Ford Forgoes Auto Show, Unveils New Ford Explorer On Facebook

Ford today unveiled the completely reinvented 2011 Ford Explorer through its Facebook page – marking the first time a major car company forgoes an auto show for a new car reveal.

Instead, Ford opted to bring the the auto show to Facebook, allowing everyone to simultaneously experience the unveiling. A series of videos and events were planned throughout the day to not only replicate the auto show experience, but to introduce consumers to executives and allow for conversations around the new vehicle – encouraging a level of engagement that would have previously only been possible for the limited audience attending the auto show.

Since the “Reveal” tab went up on Ford’s Facebook page at 12:01am ET, content and activities have included a pre-reveal video featuring celebrity spokesperson Mike Rowe and CEO Alan Mulally, the full reveal video at 7:40 am ET, a detailed tour of the new car and photo gallery, more Mike Rowe, a live wall Q&A with Mulally and Facebook chats with featured Ford employees.

Facebook used both paid and earned media to build awareness and gain interest for the redesigned auto’s reveal, surpassing its goal of 30,000 fans prior to the reveal (over 47,000 at the time this post was written). Learning from other Ford brand work, the Explorer launch plan is a primarily digital one, with Facebook as the cornerstone.

While its faith in social media to drive engagement with and interest in the auto is clear, we will have to wait six months (when consumers can actually purchase the vehicle) to see how this delivers in terms of sales. We applaud Ford for recognizing that a major, full-scale ‘overhaul’ of a model like the Ford Explorer calls for a level of education, transparency and engagement that is particularly well suited for the digital channel.

Ford on Facebook

[via Mashable]