Who hear has the ear of Ford HQ?

XWGT · 14-12-2011, 12:55 PM

I believe a few mods may have the ear of those at Ford AUS HQ and maybe some others here as well.

If so, I would ask you, as a matter of urgency, to tell them to sack their entire marketing department, and get a new one on the job ASAP.

I frequent a few forums, many not car related. At the moment there is more talk of the EcoBoost Falcon and EcoLPI Falcon there than I have seen at all from Ford. And the biggest comment is, why arnt Ford advertising and marketing the **** off these great developments and acheivements for the Falcon.

Peoples opinion of the Falcon as being a big fuel hungry barge is beginning to change. But if Ford dont capitalise NOW, they will never translate to sales.

So please, if you actaully have any communication channels to Ford HQ, tell, them, point out to them, DEMAND of them that they start to advertise and market these great acheivements. Its bloody hard work supporting this mob at times, and right now is possibly the most frustrating example of marketing apathy I have ever seen. Great product with zero support. It can only end badly if not changed quickly.

/end rant

Falc'man · 14-12-2011, 12:59 PM

Hear, hear! Let's all congregate around HQ and learn'em how it's done on the intermenet.

FPV GTHO · 14-12-2011, 01:02 PM

what you are suggesting would basically require funds to be transfered from actual development, then before too long youre screaming from the rooftop about a product that cant match the competition anymore

pottery beige · 14-12-2011, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falc'man

Hear, hear! Let's all congregate around HQ and learn'em how it's done on the intermenet.

Falc'man · 14-12-2011, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pottery beige

image

That's Gaela on the right and Russell on the left

FacultY · 14-12-2011, 01:21 PM

Ford Announces Executive Appointment

MELBOURNE, Australia, 05 December, 2011 – The Ford Motor Company has appointed Brad Brownell as the new Vice President Marketing, Sales and Service for Ford Australia.
Ford Australia President and CEO, Bob Graziano, welcomed Brownell to the Australian operations.
“Brad brings with him a vast resource of knowledge and 24 years of experience at Ford in various senior roles,” Graziano said. “A large portion of his career at Ford has been directly involved with dealers.”
Brownell joined the Ford Motor Company in 1987 and has served in a variety of senior management positions. In his most recent assignment he was General Manager, Central Market Area, US Marketing Sales and Service, based in Dallas, Texas.
He has also worked in Customer Service and Global Product Marketing.
Brownell takes over the role as Vice President Marketing, Sales and Service from Beth Donovan, who has returned to the United States to take up a position as a Retail Marketing Manager at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn.

Road_Warrior · 14-12-2011, 01:23 PM

No point spruiking the Ecoboost Falcon when it's not ready for sale yet.

LTDHO · 14-12-2011, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XWGT

If so, I would ask you, as a matter of urgency, to tell them to sack their entire marketing department, and get a new one on the job ASAP.

Ford have a marketing dept?

Smoke Pursuit · 14-12-2011, 01:26 PM

Its a catch 22... They don't have the budget to to do it right, but at the same time they don't have enough sales to help make the budget...

Maybe they should borrow more $$ and put more into marketing, then see how they go... Bad publicity is what killed Mits Australia pretty much over night... The same is happening to FMCA.

Smoke Pursuit · 14-12-2011, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

No point spruiking the Ecoboost Falcon when it's not ready for sale yet.

Yes and no... Its due Feb 2012... That's only a few months away, if they start talking about it some buyers may potentially hold off from buying other makes to see what the fuss is all about.

FG2 should be getting advertised heavily now, but no one knows anything about it.

Someone should call Bob Graziano... his home phone numbers in the white pages...

csv8 · 14-12-2011, 01:30 PM

They had a campaign in America....Ford,,Built For The Road Ahead... which would be good here..as we drive long distances...

Falc'man · 14-12-2011, 01:46 PM

This is written by a friend in the industry I work in. A while ago we were discussing this and this is what he had to say.

"I've just been at a client being briefed on a new job who is a significant advertising and marketing agency responsible for campaigns for some very large blue chip clients and i thought for ***** and giggles I'd ask them their thoughts about investing big $ marketing a new automotive product before its even released released during xmas... You can imagine the laughter I got!!

Also you'd be amazed at the costs and timelines to produce a TV commercial or news print advert... 6-10 weeks to shoot and produce a TV commercial and the sky's the limit cost wise.... News print is seasonally adjusted cost wise, it costs a fortune advertising at this time of year.

Best time to advertise a new product? Wait till its in the market place first, then once its been released and dealers are full of stock and its possible to get stock then advertise it. Advertising a product consumers cant see, or buy or has significant delays or shortages of just creates disappointment and resentment towards the brand.

So i wouldnt expect full blown advertising till Feb/March."

JPFS1 · 14-12-2011, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XWGT

I believe a few mods may have the ear of those at Ford AUS HQ and maybe some others here as well.

If so, I would ask you, as a matter of urgency, to tell them to sack their entire marketing department, and get a new one on the job ASAP.

I frequent a few forums, many not car related. At the moment there is more talk of the EcoBoost Falcon and EcoLPI Falcon there than I have seen at all from Ford. And the biggest comment is, why arnt Ford advertising and marketing the **** off these great developments and acheivements for the Falcon.

Peoples opinion of the Falcon as being a big fuel hungry barge is beginning to change. But if Ford dont capitalise NOW, they will never translate to sales.

So please, if you actaully have any communication channels to Ford HQ, tell, them, point out to them, DEMAND of them that they start to advertise and market these great acheivements. Its bloody hard work supporting this mob at times, and right now is possibly the most frustrating example of marketing apathy I have ever seen. Great product with zero support. It can only end badly if not changed quickly.

/end rant

Hey XW, I will take your post seriously and support your enthusiasm and passion for the brand. It's not a bad thing.

I will pass your post on.

Wretched · 14-12-2011, 01:58 PM

They should be using the net more for marketing even for products such as the ecoboost and FG2. While they are not on market as yet they can showcase the product and its technology via a "new falcon" website just like they did with BA. Costs are there yes but are far less than TV and can be to a wider audience.

While I believe Ford AU do have a marketing issue they are also guilty with the quality of the local product. More focus on quality needs to be undertaken. Too many out there have been bitten too many times to return to the local product. Even worse is imported cars are doing it better and at a lot of the time cheaper. Case in point would the be Jeep GC that a couple of years back would have been laughed at here, now how many on this forum have one? The updated Journey (a competitor to the Territory) is on our shores with a vast amount of changes....

Ford and Holden did have the market to themselves and made a lot out of it without investing much but now with competiton they're really struggling. The other products within the Ford catalog are fantastic and are really beefing up the sales. I do like the new ad campaigns out on the TV that does inform people of the fact that Ford AU have a great RANGE of cars.

Ford AU are turning around, it may look bad from a Falcon point of view but it is reality setting in, the company is doing well with their whole range because they are Ford Motor Company not Falcon Motor Company.

Road_Warrior · 14-12-2011, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falc'man

This is written by a friend in the industry I work in. A while ago we were discussing this and this is what he had to say.

"I've just been at a client being briefed on a new job who is a significant advertising and marketing agency responsible for campaigns for some very large blue chip clients and i thought for ***** and giggles I'd ask them their thoughts about investing big $ marketing a new automotive product before its even released released during xmas... You can imagine the laughter I got!!

Also you'd be amazed at the costs and timelines to produce a TV commercial or news print advert... 6-10 weeks to shoot and produce a TV commercial and the sky's the limit cost wise.... News print is seasonally adjusted cost wise, it costs a fortune advertising at this time of year.

Best time to advertise a new product? Wait till its in the market place first, then once its been released and dealers are full of stock and its possible to get stock then advertise it. Advertising a product consumers cant see, or buy or has significant delays or shortages of just creates disappointment and resentment towards the brand.

So i wouldnt expect full blown advertising till Feb/March."

That's a good point, this time of year people have got Christmas on their minds and big ticket purchases like cars are usually out of the question for a lot of people.

MAD · 14-12-2011, 02:17 PM

Advertising before availablity works for console games...
Different markets, but some part might be translated.

Advertising the Ecoboost now might make a fleet manager hold off for the release.

What about ads shouting from the rooftops that Ford have just taken out a ton of the ABC awards? Nothing there either.

I remember a recent time when Ford went 3 years in a row at Bathurst, and we heard nothing about that either.

It gets really annoying knowing that there is plenty a Ford fan can be proud of, but none of it gets reported to the world.

XWGT · 14-12-2011, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPFS1

Hey XW, I will take your post seriously and support your enthusiasm and passion for the brand. It's not a bad thing.

I will pass your post on.

Thanks, I certainly appreciate that.

I have personally been involved in supporting Ford for many many years in a different capacity, and at the moment I think Ford are selling themselves incredibly short considering the amount of fresh product, innovation and new lines ups they have released in the last 12 months.

My real fear is that unless they capitalise on this round of releases, there may infact be no new releases post 2015.

And we know very well how that the arch enemy has entrenched itself in the market with an inferior product through superior marketing over many many years. I dont think anyone could refute that.

TMC · 14-12-2011, 05:17 PM

I hope Ecoboost and the new Falcon/Ford range will be a huge success for the company.

I also hope that the fuel economy of the new Ecoboost 4 is up to expectation. If it is, this is a big feather in Ford's cap and they must capitalise on it with correct marketing, whatever form that is in.

I do agree with an earlier comment that Ford should take a serious look at their quality of finish, especially sealing the panels properly for rust reasons. Holden, Toyota and Mazda do a much better job.

Also, how many of us actually take our Fords to Ford to be serviced???? I don't. There's a reason too, which most people would agree with. The level of service from the Ford Dealer network is woeful in the main. Probably not all service departments. There would be some great dealerships out there, that know what they're doing. But the biggest impediment to the Ford product (and the buying public knows this) is the Ford after sales service. Some will probably never touch a Ford again because of previous bad experiences with bad Ford service. Just fix that and Ford sales eventually should pick up.

So I hope that the great products Ford make, are not let down by low quality finish, and low quality after sales service, as it will undo any developmental and marketing costs spent.

I'll go back under my rock.

jpd80 · 14-12-2011, 06:21 PM

This month, FGII launches and sells let's say 1500 at full RRP
while Holden in discount mode sells 3,500...

The business plans couldn't be any clearer....

P6LTD351 · 14-12-2011, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpd80

This month, FGII launches and sells let's say 1500 at full RRP
while Holden in discount mode sells 3,500...

The business plans couldn't be any clearer....

This again. The fact of the matter is, Ford would kill to sell 3500 Falcons at discount price. Sales success breeds more sales success. Other than diehards, the average Joe wants to buy the car that is doing well in sales. Average Joe doesn't care what profit the car maker is making. It is about image. Falcon can't keep going selling at 1500 per month...no matter how much profit they make.

stang65 · 14-12-2011, 08:36 PM

Not if their not making money they wouldn`t.

Falc'man · 14-12-2011, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stang65

Not if their not making money they wouldn`t.

No, but it's the No1 spot that is most important. Never mind if they lose money, govco's got their back.

P6LTD351 · 14-12-2011, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falc'man

No, but it's the No1 spot that is most important. Never mind if they lose money, govco's got their back.

I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not.....but as funny as it is, what you say is correct!

What I am saying is that the Falcon, no matter how much profit they make, cannot sustain in the long term at only 1500 sales. If it stays at 1500, you can bet it will go to 1400, 1300, 1200, 1100, 1000 and so on.

The Falcon has dropped out of the top 10 for the FIRST time EVER. But hey, they're making a profit! pfft - that profit won't be there if they stop selling.

Falc'man · 14-12-2011, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eb2monty

I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not.....but as funny as it is, what you say is correct!

What I am saying is that the Falcon, no matter how much profit they make, cannot sustain in the long term at only 1500 sales. If it stays at 1500, you can bet it will go to 1400, 1300, 1200, 1100, 1000 and so on.

The Falcon has dropped out of the top 10 for the FIRST time EVER. But hey, they're making a profit! pfft - that profit won't be there if they stop selling.

WTF? Me? Sarcasmic?

prydey · 14-12-2011, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eb2monty

This again. The fact of the matter is, Ford would kill to sell 3500 Falcons at discount price. Sales success breeds more sales success. Other than diehards, the average Joe wants to buy the car that is doing well in sales. Average Joe doesn't care what profit the car maker is making. It is about image. Falcon can't keep going selling at 1500 per month...no matter how much profit they make.

umm, average joe wouldn't have a clue about sales numbers. do you really believe that everyone takes an interest in the vfacts data every month. 99% of the public wouldn't know which models make up the top 5 let alone the top 10.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XWGT

I frequent a few forums, many not car related. At the moment there is more talk of the EcoBoost Falcon and EcoLPI Falcon there

so these non car related forums are aware of fords new products and you think marketing/advertising isn't working?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falc'man

Hear, hear! Let's all congregate around HQ and learn'em how it's done on the intermenet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eb2monty

The Falcon has dropped out of the top 10 for the FIRST time EVER. But hey, they're making a profit! pfft - that profit won't be there if they stop selling.

they aren't the falcon car company. on average their total sales is heading in the right direction.

Falc'man · 14-12-2011, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prydey

so these non car related forums are aware of fords new products and you think marketing/advertising isn't working?

P6LTD351 · 14-12-2011, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prydey

they aren't the falcon car company. on average their total sales is heading in the right direction.

Look mate, I appreciate your positive viewpoint of Ford's position in this country. I'm not talking about the imported product (which are very good). I'm talking about the Falcon. Blind optimism is just as bad as those that are continually negative.

Let's not confuse being realistic with being negative.

P6LTD351 · 14-12-2011, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prydey

umm, average joe wouldn't have a clue about sales numbers. do you really believe that everyone takes an interest in the vfacts data every month. 99% of the public wouldn't know which models make up the top 5 let alone the top 10.

They may not know vfacts data, but they are aware of the lowly sales of the Falcon; it's always talked about in the media. Shall we put our head in the sand and go the way of Mitsubishi?

prydey · 14-12-2011, 09:54 PM

people make a lot of assumptions about ford's viability with its current sales levels without actually knowing even 10% of the facts. very few people on here would have access to the same information that ford have.

the fact that new products are still being brought to the market and new products are still being designed, i will continue to have the opinion that ford australia will be here for many years to come.

P6LTD351 · 14-12-2011, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prydey

people make a lot of assumptions about ford's viability with its current sales levels without actually knowing even 10% of the facts. very few people on here would have access to the same information that ford have.

the fact that new products are still being brought to the market and new products are still being designed, i will continue to have the opinion that ford australia will be here for many years to come.

I would like nothing more than that to be the case.