2007 Shelby GT500: Ford Promotes GT500 Via Cell Phone Campaign

TheGT500Source.com - Ford is tapping into the fast-growing area of cell phone marketing through an extensive print media campaign to help promote the new Ford Shelby GT500. The ads create instant connections with potential customers and make Shelby wallpaper and ring tones available for cell phones.


2007 Shelby GT500 Mustang. Photo: Ford.

The Ford Shelby marketing campaign, launched in June, includes 36 print publications covering a wide interest range, from Gentlemen's Quartley, Lucky and Men's Health to Car & Driver, Details and Rolling Stone.

Ford is also featuring the mobile phone program on its Ford Mustang iTV ad campaign, an interactive TV program that is anchored on 30-second TV spots on many cable networks. WithWeb site banner ads and e-mail blasts, the cell phone campaign is reaching more than 154 million people.

Brian Bos, convergence director for JWT Detroit, a Ford advertising agency, feels it is the most extensive print campaign ever run in support of a cell-phone marketing effort.

"This type of mobile marketing is a next step in the evolution of print and digital media integration," said Bos.

"Ten years ago, we were told clients to put their Web address in their media communications so customers would know how to find them on the Web. This campaign is the evolution of PC-dependent Web sites, a way to create an immediate consumer connection through a cell phone."

Ford marketers are able to use the campaign to fine-tune print advertising because each text message from a customer includes the magazine's name. For example, a Ford ad in GQ magazine asks readers to put "GQ" in the text message used to download ring tones, so marketers know exactly how many "hits" each magazine is getting.

About 80 percent of the wallpaper and ring tone downloads are coming from mobile phones, according to early data, versus people visiting www.fordvehicles.com. While the program does not cover all carriers (such as Verizon), it is compatible with almost 100 million active cell subscribers (about 58 percent of the total U.S. mobile audience).