Ford To Give Mercury New Image, new ad campaign dubbed "New Doors Open"
08-28-2004, 08:49 PM
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Ford To Give Mercury New Image, new ad campaign dubbed "New Doors Open"
Ford To Give Mercury New Image
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From "DealersEdge.com"
Ford To Give Mercury New Image
On Thursday, Ford announced it has unveiled a new ad campaign aimed at redefining the image of Mercury. Some feel it's long overdue, as Mercury has had but 12 slogans over the past 25 years. As Mercury sales slowed 23 percent last year, Ford decided to remake the brand and give it the attention it deserved. Ford gave Mercury several new models including an upcoming crossover and hybrid models.
The new ad campaign is the next step in the image overhaul for Mercury. The campaign is dubbed "New Doors Open," and features versions of the song "It's my life" by Paula Cole. Ford has spent $93 million on advertising and marketing for Mercury through May of this year, compared to $76 million all of 2003. "We are trying to introduce people to Mercury again," said Tom Grill, marketing communications manager for Mercury.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From "DealersEdge.com"
Ford To Give Mercury New Image
On Thursday, Ford announced it has unveiled a new ad campaign aimed at redefining the image of Mercury. Some feel it's long overdue, as Mercury has had but 12 slogans over the past 25 years. As Mercury sales slowed 23 percent last year, Ford decided to remake the brand and give it the attention it deserved. Ford gave Mercury several new models including an upcoming crossover and hybrid models.
The new ad campaign is the next step in the image overhaul for Mercury. The campaign is dubbed "New Doors Open," and features versions of the song "It's my life" by Paula Cole. Ford has spent $93 million on advertising and marketing for Mercury through May of this year, compared to $76 million all of 2003. "We are trying to introduce people to Mercury again," said Tom Grill, marketing communications manager for Mercury.
08-28-2004, 08:54 PM
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From the Mercury website:
MERCURY OPENS NEW DOORS WITH FULLY INTEGRATED CONSUMER LIFESTYLE BRAND CAMPAIGN
NEW YORK CITY, August 26, 2004 – Mercury, a North American brand of Ford Motor Company, today unveiled a fully integrated marketing communications campaign, "New Doors Opened," that features the vitality of the Mercury brand woven into the everyday discoveries of modern life.
New Doors Opened is Mercury’s most comprehensive marketing campaign in history and was created to support the launch of six new Mercury products over four years, including the introduction next month of the Mercury Mariner, a compact sport utility vehicle, and the Mercury Montego, a new midsize sedan.
"Our new products give us the opportunity to redefine our brand – the products are that progressive," said Tom Grill, Lincoln Mercury marketing communications manager. "New Doors Opened will reintroduce Mercury to consumers by portraying the brand’s seamless fit into life’s everyday moments of discovery."
The essence of the new campaign is captured by music titled, "It’s My Life," which was created specifically for Mercury and describes life’s precious and revealing moments. "It’s My Life" was written by Grammy-winning artist Paula Cole and produced by Grammy winner Don Was, one of the most prolific hit-making producers in contemporary music who hails from Detroit, in a collaborative relationship with Mercury and its advertising agency, Y&R Brands.
The process to create the music began with presenting the creative brief to Cole and culminated with Mercury, Y&R Brands and Was in the mixing and editing room. The result is four versions of the song that will be used in a variety of ways to evoke different moods and moments throughout the New Doors Opened campaign.
"It’s My Life" is the backdrop for a creative campaign that finds humor and discovery in the daily details of life. In one 30-second television ad, titled "First Dibs," a husband and wife try a number of funny and outlandish ways to outsmart each other every morning to see who can get out of bed earlier and behind the wheel faster of their new Mercury Mariner. In another 30-second spot, titled "Smart," a man and woman are on a blind date, it’s raining, and the woman is driving a Mercury Mariner. The woman suddenly, but deftly, maneuvers out of the way of another vehicle also driven by a woman. With just one utterance about "woman drivers," her date is quickly deposited on the curb to soak in the rain. And in "Forecast," a local TV weatherman is happy to be in his Mercury Montego with all-wheel drive, which allows him to handle driving in all kinds of weather, but he is unhappy to be recognized by a snowball-wielding viewer who is not pleased with the weatherman’s less-than-accurate forecasts.
"The New Doors Opened campaign is designed to deliver messages about the new Mercury products’ features by telling a human story and creating a desire for the brand and new products," said Lance Paull, executive creative director for Y&R Brands in Detroit, which created the campaign.
The advertising creative for New Doors Opened, which strikes at the heart of consumer life stage experiences, commands a media strategy that hits upon multiple and targeted consumer touch points. Therefore, the campaign focuses on Mercury’s target audiences’ different passion points and aims to reach them in smart and targeted ways as they travel through their daily lives.
"A strategic decision was made to employ the Internet in a way like we have never done before," said John Fitzpatrick, Lincoln Mercury general marketing manager. "For this campaign, we are dedicating nearly 25 percent of our total marketing communications budget to digital and customer relationship events, which represents a substantial commitment when compared to prior launches."
For example, a new Web site will launch in October that will transform automotive shopping online. The Web site is based on consumer research conducted by Mercury that revealed consumers’ preferences to discover product features and benefits as part of an overall lifestyle approach. Therefore, the website will focus on consumer lifestyles, employ innovative photography and video imagery to captivate consumers, and be magazine-like in appearance and navigation for ease of exploration. In addition, Mariner and Montego online advertising will appear on lifestyle Web sites such as epicurious.com, foodnetwork.com, Yahoo, MSN, weather.com and others.
The broadcast and print components of New Doors Opened will begin with a teaser brand campaign the week of Sept. 13 that will feature myriad images of doors opening and the discoveries suggested behind them, culminating with a set of garage doors opening to reveal the new Mariner and Montego vehicles. New Doors Opened will continue with flights of Mariner and Montego brand-specific ads that will run from September to November and again in 2005.
Network television advertising will include spots on early morning, evening news and late night programs. The Mariner ads will be seen during prime time on programs that were selected based on target audience insights such as "Alias" on ABC, "Scrubs" on NBC, and "24" on Fox. The Mariner ads will also be seen on cable channels such as Food Network, HGTV and Lifetime. The Montego ads will be seen during prime time on programs that reach the Montego target audience such as "Grey’s Anatomy" on ABC, "CSI" on CBS, and "ER" on NBC. The Montego ads will also be seen on cable channels such as CNBC, Discovery Channel and ESPN.
In addition, Mariner and Montego print ads will appear in a number of magazines that reach the campaign’s target audience, including categories such as women’s and men’s lifestyle, business and finance, epicurean, sports and travel, and science and technology.
"We are thrilled to see the power of this fully integrated and targeted campaign unfold, yet it is just the beginning for New Doors Opened," said Fitzpatrick. "We’ll continue to open news doors to the Mercury consumer experience for years to come."
About Mercury
Mercury is a brand of Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., which manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With more than 328,000 employees worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Credit, Quality Care and Hertz. Ford Motor Company celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 16, 2003.
MERCURY OPENS NEW DOORS WITH FULLY INTEGRATED CONSUMER LIFESTYLE BRAND CAMPAIGN
NEW YORK CITY, August 26, 2004 – Mercury, a North American brand of Ford Motor Company, today unveiled a fully integrated marketing communications campaign, "New Doors Opened," that features the vitality of the Mercury brand woven into the everyday discoveries of modern life.
New Doors Opened is Mercury’s most comprehensive marketing campaign in history and was created to support the launch of six new Mercury products over four years, including the introduction next month of the Mercury Mariner, a compact sport utility vehicle, and the Mercury Montego, a new midsize sedan.
"Our new products give us the opportunity to redefine our brand – the products are that progressive," said Tom Grill, Lincoln Mercury marketing communications manager. "New Doors Opened will reintroduce Mercury to consumers by portraying the brand’s seamless fit into life’s everyday moments of discovery."
The essence of the new campaign is captured by music titled, "It’s My Life," which was created specifically for Mercury and describes life’s precious and revealing moments. "It’s My Life" was written by Grammy-winning artist Paula Cole and produced by Grammy winner Don Was, one of the most prolific hit-making producers in contemporary music who hails from Detroit, in a collaborative relationship with Mercury and its advertising agency, Y&R Brands.
The process to create the music began with presenting the creative brief to Cole and culminated with Mercury, Y&R Brands and Was in the mixing and editing room. The result is four versions of the song that will be used in a variety of ways to evoke different moods and moments throughout the New Doors Opened campaign.
"It’s My Life" is the backdrop for a creative campaign that finds humor and discovery in the daily details of life. In one 30-second television ad, titled "First Dibs," a husband and wife try a number of funny and outlandish ways to outsmart each other every morning to see who can get out of bed earlier and behind the wheel faster of their new Mercury Mariner. In another 30-second spot, titled "Smart," a man and woman are on a blind date, it’s raining, and the woman is driving a Mercury Mariner. The woman suddenly, but deftly, maneuvers out of the way of another vehicle also driven by a woman. With just one utterance about "woman drivers," her date is quickly deposited on the curb to soak in the rain. And in "Forecast," a local TV weatherman is happy to be in his Mercury Montego with all-wheel drive, which allows him to handle driving in all kinds of weather, but he is unhappy to be recognized by a snowball-wielding viewer who is not pleased with the weatherman’s less-than-accurate forecasts.
"The New Doors Opened campaign is designed to deliver messages about the new Mercury products’ features by telling a human story and creating a desire for the brand and new products," said Lance Paull, executive creative director for Y&R Brands in Detroit, which created the campaign.
The advertising creative for New Doors Opened, which strikes at the heart of consumer life stage experiences, commands a media strategy that hits upon multiple and targeted consumer touch points. Therefore, the campaign focuses on Mercury’s target audiences’ different passion points and aims to reach them in smart and targeted ways as they travel through their daily lives.
"A strategic decision was made to employ the Internet in a way like we have never done before," said John Fitzpatrick, Lincoln Mercury general marketing manager. "For this campaign, we are dedicating nearly 25 percent of our total marketing communications budget to digital and customer relationship events, which represents a substantial commitment when compared to prior launches."
For example, a new Web site will launch in October that will transform automotive shopping online. The Web site is based on consumer research conducted by Mercury that revealed consumers’ preferences to discover product features and benefits as part of an overall lifestyle approach. Therefore, the website will focus on consumer lifestyles, employ innovative photography and video imagery to captivate consumers, and be magazine-like in appearance and navigation for ease of exploration. In addition, Mariner and Montego online advertising will appear on lifestyle Web sites such as epicurious.com, foodnetwork.com, Yahoo, MSN, weather.com and others.
The broadcast and print components of New Doors Opened will begin with a teaser brand campaign the week of Sept. 13 that will feature myriad images of doors opening and the discoveries suggested behind them, culminating with a set of garage doors opening to reveal the new Mariner and Montego vehicles. New Doors Opened will continue with flights of Mariner and Montego brand-specific ads that will run from September to November and again in 2005.
Network television advertising will include spots on early morning, evening news and late night programs. The Mariner ads will be seen during prime time on programs that were selected based on target audience insights such as "Alias" on ABC, "Scrubs" on NBC, and "24" on Fox. The Mariner ads will also be seen on cable channels such as Food Network, HGTV and Lifetime. The Montego ads will be seen during prime time on programs that reach the Montego target audience such as "Grey’s Anatomy" on ABC, "CSI" on CBS, and "ER" on NBC. The Montego ads will also be seen on cable channels such as CNBC, Discovery Channel and ESPN.
In addition, Mariner and Montego print ads will appear in a number of magazines that reach the campaign’s target audience, including categories such as women’s and men’s lifestyle, business and finance, epicurean, sports and travel, and science and technology.
"We are thrilled to see the power of this fully integrated and targeted campaign unfold, yet it is just the beginning for New Doors Opened," said Fitzpatrick. "We’ll continue to open news doors to the Mercury consumer experience for years to come."
About Mercury
Mercury is a brand of Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., which manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With more than 328,000 employees worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Credit, Quality Care and Hertz. Ford Motor Company celebrated its 100th anniversary on June 16, 2003.
08-28-2004, 08:57 PM
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08-29-2004, 05:21 PM
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I hope they do better than the marketing of Merkurs !!
I had 2 of them and they didn't know what to do with marketing a German Ford, too bad, they were awesome cars for that time !
I had 2 of them and they didn't know what to do with marketing a German Ford, too bad, they were awesome cars for that time !
08-29-2004, 07:38 PM
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Got da Internet Goin Nutz
Got the wife a mountaineer on accident. Never thought about it but happened to pass by their dealership while looking and they were cutting some great deals on them. I honestly think there is no difference between Mercury models and Ford models. I think Mercury will ultimately die unles they get their own models that are all upscale (between Ford and Lincoln). I think they would do good to have models that were already fully loaded with little or NO options.
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08-30-2004, 10:07 AM
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Originally Posted by bl^5
Got the wife a mountaineer on accident. Never thought about it but happened to pass by their dealership while looking and they were cutting some great deals on them. I honestly think there is no difference between Mercury models and Ford models. I think Mercury will ultimately die unles they get their own models that are all upscale (between Ford and Lincoln). I think they would do good to have models that were already fully loaded with little or NO options.
ABSOLUTELY. I think it's great that Mercury's finally getting some attention, but for what. It all eventually leads back to product. Ford has done nothing but rebadge it's products for Mercury for decades, and honestly think we (the public) are stupid enough to see them as different cars. I'm all for platform sharing; but they cars must be different to the eye and to the senses. Mercury is perfect for going upscale, and the idea of them coming fully loaded (al la' Acura) and fully isolated (al la' Lexus), would be a great position for the brand without stepping on Lincoln's toes (if they ever get they're shit together)... similar to what GM wants to (but still far from it, unfortuantely) do with Buick (competition for Lexus) and Caddy (the German three). Even though Ford owns Volvo, Jag, LandRover, Aston Martin, there is definitely room for two lux/upscale domestic brands. But they must be done right.
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