• Ad Age, Tuesday, January 31, 2006 12 PM

Ford Motor, facing huge financial losses and in the throes of a restructuring, has turned to a management consultant for help with its marketing plans. The giant automaker hired Accenture to review its U.S. media measurement and optimization program, in a move that could lead to major changes in the company's ad spending and media mix. The carmaker is said to be specifically studying major model launches for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands. Ford wants to know the optimum national and regional dealer group media weight and mix for a vehicle based on its targeted annual sales' volume. Such a move has long worried advertising executives, who fear that the management consultant's work will encroach upon the contribution made by advertising agencies. Martin Sorrell, head of WPP Group, has long expressed these worries and has much to lose in the current scenario, since Ford is one of his organization's biggest clients.

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