus specific Facebook presence.
During the challenge period Ford and carsales will invite the full Carsales audience to vote on their favourite blogger. The winner will keep their Ford Focus valued at over $33,000.
Ford Australia General Manager Marketing, David Katic said: “The all-new Ford Focus raises the bar for Australian consumers by putting a world of intuitive technology, dynamic design and advanced performance at the tip of a finger.
“Finding a new car that suits your needs can be a difficult process. By partnering with Australia’s number one automotive website
carsales.com.au for the Focus Ultimate Test Drive program, we’re giving Australians the chance to get behind the wheel and test the difference in a car that ticks all the boxes.”The Focus Ultimate Test Drive campaign has been supported with a fully integrated marketing campaign from Ford Australia’s agencies Pulse Communications, Mindshare, Wunderman and JWT.
carsales.com.au commercial director Anthony Saines described the Ford Focus Ultimate Test Drive campaign as a first for the local advertising marketplace.
“carsales.com Ltd has a strong history of innovation and the substantial integration of the Ford Focus Ultimate Test Drive into our site is evidence of this.
“This campaign is far beyond the basic banner and buttons that some online businesses measure their level of success upon. With strong involvement from our audience and cutting-edge integration of user generated content, this campaign breaks new ground for the local advertising space.”
The Ford Focus Ultimate Test Drive campaign will run from May 20 to August 19 across carsales’ network of automotive websites. The Ford Focus Ultimate Test Drive is Ford Australia’s key online initiative for the launch of the new model.
One of the first all-new ranges to benefit from Ford’s OneFord global platform policy, the new Focus was developed jointly in Europe and the USA. It will go on sale locally on August 1.
I want to highlight that this is NOT an Australian first. Nissan Tiida ran exactly the same promotion with Better Homes and Gardens, a campaign that has just finished. Follow link to see details http://au.promotions.yahoo.com.....issantiida
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Hey Simon, just had a look at both and not sure you’re on the money there. These promtions/competitions seem very different in the way they work. I agree that someone wins a car in both promtions but they are pretty different in how they work. So maybe getting 12 reviewers to produce content using social networking and multi media is different.
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Can’t see all the details of the Nissan Tilda campaign…doesn’t look exactly the same but similar so have to agree that Ford shouldn’t be claiming and Australian First. Interested to know why Nissan went with BH&G as a partner? No way near the same reach as Carsales! Plenty of sites to partner with in the travel / lifestyle environment with far greater reach than BH&G.
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