1-23-2012
Every year after visiting CES I come away even more impressed with The Ford Motor Company.
They hired current President and CEO Alan Mullaly in 2006 and they have continued to invigorate the car industry with their innovation and respect for the consumer. The Ford company always manages to create a ?buzz? at CES. For example this year they displayed their EVOS concept- a cloud connected vehicle that syncs the car to your office or home. So what lessons can radio take from the Ford Experience:
1) Fresh perspective is critical to success
Since Mullaly?s arrival they have benefited from his outside the car industry thinking(he came from Boeing). He didn?t approach the challenge by approaching everything from the status quo. They set a course that ultimately has caused others in the industry to follow. They have transformed from a car company to a technology company that happens to make cars. By transforming their own brand they?ve helped transform an entire industry. Radio managers sometimes need to step away from our inside the business thinking and take a fresh perspective on seizing opportunities.
2) Innovation encouragement makes a brand stand out.
Ford has made a habit of opening app development up to developers outside their company. By recognizing that open-source software is a collaborative community they?ve made their brand stand out in the pack. At CES 2012 Ford announced that ?Roximity?(a location aware daily deal notification service)was the winner of the Ford Sync App Developer Challenge. They showed Roximity?s smartphone app at the show as part of their display after announcing the contest in November.
The app provides real time deals and specials relevant to a users location. Ford?s goal is to forge an open collaborative bond with the wireless and consumer electronics industry as well as the app developer communities. Radio needs to find more ways to encourage innovation inside our buildings and beyond.
3) Let the consumers drive the experience.
By talking to their customers Ford is consistently able to get feedback that presents them with new opportunities to enhance their identity. I would venture a good guess the new Ford Energi which will go up against the Prius is an idea born out of customer feedback. Ford knows the importance of the customer experience and how it needs to stack up with customer expectation. By staying in sync with the listener experience radio can build upon it?s connection with a local market.
4) Capture a ?buzz? from something already hot in technology
Apple lead the way with ?Siri? the voice command system for the IPhone 4S and Ford has taken voice commands to the next level for their Sync Applink system. Ford drivers can fire up their own radio station thru the use of voice control to create the ultimate listening experience. By staying connected to what?s hot radio can be a greater top of mind medium.
5) Everybody on the team is on the bus and a brand ambassador
The Ford team that I experienced at CES has complete and passionate buy-in. From set-up crew to key engineers and designers to PR crew everyone acts as a Ford Brand Ambassador. Does your team at your radio station feel like it can be your best brand ambassador on the street?
Buzz Knight is the Vice President of Program Development for Greater Media and he can be reached at bknight@greatermediaboston.com. Knight was named among ?Best Programmers? by Radio Ink Magazine in 2007 and 2010. He has served on the programming subcommittee of the National Association of Broadcasters(NAB) and is currently a member of the Arbitron Radio Advisory Council and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) COLRAM Committee.
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