Ford To Launch Widgets On AOL

As part of its campaign touting the telematics and in-vehicle entertainment technology for the new Ford Sync, the automaker will launch widgets on AOL next week.

The widgets, launched earlier this year with client Warner Brothers, serve up advertising and can be distributed virally, said Peter Kim, president of Pasadena, Calif.-based Interpolls, the developer of the program.

Consumers will want to grab the widgets for their personal pages because they offer a rich-media experience, including a free song download, Kim said. The music and youth focus are central to Ford's efforts to pitch Sync to Ford Focus buyers.

"It's viral--it's more of an enhancement to rich media ad formats," Kim said. "Consumers can grab it, place it on their page and show other users the product. Rich media provides multiple goals and objectives through a single execution."

Ford, which has focused its Sync marketing efforts on music partners, has just launched a campaign using R&B artist Chris Brown as a centerpiece. The effort includes online, TV and radio ads, promotional activities and a tour.

The tie-in includes title sponsorship of Brown's tour, the Up Close & Personal Holiday Exclusive Tour Powered by Sync, which launched last week in Cincinnati. There is also a Web site, syncwithchrisbrown.com, which features interviews with Brown's entourage.

The Web site has clips from Funkmaster Flex' "Car Wars" TV show, footage of Brown, and other content. Ford said the program with Brown will include a national sweepstakes dangling a grand prize of a fully loaded 2008 Ford Focus customized by Flex.

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