Working closely with the Mayor of Fordwich and the local MP for Canterbury, Ogilvy provided the locals with the opportunity to be the very first to test drive the new all-electric Mustang Mach-E– and hopefully put their concerns about EVs to bed.
To engage the local residents in this most unique of social experiments, Ogilvy deployed a number of high-impact, hyper-local PR tactics including: advertisements in Fordwich’s monthly council newsletter; leaflets on notice boards at their local bowls club; posts on their community Facebook pages; and phone calls to local pubs. Ogilvy were able to create local buzz and interest pre-launch and begin the electrification journey.
The launch day saw back-to-back broadcast interviews with not only Ford’s MD of UK and Ireland, Lisa Brankin, but the Mayor of Fordwich and local case studies such as Wendy (age 71) – a retired nurse and self-confessed petrol head. With live links on BBC, Sky News, CNBC, and Bloomberg (among others), Ogilvy had taken this regional story international in a matter of minutes.
The story continued to gather pace both nationally and internationally, from Italy to Portugal, United States to Germany. Ultimately, Ogilvy created an international conversation about Electric Vehicles, all coming from the smallest town in Britain.
And to leave a lasting legacy, Ogilvy even installed the town’s very first electric charging point.
