In November 2008, America’s automotive industry was on the brink of disaster, facing increased international competition, declining sales, and a global economic meltdown. Despite these mounting problems, Ford Motor Company was the only domestic automaker to reject a government bailout. This rejection allowed Ford to open a new dialogue with customers and influencers and break away from being part of the “Big 3.” Ford mounted one of the largest communications efforts in its history. Key to the campaign was an expansive social media plan that changed Ford internally and reached out to millions of potential car buyers online. Social media transformed the culture and how Ford communicated with consumers. A complete social media strategy humanised Ford by giving the Internet’s most trusted voices hands-on experiences with the car and the people behind the scenes at Ford to share with their audiences.The plan successfully transformed Ford’s image from “boring” and “outdated”” to “innovative” and “forward-thinking” in the minds of America’s most influential online personalities. It also earned awards and recognition in social media circles.According to a March 2010 Bloomberg poll, Ford has taken over the U.S. as the most popular automaker. And while other manufacturers struggled in 2009 Ford increased its U.S. market share for the first time since 1995.

A series of breakthrough social media initiatives and programs helped transform Ford:• Ford Fusion 1,000 Mile Challenge – Engaged green bloggers in a media event to publicly prove Ford’s best in class fuel efficiency.• BlogHer What Women Want Quality Event – Immersed influential women bloggers in the Ford world, co-creating a new definition of “quality.”• Summer of Taurus – Turned Ford executives into ambassadors for the new Taurus by hosting social media Meet Ups in 10 markets.• C-Suite Jam at the North American International Auto Show – Exclusively treated online media to one-on-ones with the top 15 Ford executives and extended access to Ford fans through Facebook, Twitter, BlogTalkRadio and Live Chat .

• Blogger Test Drives – Expanded the traditional media test drives to online influencers.• Listening & Measurement – Integrated social media measurement into Ford’s communications dashboard.• Dealer Training – Developed social media training curriculum for Ford’s 3,000 dealers

Ford’s image transformed from “boring” and “outdated” to “innovative” and “forward-thinking” in the minds of online influencers and the audiences they reach. According to a March 2010 Bloomberg poll, Ford has taken over the U.S. as the most popular automaker. Ford also posted the first full-year market share gain since 1995.Social media played a significant role in improving Ford’s reputation and sales. Ford was named the “top social automotive brand” by Virtue’s Social Media Index and among the top 10 corporations that have been doing the best job in social media in an eMarketer study, and the Society for New Communications Research named Ford the Brand of the Year for 2009.The campaign directly engaged over 500 influencers, generating over 200 million impressions on the social Web. More importantly, it changed perceptions. Influencers’ perceptions of Ford across five key categories improved by an average of 53 percent. An astonishing 89 percent of influencers would consider purchasing Ford vehicles after participating in a program, an increase from the previous 29 percent.