The hardest challenge facing Ford Australia in the lead-up to the closure of its manufacturing facilities in Australia is ensuring the public are aware that the company is not walking away from the whole market.
A new advertising campaign aims to set the record straight, albeit obliquely. Based around the achievements of innovative young Australians – including Jane Gartner, a Ford engineer – the campaign is not unlike the current series of commercials aired for the ANZ Bank, aligning itself as a brand with pioneers and achievers.
The new campaign is expected to promote Ford's on-going presence in Australia as the country's largest employer of staff in the automotive industry, most of them employed in R&D. As we've reported recently, Ford globally is setting out to convert perceptions of its own brand, now being promoted for its innovation.
Ford Australia is one of three major R&D centres in the Ford world, and designers and engineers in Australia will continue to develop new vehicles for global markets, even after the closure of the company's manufacturing plants at Campbellfield and Geelong in Victoria.
"Many people think there's not a future for the auto industry in Australia but we are showing Ford and Australian innovations that bring optimism in a surprising way that can shake misconceptions – just like people find when they give our new vehicles a go," said Graeme Whickman, Ford Australia President.
"We are tapping into the surprised reaction we get when we tell them Ford launched a record number of vehicles with leading fuel economy and safety innovations, and that the Australian-developed Everest SUV and Ranger come from our leading $300 million local investment in R&D.
"Many people also do not realise we will continue to innovate in Australia as we become the country's largest auto employer from 2017 with around 1500 highly skilled employees across professions such as design and engineering."
Stars of the new advertising campaign will include Brittany Beattie, a Melbourne bobcat driver who became Australia's next top model in 2015, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, a mechanical engineer who founded 'Youth Without Borders' at the age of 16 and is a UN Youth ambassador, and Dwayne Martens, a young entrepreneur running a business worth $1 million a month after he began importing Amazonian acai berries at the age of 22.