Ford’s $750M+ plan for Michigan Station envisioned resurrecting the crumbling landmark as a living laboratory, a symbol of collapse transformed into one of resurgence. First, Ford needed to build trust community-wide, so it launched the plan with an inclusive, celebratory experience and open house that signaled Ford’s intention to be a great partner, neighbor and co-creator. We invited tens of thousands of residents, employees and city decision-makers inside the long-closed Station to inspire them with the past and excite them about the future. Ford’s vivid Station experience engaged a community, and a city, in Ford’s invitation to “Create Tomorrow, Together.”

Ford faces an existential question plaguing its entire industry: can auto companies continue to exist at all? To address this challenge, Ford’s business, comms and real estate teams, along with its agency partners, identified a major opportunity to signal a vibrant and viable future for Ford and Detroit. The move was bold: a $750M+ investment that included purchasing Detroit’s abandoned Michigan Station as home for its Living Laboratory, a proving ground for Ford’s role in transportation’s future. Ford’s plan included millions allocated for community jobs, mobility services and infrastructure. The company was resolute that Ford, Detroit and Corktown needed to be equal winners, so we knew we’d need to replace the traditional “Golden Shovel” groundbreaking with an inclusive and immersive kick-off. This event would allow Ford to send a clear message: it’s not about VIPs and fact sheets, but about Ford, Detroit and Corktown “Creating Tomorrow, Together.”

Our goal was to create an inclusive community experience made special with spectacle, storytelling and design. We built anticipation about Ford’s plan for the long-abandoned Station with a week of projections on the Station’s facade, featuring quotes from famous Detroiters. By opening weekend, thousands of residents had pre-registered to attend. On opening day, we orchestrated a Big Moment, as the Station doors opened to a thrilling installation of "the future framed by the past." Inside, artifacts from the Station’s Golden Age were presented alongside visuals depicting its future as Ford’s living lab, designing mobility tech to improve lives the world over. On the station’s ceilings were projected dreams to inspire and excite residents about the future that Ford, the city and the neighborhood would create together.

To announce the project, Ford took great care to avoid ‘big corporate developer’ missteps, shifting the focus from corporate to community with an embracing, inclusive community celebration. The purpose: send an unmistakable message that Ford intended to join forces with Detroit and Corktown to “Create Tomorrow, Together.” The strategy was reflected in significant Ford’s actions, such as investing millions in community services and infrastructure, while supporting employee familiarity and appreciation of the neighborhood. The announcement weekend itself was built with community front and center: during this historic moment we’d welcome community members, city decision-makers and employees inside the Station for a dazzling multimedia experience immersing them in the community’s past and exciting them about its future. Our goal: set the stage for a long-standing partnership that represented a visionary new approach to building the future–for Ford, Detroit and the auto industry.

Excitement and anticipation started the week leading up to the announcement, with nightly projections of aspirational quotes from famed Detroiters projected on the Station’s facade. On Announcement Day, Ford Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Hackett addressed the thousands of employees, community leaders and Corktown residents gathered for a program that featured entertainers, young entrepreneurs and policy makers. Over the subsequent weekend, we welcomed 25,000 visitors to enjoy an interactive experience that illustrated the Station’s glorious past, projected its exciting future and asked them– in interactive kiosks and displays– to share their “dreams for the future of Detroit.” The announcement event finalized 10 days after launch, concluding with the world premiere of a History channel documentary produced about Ford its Michigan Station, plans: DETROIT: COMEBACK CITY.

Ford’s announcement had a global impact, reaching 147M+ people via earned media and generating 541M+ social media impressions with 99+% favorability. Ford’s ambitious plans for both business and community led coverage in THE NEW YORK TIMES, CBS MORNING NEWS, the FINANCIAL TIMES and 230 other media outlets. Attention focused on Ford’s prioritizing local engagement throughout the project, designating significant community spaces across Ford’s properties, including in the enormous restored Station atrium. Months later, the impact has continued, with the implementation of Ford’s Community spending, with new real estate activity and with an influx of new non-Ford jobs throughout Corktown. The neighborhood is being seen– and covered– in a new light since Ford’s announcement, recasting Michigan Central Station as a Detroit Resurgence story. Ford, too, has seen heightened interest from press and new industry partners about its plans for the Station-based living laboratory.