Challenge

Ford are one of the largest and best loved manufacturers of passenger and commercial vehicles, from the family friendly Focus and Fiesta through to the universal Transit.

VML were set the challenge of delivering seamless digital experiences at scale across Europe. The aim was to create a single, consistent global user experience.

Initially, we developed the technology platform that has enabled Ford marketing teams to launch and manage multiple websites with consistency and efficiency. Then the focus of the work moved towards delivering the next level of capabilities. Specifically, pioneering the technology that would enable Ford to personalise these experiences, optimising engagement to make it as relevant, informative and positive as possible, at every touchpoint.

Inspiration

The initial technical vision was to take the model of flexible, scalable production systems that Ford has pioneered, and apply it to web development.

Solution

The foundation stone for the solution was Adobe Experience Manager, a content management system that would give all local markets a basic toolkit to create websites. Understanding Ford’s specific requirements, we tailored this out-of-the-box CMS with the addition of a bespoke site build accelerator and authoring tool.

With the rollout of the platform underway, we turned our attention to how we might better use it to improve the quality of each and every interaction, working closely with Adobe, Ford, and our sister WPP agency, GTB. A truly personalised experience starts with a single view of the customer across multiple channels. It’s only by stitching together that data that Ford can serve up relevant content at the right time and on the right device. From a technical perspective this meant connecting various elements of the Adobe Experience Cloud. Something that nobody else had yet achieved.

We connected AEM, Campaign, Target, Audience Manager, and Analytics, and integrated both 1st and 3rd party data sources to drive one-to-one conversations with Ford customers. Now web is just one channel of many in the mix as we begin to enable Ford to automatically personalise content across multiple inbound and outbound communications.

Growth

The new platform has given Ford of Europe the foundations and capability to deliver a consistent global user experience, across different territories, channels and devices. They can now personally target customers by joining up 1st and 3rd party data and acting on it in real time.

Results from an initial prospecting campaign that used the new capability and audience strategy far exceeded Ford’s expectations compared with previous campaigns using a standard targeting approach.

At a Glance
76%

Conversion rates up to 76% higher than in previous campaigns

At a Glance
4,400

An additional 4,400 conversions were generated with an unchanged budget

At a Glance
16%

Cost-per-lead down by 16%

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