New Media Strategies
Ford Motor Company Takes Heat for Advertising Strategies
CNN Broadcast Live, Kyra Phillips, Pete Snyder.
Ford Motor Company has taken heat from both pro-gay and anti- gay activists due to their shifting policies on advertising in gay publications.
Ten years ago, if you had a boycott, you might send out a chain letter or harass some poor secretary in headquarters somewhere.
But, nowadays with the blogosphere, you can get your message around the Internet in 30 seconds and you can generate 100,000 e-mail or 200,000 messages on chat rooms and message boards across the Internet pretty easily.
KYRA PHILLIPS: Well, you can't please all the people all the time, that's an old saying, but a new lesson for the Ford Motor Company. It started last May, when a group called the American Family Association announced a boycott of Ford vehicles and criticized for its perceived gay friendly stance.
It called off the boycott last month, but last week, when Ford said it would pull ads for some of its luxury cars from gay publications, the protests from the gay community was swift and loud and accused Ford of giving into the pressure. Although Ford said the cuts were to save money, the company has now reversed itself and says it will run ads for all its products in gay publications.
In a letter on the company Web site, a Ford spokesperson says, "It is my hope that this will remove any ambiguity about Ford's desire to advertise to all important audiences and put this particular issue behind us." How big of a business fumble is this?
Pete Schneider is a marketing expert with New Media Strategies. He joins me now, live from Washington. Hi, Pete.
PETE SNYDER, NEW MEDIA STRATEGIES: How are you?
PHILLIPS: Let talk about microtargeting, as you have mentioned. It's definitely become much more popular. Why?
SNYDER: Well, I think it's a much more scientific way to spend your dollar in advertising. You know, the old saying that advertisers said about 50 years ago, I don't know where I get my most value on 50 cents on a dollar. I know it does something, but I don't know what it does anywhere.
So I think that's -- you know, what marketers are trying to find out today is how they get that best value on the dollar. And whether it's the Bush campaign in 2004 spending advertising in health clubs or today you have Ford targeting the gay community or Audi advertising on blogs, it's all about trying to drive that dollar and squeeze that dollar to the last mile.
PHILLIPS: Why target the gay community?
SNYDER: Well, they tend to be a higher income portion of the country, with much more disposable income. So, that's why originally Ford was targeting their luxury vehicles to the gay community.
PHILLIPS: So, is there a lot of pressure on various companies, Ford and others, to advertise a certain way and not advertise a certain way or are you seeing more of the pressures centralized to just the issue of gay advertising in gay publications or in gay venues?
SNYDER: Well, I don't think there's any one trend happening out there. I think what you have is really with the rise of the blogosphere and the Internet, you have different activist groups and different interest groups can get their message out much more effectively. Ten years ago, if you had a boycott, you might send out a chain letter or harass some poor secretary in headquarters somewhere.
But, nowadays with the blogosphere, you can get your message around the Internet in 30 seconds and you can generate 100,000 e-mail or 200,000 messages on chat rooms and message boards across the Internet pretty easily.
PHILLIPS: Are there a lot of gay marketing firms out there?
SNYDER: Like any other demographic, you have folks who are players in that area, so absolutely. It's a growing trend in advertising these days.
PHILLIPS: So you would -- it's interesting, just the whole Ford controversy and about having the ads, pulling the ads. The gay activists and also the anti-gay groups, are you seeing them more heavily involved in monitoring advertising and getting involved for political reasons, whether it's Ford or some other type of company? Are you just seeing an increase in, I guess sort of these groups watching and monitoring and keeping tabs on and then being vocal?
SNYDER: Well, I think really, again, with the rise of the Internet and the blogosphere, everyone is more sensitive. And, really, everyone is watching. So, corporations -- you know, in the past five to ten years, power has really been thrown away from the corporation and into the hands of the consumers.
Whether it's TiVo or whether it's blogs, you know, consumers now have a much larger voice to take on corporations than they ever have before. They can go toe-to-toe in a pretty quick way.
PHILLIPS: So, Ford did the right thing for its bottom line and for its brand.
SNYDER: I definitely think so. Most corporations really only use one metric when they make decisions and it tends to be the bottom line.
PHILLIPS: Pete Snyder, thanks for your time.
SNYDER: Thank you.
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