On Day 3 of our conference with Ford. We had the opportunity to test out the Ford line of vehicles for the day. I got to go behind the wheels and try out the vehicles. My favourite was the GT mustangs. The day started off with a welcome breakfast.
The highlight of my trip was riding with a professional driver on the track circuit. This was more exciting than any roller coaster ride i've been on. I tried to record the whole experience on camera but the ride was too wild. Here's a shortage video on my experience. Can you believe that the driver was able to talk in a calm voice throughout the ride experience. Wow!
I was able to ride in the Police Interceptor vehicle by Ford.
One of the beautiful mustang GT
We had a great opportunity by Ford to ride and experience the track at crazy speeds. Fun times!
My next post will be on the Social fun of the Ford events.
Welcome to Day 2 of the Go Further with Ford Conference review. On the 2nd day it was
a full day of informative sessions on technology and trends. The information was very interesting because it showcased how much work and research is involved in creating an innovative product. A Ford engineer showcases a demo of translating Spanish language to English through a Ford Sync cloud translator. Cloud computing seem to be a key component to this session.
The StyleCaster Panel was my favourite session because it talked about future trends from different aspects such as fashion, industrial and furniture design. The esteemed panelists gave the audience insight into future trends they predict in technology and their respective industries.
Christina Siriano is an American fashion designer who gained lots of attention after winning a reality show called "Project Runway". He talked about how Social Media accelerated his fashion brand. He also talked about Italian Mills fabricating material through organic process and that environmental processes will be a trend to acknowledge. Other future trends include the terms of "Cross Pollination" and "Democratization". One thing that stuck to mind is having the "Global is Local" approach and streamlining with noise abatement. The other trends talked about streamlining technology and having info at the your finger tips.
One of the more popular session involved Adrian Grenier of "Entourage" fame. He is a partner with Shft.com that is a site primary focused on living an environmental lifestyle. He talked about his partnership with Ford to promote better well-being and lifestyle choices through a focus on environment ways.
A Ford Engineer demonstrates how much Research and Development is involved in creating fuel efficiency through a wind tunnel showcasing the turbulence and windflow on a Ford vehicle.
Here is a nice storyboard and collection of ideas from the Environmental session held with Adrian Grenier.
One of the most fun parts of the sessions was being able to attend a place called Tech Shop. This is a unique workshop on innovation. You can basically create whatever your mind thinks of at this location to some degree. A dinner/concert reception was being held here. I thought I'd give you a little of the sights and sounds upon arrival.
Here is a small sampling of the cool stuff they create and do at the Tech Shop. Tech Shop and Ford have partnered together to keep innovation and technologies at the forefront.
Here is a group that was enjoying the festivities of the day. Fun times with Ford.
All images are taken with a Samsung NX20
I'm looking forward to spending the next 3 days in Detroit for the "Go Further with Ford" conference. The conference will cover some interesting topics on everything from global trends and Ford the company itself. There will be many key speakers to be highlighted, most notable to me would be Adrian Grenier of Entourage fame. I hope to meet him again since I met him last year at TIFF festival in Toronto. I'm also looking forward to meeting some new faces and old ones from the North American Auto Show earlier this year in Detroit. I'm excited to test drive some FORD vehicles over the few days.
Follow me on Twitter at @clickflickca and follow the hashtag at #GoFurther I want to "Thank" Ford Canada for giving me this unique opportunity to learn more about the company and brand through social media and experiencing it with other interesting people from all walks of life.
This is the 2nd blog post on my Ford Experience. To read the 1st post you can find it here.
First day 150 bloggers around the world converged in Dearborn Michigan for the North American International Auto Show on behalf of Ford Motor Company. The first night took us to the Henry Ford Museum that was not open to the public yet. We had the opportunity to have dinner amongst some famous automobile artifacts. The integration of 18 touch screen kiosks at various locations at the exhibit was a great mix of old history and new technology. It's a great way to learn and see the progression of the automobile. This is stuff I didn't think would interest me but it was actually enlightening. Learning the significance in historical moments and change in design and style is very cool and inspiring from a creative sense for me.
This is one of the older vehicles on display at the Henry Ford Museum.
It wasn't only cars at the museum. Here is the original menu in one of the diners displayed at Ford Museum. Overall it was a great evening to understand the history of Ford and it's importance in the automobile industry.
The next day we had the opportunity to wake up very early to see the big announcement and showcase of the Ford Fusion at Joe Louis Arena. This press conference was only open to auto journalist and Ford employees. This is probably the first time a significant number in attendance were blogger/social media types. The atmosphere had a very Cirque De Soleil feel to it. If you click on the image below it should give you a bit of a 180 degree feel to the event.
The showcase of the Ford Fusion.
Here is the media scrum after the presentation. Numerous media outlets on hand for this event. Including FOX2 below.
Overall the sentiment online and throughout media outlets have been positive and I'm sure have exceeded expectations in terms of coverage for Ford. Here is another local Detroit News coverage.
Finally on the same evening of the launch of the Ford Fusion we had the opportunity to visit Ford Headquarters. Scott Monty (Head Of Social Media) was able to address the bloggers with some stats and social metrics across the various Social Media platforms. Reaching out to bloggers that blog about fashion, lifestyle and digital moms seems to be effective.
Social Media stats of that day:
Over 2200 social media mentions.
Reached over 5 million unique followers on Twitter.
40% of the coverage that day was on Ford. Chrysler had 18% and GM had 15%.
*Stay tuned for more on this series for Ford. Keep in mind I was never asked to blog or post about this event. I was invited by Ford to experience the NAIAS and get a rare glimpse behind the scenes of Ford.*
This past week I had the opportunity given to me by Ford and Ford Canada to join 150 bloggers in Detroit for the North American International Auto Show. It is one of the world's largest showcase of automobiles and much more. The overall experience that took place over 3 days in Dearborn, Michigan was truly inspiring and a great learning experience. Over the coming days this blog will showcase what Ford the Motor Company is doing socially as a company as a whole. It will also showcase the cars they have introduced at the Detroit Auto Show. To be honest the first thing I think of when the word comes out about Ford is "Rob Ford". For those that do not know he is the mayor of Toronto who has had a controversial role as mayor in the city. What does this have to do with Ford the brand you may ask? Well Rob Ford is in the business of making change in a large city in Toronto for the good. If you live in Toronto you know how difficult it has been in the public face. Switch over to Ford Motor company and they are embracing a new way of business too! They are using social media channels to engage and give a better understanding of the brand and the rich history. I just thought I'd through the Rob Ford in to give it a change up. Yes this is how I write in a weird way.
Going back to the fact that Ford company invited non-auto bloggers is a testament to the forward thinking and the jump into social media by one of the largest american companies. If an automobile company does not do well then the economy as a whole gets affected. If the mayor of Toronto makes a stupid decision then the city is affected. Get where I'm going here so far? Hang tight here with me. Inviting non-auto bloggers to this recent event is smart. It enables you to spread the word to different markets that have not had much penetration. Fashion and Art are a few examples of bloggers that do not talk about cars so much in their blogs. The majority of the bloggers invited are "Mommy bloggers" who have a significant role in purchasing power in the household. Do you really want to read about how much horsepower a car has? Or are you just happy to hear that a car comes in multiple colours like red or blue with black leather interior? Everyone is different but I would assume the latter in this case. Aesthetics and simplicity are key to purchases. So to complete my thoughts in this blog. Rob Ford and Ford Motor Company are in the business of making sure we live in a happy environment with the proper services. We've all heard the saying of FORD = "Fix Or Repair Daily" That is definitely not the case with the Ford Motor Company but with Rob Ford... that still remains to be seen.
I know you are expecting pics and images to the Auto Show but I thought I preface it with a nice and gentle intro into this blog series. The following video is Scott Monty who is the head of Social Media at Ford Company. I asked him how Social Media has affected his industry. I hope you enjoy.
I've been invited by Ford Canada to visit the North American International Auto Show. I've been to the Toronto Auto Show before but never been to Detroit Auto Show. I'm looking forward to 3 fun-filled days of learning and experiencing more about Ford and the company. It's a great way for Ford to engage the consumers and a possible larger audience through this outreach. I'm looking forward to meeting many other bloggers from around the world. I'm happy to have been the select few from Toronto to participate in this initiative. So follow me on Twitter as I go through the motions at the #NAIAS Should be fun times!
