it's time for some good pr

It seems like my recent posts have been on the, er, more critical side, so for a change I'm switching to looking at a company who's doing PR the right way- Ford Motor Company. You've probably caught some of their new ads on TV and American Idol. Personally, I think those American Idol music video ads are a stroke of genius.

Here's what Ford realized: the age of the gas guzzling SUV is over. Baby boomers who were buying and driving those vehicle, some as a status symbol at the time, have switched to smaller more fuel efficient luxury SUVs or fuel efficient cars, luxury or otherwise. Some no longer need the big SUVs because their kids grew up and moved out. Ford also realized they were losing their market share to Toyota and its highly economical, well-built vehicles.

So Ford stepped it up a notch and came out with an amazing PR campaign. I love the "BoldMoves" theme of the ads. If you think back a little bit, you'll recall the premier ad for this new series showing a 16-year-old getting her first car, a Ford Mustang her dad just bought for her.

Since Ford realized the market was changing, they re-branded and launched a new campaign targeting a younger generation. Great strategy- get them to buy a Ford when they're young and build some brand loyalty. Mustangs have always been cool to us young people, and we love innovative, high tech new vehicles like the crossover Edge. I love the commercial for it- catchy music and a clever, innovative connection between the crossover's name and where its driving, which is up and down the edges of city buildings.

Partnering with American Idol keeps their name in the forefront of young consumers' minds as well. Seeing the Top 8, 9 or 10 Idols in an entertaining music video featuring the Ford Edge, Mustang, Fusion and Hybrid Escape is an amazing platform to market these new vehicle to young people, to whom these vehicles have tremendous appeal. Ford has definitely gone about this campaign the right way. They stepped out and took a risk, and I think they've done a supremely successful job.