Is the Ford brand really that bad?
The automaker decides to drop its name and logo from its newest sales pitch.
Some drivers hate Ford (F) vehicles. They have all kinds of reasons to cringe whenever they see the Ford name and the blue oval.Ford knows it. But Ford has been overhauling its lineup, adding new technologies and new designs. The quality is improved and the new models look good. If only people could get past that blue oval.
So Ford is experimenting with a new strategy. Why not take the name and logo out altogether? That's the basis for a new TV ad campaign that doesn't mention the company at all.
Check out this commercial. It almost seems to introduce a new car company, showing cars with some slick features, such as voice-activated technology and a spiffy car-parking system. The ad sends viewers to the GoFurther.com website, and it's only when you get to the site that you see the Ford logo.
The idea is to make people rethink their perceptions of Ford. You might have hated the brand in the past, but it's different now. It's almost a return to the company's "Have you driven a Ford lately?" slogan. (Check out this amusing commercial for a reminder.)
Ford has been doing very well financially. It earned $29.5 billion in the last three years after losing about the same amount from 2006 through 2008, Bloomberg reports.
The new ads came out of Ford's own test clinics, Bloomberg reports. People were more enthusiastic about new models until they found out Ford made them.
"As soon as people see a blue oval they jump to immediate conclusions as to preconceived ideas about what the company does, what it stands for," a Ford marketing executive told Bloomberg. "We still have a gap and an opportunity to change that perception on the coasts."
Ford doesn't sell well on the West and East Coasts. Drivers in those markets prefer a Toyota (TM) or Honda (HMC), Bloomberg reports.
Ford is still keeping the logo on its vehicles. But it's trying to overcome a hard industry reality. Once people have a bad experience with one brand, they sign off altogether. They aren't about to put tens of thousands of dollars into another car from that company. Ford suffered from negative quality perceptions for quite a while, and even though the quality has improved, it's going to take a lot of work to reverse that damage.
| Tags: | FHMCKim PetersonTM |
Why are you running down FORD?
Ford has had the best-selling pickup for decades!! and for the last few years some of Ford's vehicles have been at the top of Consumers Reports dependability ratings!! The last time I remember seeing that dependability list it said "Chrysler did not have any vehicles rating as high as "Average"!!
From the mid-70's to the 90's GM, Ford and Chrysler all put out crappy products. Some of the worst I owned were a 1980 Buick Skylark, a 1982 Buick Century and a 1983 GMC diesel van.
May be it's time to drop Ford too.
I don't think Ford cares about their core customer anymore anyway.
It is just chase the dollar now.
Chase the $23,000 a year crowd.
That is ok with me, because no more Lincoln Town car from Ford so I am buying a Escalade this time. My money spends just as good at GM as it does at Ford.
First off, i retired from the Ford Motor Co and have driven their products ever since i started there. In the beginning i'll admit the quality just wasn't there and it frustrated me to no end. I can honestly say for the last ten years Ford has made an excellent turnaround in quality. The last few cars and SUV's i've purchased have been a joy to drive. That being said i never liked the look of the blue oval decal slapped on the front of every Ford vehicle. If i ran Ford i'd do away with the blue oval and develope a new emblem.
I bet whoever wrote this article drives a Prius.
Ford HAS reversed the damage of quality issuses from the 80's, thats why they had a profit of almost 30 billion over the past three years WITHOUT taking a goverment bailout.
Ford has continued to improve quality since the 80's and has FAR surpassed the quality of the metrics, which have not made improvements, just rely on the "trendy" folks to keep buying an infeior product.
I own three cars, all Ford products. Two have well over 100,000 miles on them and run great, in fact the 2003 has NEVER had anything done to it besides oil changes, brakes, and tires. I will proudly display the "Blue Oval" in support of a iconic American company, and the American worker. Fords are a better value than any metric car and the added bounus is we are helping oursevels and our economy when we make the wise decision to purchase one.
Reviewing the comments here, it seems the last paragraph says it all.
"Once people have a bad experience with one brand, they sign off altogether. They aren't about to put tens of thousands of dollars into another car from that company."
Most people are loyal to the brand that treated them well over the years and simply refuse to return to a brand that pi$$ed them off. One note, however, several commenters have had really bad experiences with dealers fixing (really not fixing) things. I gave up on dealers for maintenance decades ago as they have a vested interest in only following the "book". Find a reliable mechanic that mentions the idea that they want to fix things so that they work well enough to bring you back for the next oil change, maintenance cycle, whatever.
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