I wonder if the marketing whizzes at Ford read the NAM/McGladrey report on success factors for manufacturing companies, where the #1 best practices was to "stay in touch with your customers." How else could you explain
the news yesterday that Ford plans on putting 600,000 Hot Wheels versions of its Ford Fusion into Kellogg's cereal boxes?
So let me get this straight...
- The Ford Fusion is already one of it's most successful models
- The marketing item in question is a toy aimed at the 5 - 10 year old age group
- The toys will be in boxes of Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes, and Cocoa Krispies, which are predominantly consumed by the same age group (creating a sugar infusion that can result in hyperactivity...)
- One of the 600,000 boxes will contain a special Target logo that will entitle the lucky whippersnapper to a real Ford Fusion
I don't get the fancy marketing deep psychological rationale behind this... but perhaps that's because I'm just a simple shop floor engineer. I know when I was 10 I wanted to drive, but I was lusting after Lamborghini's and the like... not a Fusion. And I don't think I had much influence in the family's car-buying decisions since a Countach never replaced the red Chevy in the driveway. But a Hot Wheels was fun to play with for a few hours before it got stepped on by Godzilla/my sister.
I'm sure there's some intelligent rationale, as why would Ford be working on anything except real solutions to its current problems?
Oh, that's right... I forgot. It takes an adult to make the tough decisions.