The idea behind Ford Motor Company Centennial was to transform the company’s anniversary into a massive multi-faceted media campaign beginning with a 100-city media tour.
The Centennial ended with a celebration attended by 225,000 paying guests at a Disneyesque festival at Ford Motor Company’s World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.
Ford wanted to dramatically link the revolutionary history-book heritage of its first 100 years to the promise of a second century of continued automotive innovation. |
During the 100-city media “blitz,” PCGCampbell staged mini Centennial celebrations at Ford dealerships. Back in Dearborn, PCGCampbell knew the real media darlings would be the legions of Ford “fans” from around the world. To showcase their classic Ford products, PCGCampbell selected 100 cars to represent each Ford model year from 1903 to 2003 and displayed them in the entrance to the World Headquarters Building.
Two embedded PCGCampbell staffers helped Ford’s Centennial team coordinate the installation of 200,000 square feet of graphics, 129 display tents, 150 shuttle buses, six miles of fence around the perimeter of the site, 17 miles of communication cables and 60 food-service venues.
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While connecting Ford Motor Company with its customers, the Centennial generated 1,198 print articles with an estimated audience of 296,256,867. The event created radio mentions with a reach of 39,822,706 and more than 16 hours of television coverage. Ford achieved the highest overall media IQ score and the most positive message placements among automotive companies during the 100-city media tour, according to CARMA International.
The tour also won a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Even more important was the fact that Ford jumped from 87th place two years before the Centennial to 11th place on the Delahaye Media Reputation Index of the top 100 U.S. companies.
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