Ford has a relevance problem – despite its varied and renowned offerings, research indicates Ford is perceived as a boring brand, only for farmers and construction workers.
To invite more people to Ford, we told stories of our most passionate fans who defy the humdrum stereotypes.
We created Welcome to the Club—an episodic social content series dedicated to telling the stories of interesting car clubs around the world, and showing the clubs are about much more than just their vehicles.
To drive relevance and expand our audience, our approach needed to resonate with both truck enthusiasts and amateurs. We tracked Brand Engagement (i.e.Engagements, Video Views, Average Watch Time) and new followers gained, to assess our resonance and progress
Each episode features a different car club and its members, whose passion for their vehicles, community and each other is relatable to everyone, not just Ford fans.
Episode 1 featured Mustang Mafia: a 300-person New Orleans-based car club founded on the love of Ford Mustang and supporting their local community.
Episode 2 featured NorCal Raptor Runs: a club founded on a shared love of Ford F-150 and Bronco Raptors, making the thrill of Off-Roading more accessible, and a belief that the world is best viewed from the cockpit of a truck.
In order to truly bring the NorCal Raptor Runs’ story to life, it couldn’t be scripted -- we needed to be as nimble as an Off-Road run is, and experience the wins, losses, and the unexpected that happens despite the best laid plans for off-roading. And most of all, we needed to capture the thrill that only a Ford Raptor can deliver.
To chronicle the true experience of the NorCal Raptor Runs, our team spent 5 days and 1000 miles off-roading through intense desert terrain from San Diego down to Baja California alongside a convoy of 17 Ford Raptors from the club. Despite being at the mercy of the extreme elements, we successfully brought their authentic story to life.
The episode was shared on Ford’s dedicated Truck Instagram with the results exceeding all projections & benchmarks, proving that Ford captured the hearts of thousands of new fans, something we know we need to do in order to combat our relevance issues.
