Ford Motor Co. launched a national campaign promoting the 2012 Ford Focus to black women on April 11. The “Inner Child” campaign features digital, TV and radio components and collects consumer data for remarketing. The campaign was created by The UniWorld Group, Ford’s African-American advertising AOR since 1986.
The campaign features a TV spot showing a young girl learning how to ride a bicycle. She is then shown as an adult driving a new Ford Focus. The ad encourages consumers to register on FordUrban.com to receive direct mail and email messages from the car company, said Shawn Lollie, Ford’s manager of multicultural marketing. The effort also includes print and radio spots.
The campaign is designed to make consumers “relive the thrill of learning to drive,” said Lollie. “I have a five-year-old. I recently taught him to ride a bike. I wanted to capture the delight in his eyes. We can’t put a child behind the wheel, but we wanted the campaign to evoke that thrill.”
The TV spot will run on BET and TV One. The campaign will run through the third quarter, said Lollie.
“We’ll also have a campaign sweepstakes and experiential events this summer,” she said.
“The spot’s trigger,” said Quincy Cherry, CCO at UniWorld, “is that moment, as soon as you open that door and close it, that allows you to be 12 years old again. Who would not want to have that moment?”
Cherry said he believed this universal theme of the campaign could resonate with every demographic despite being targeted at black women ages 28 to 35 with a household income of $30,000 to $50,000 a year.
“People who are not in that sweet spot, we believe will still drive conversion rates,” he said.
Ford also works with Zubi for Hispanic marketing and Team Detroit for general marketing.
