We had one of the biggest vehicle reveals in Ford history. The plan was to reveal the Bronco at the North American International Auto. We were three months away when the pandemic hit and changed everything. Our whole reveal approach was redone on the fly. The Bronco was a big signal of the future of Ford products, and their reputation to deliver was on the line. At the time, people were feeling closed in because of stay-at-home orders and social distancing. We wanted to connect people to the restorative nature of the Wild, if not physically at least mentally and emotionally. Our idea was to help give people access to the great outdoors in a way that only Bronco can do. At a time when people needed it most. Our objectives were extensive. We needed to achieve mass awareness, positive brand lift, positive impact on Ford and secure paid reservations.

The average American spends 93% of their life indoors. The Bronco positioning is Built Wild, trying to inspire us to shrink that 93%. At the time of reveal, many people were mandated to socially distance from others, and with being stuck inside, even more time was spent on screen. So, we decided to bring the nurturing restorative thrill of the wild to people in their homes and remind them that the call of the wild is still in all of us and it’s available now. We needed them to FEEL the relief that this vehicle can provide. We collaborated with Academy Award winner Jimmy Chin to bring authenticity to our storytelling. If anyone could capture the awe of the outdoors, it was Jimmy.

Our strategy: In a time of constant restraints, help people feel Wild and Free.

Our audience: The audience was equal parts a cult-like following and a generation whose only exposure to the brand was an infamous low-speed chase down the 405. The cult-like following wanted to know every single detail about this new product and were hoping, with everything in them, that this Bronco was going to be a true Bronco. Our consumption target, those either not familiar with Bronco or familiar with the OJ chase, didn’t know the icon’s heritage. For them, we needed to appeal to their outdoor lifestyle and show ourselves as an authentic outdoor lifestyle brand.

Our media approach: A thoughtful approach pulling paid, owned and earned levels of media but leaning in a big media moment across Disney networks premiering all three films in contextually relevant networks and programming.

We took an unconventional approach. We started by connecting this iconic vehicle with an iconic media partner. And we needed a media partnership that could deliver the mass reach we needed in the appropriate context for launching this outdoor lifestyle brand. We partnered with Disney and Disney Creativeworks and developed three short films that fit contextually within programming and played during one night across each Disney family of networks, including Hulu. Treated like movies, we teased them for a week – creating momentum with social content. We then followed up with the first live look on Good Morning America the following day. We were able to generate reach and interest that even the biggest auto show event couldn’t rival.

Objective 1: Create mass awareness among both Bronco fans and Bronco’s mass target buying audience. Results: Response shows we reached the masses: 12M+ ford.com visits, 537K users began a vehicle configuration; 60% completed the configuration; gained >230k Instagram followers; and 52K handraisers.

Objective 2: Reach half of the first year sales goal in reservations. 500k reservation page visits within four hours. Results: Reached goal in 35 minutes and started 18-month wait list. Total reservations represent over two years of production.

Objective 3: Positively impact the perception of Ford. Results: Ford’s share price rose 12% during the Bronco reveal week.

Objective 4: Positively establish the brand positioning. Results: We over-indexed on Positive Brand Opinion - 171 Index.