Tough Done Smarter

Objectives

As the Gold winner of the Best Demonstration of Long-Term Results category, ‘Tough Done Smarter’ has lived up to its own campaign title. The judges called it a “standout campaign” with “an innovative approach” and felt it struck the perfect balance, creating fantastic results.

GTB Australia took on some challenging objectives: to double the Ranger utility’s sales volume growth; gain an extra 2.5 share points; boost profitable growth by doubling growth in Ranger revenue, all while growing average retail price, and boosting ad awareness by 10% to match Hilux.

Campaign

Consumer insights revealed owners were smart workers in trades who felt misunderstood and misrepresented presenting the need to reframe Ranger as an advanced tool, and shift perceptions from brawn to brainpower.

Data revealed prospective truck buyers had more questions than answers. A truck’s capability was highly important so the agency engaged Ford engineers to turn some questions into compelling content to reveal the smart science that goes into making Ranger.

Informative, real-life experiments – The Science of Truck – showed capability in a fun, entertaining way, with the unpredictability adding anticipation and driving engagement. These included showing how the trailer sway mechanism worked when hauling a big boat at high speed on a highway with a strong crosswind by putting the sails up. Analysis revealed how Ranger mitigates this through smart technology.

The agency used a multi-screen strategy across TV, cinema, X-Track, Fitness First and cafes. Enticing trailers were seeded as well as long-form content with audiences on Facebook, YouTube and major automotive websites. Science of Truck content was made relevant to the most common topics and questions truck intenders were looking at on Google and YouTube. On paid social, custom audiences were created that helped deliver highly relevant and targeted content.

Results

As a result of the campaign, the Ford Ranger’s sales volume growth doubled and ad awareness increased by 10%. The brand also achieved their objective of gaining an extra 2.5 share points, while doubling the growth in Ranger Revenue as well as the Ranger average retail price. Most importantly of all, the campaign delivered an incredibly high positive ROI, maintaining the nameplate’s impressive long-term growth.

Judges Comments

This is what we are here to do! In a world of short-termism this campaign delivered extraordinary long term results and at scale.