• Brandweek, Monday, October 4, 2010 10:55 AM

David Kiley reports that Ford's campaigns for the global launch of the 2012 Focus -- its first under the new 'One Ford' strategy -- represent a major departure from the past. "When it comes to both developing vehicles and marketing them, Ford has been the king of inconsistency and waste," he writes.

A psychologist hired by head of global marketing, James Farley, shortly after he arrived at Ford in late 2007 told him that it wasn't that people disliked Ford as a brand. But many had become indifferent. "I had no idea how to fight indifference, so I talked to a psychologist about how to deal with it in marriages and relationships," Farley tells Kiley. He set out to show that not everyone felt indifference -- and for good reasons.

The first attempt, for the Flex, was a bust. But, since then, Ford's emphasis has been on messages told by real employees, customers or prospects it has gotten to test-drive one of its vehicles. The proof is in the rising retail market share -- from 12.8% when Farley arrived to 14.1% now. There's lots more good stuff in a far-ranging interview.

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