Ford is a brand with a long history that needed to remain relevant in today’s culture, and to a new audience. Most people are familiar with its ubiquitous logo, to the point where they’ve stopped noticing it. In order to elicit an emotional response from our audience, we took that logo and decoupled the Ford script from the blue oval, then juxtaposed the script with more contemporary, vibrant imagery. In doing so, we presented the brand and the vehicles in an exciting, unexpected and eye-catching way. Every execution was expressive of our idea that Ford cars are more than simply sheet metal and features – they are designed to evoke emotion.

The campaign launched on October 1, 2015 and ran through April 15, 2016.

Media placement included 6 TVCs (1,200 GRPs, 1,800 uses), 68 unique back cover magazine ads running in 50 publications, newspapers, 400+ high-impact outdoor boards in 8 markets, digital pre-roll, rich online media units, in-feed social media, and static display units across multiple platforms and devices.

Collectively, favorable opinion of Ford cars increased 19 percentage points over the previous quarter. (Source: BEAT brand health tracking study, Q4 vs. Q3 2015.) Nearly half (44%) of car intenders were more likely to consider a Ford car after being exposed to the campaign. (Source: Nielsen Automotive Data.) Ford cars maintained their share of market, while the overall car category’s share of industry fell 4 percentage points quarter over quarter. (Source: Polk IHS, Ford car retail share vs. total industry retail car share Q3 vs. Q4 2015.) “By Design” digital content influenced 134,000 incremental consumers to seek out additional Ford car information online. Additionally, the key audience groups (women and multi-cultural) were influenced at a greater rate than the overall audience, verifying the content resonated among those for whom it was intended.

The Ford “By Design” campaign was a true multi-channel campaign. The idea was expressed across TV, press, outdoor, and online media; and was global in scale.

We connected with younger, more diverse car buyers by representing Ford cars as a more emotionally compelling choice than the import brands they grew up with. Our “By Design” message resonated with the more expressive sensibilities of our audience, and was a direct challenge to the more staid and rational perceptions of our competition.

To express that we’re a contemporary, design-led car brand, we used our signature – the Ford script – in surprising, arresting ways, across multiple channels. Media placement included cable and network TV, cinema, outdoor, press, and numerous online properties.

Unleashing the Ford script from its blue oval and juxtaposing it with dynamic imagery allowed us to present Ford and its vehicles in a fresh way. It repositioned the brand as modern, confident, and relevant, and brought serious attention to the car portfolio.

Ford has been the best selling truck brand for nearly 40 years, however in cars – the highest selling category in the industry – the brand lagged behind its more car–centric competitors like Honda and Toyota.

Ford’s newly refreshed lineup represented a big improvement since the last time car buyers had considered Ford. With a more dynamic design than our competitors, we had the right cars to get their attention, but needed to address their outdated perceptions of the brand – more blue collar, and not exciting or relevant to them.

We had to challenge those perceptions, increase favorable opinion and consideration for the brand, and inspire a new generation of car buyers to look closer. Our brief was to show how Ford represented the more emotionally satisfying choice in a market saturated with brands solely selling cars as a collection of features.