Ford Philippines today announced an exciting, interactive and unprecedented launch campaign -- ‘All-New Ford Focus…Start it. Share it. Win it’ -- designed to engage Filipino consumers with real-life ‘smart-demos’ of two of the all-new Ford Focus’ first-in-segment, smart technologies. The smart demo road show will officially start on Friday, August 3 at SM Marikina.

‘Start it. Share it. Win it’ provides a unique opportunity for customers to become part of the local market launch of the all-new Focus by participating both online and on-the-ground over a twelve-week period that will include seven event locations across Metro Manila.

The campaign will give more than 1,000 consumers in the Philippines the opportunity to personally experience the smart features of the all-new Focus through weekend events spanning August 3 to September 16.

Participants will be asked to ‘Start it. Share it. Win it’ – meaning to start the all-new Focus and experience the smart technologies, share it with their friends via Twitter and Facebook, and become eligible to win the all-new Ford Focus.

To join, consumers must register on Facebook – www.facebook.com/fordfocus – to reserve their spot for a ‘smart demo’ at one of the scheduled events. Additionally, walk-in registrations will be available at the event locations.

Start it

At the events, consumers can experience two of the first-in-segment smart features of the all-new Focus:

• Active Park Assist: With the touch of a button, the driver of the all-new Focus can parallel park easily – totally hands-free. This nifty system uses sensors around the Focus to help identify a feasible spot then steer the car into the space. The driver controls the accelerator, brake and gears.
• Active City Stop: This collision-mitigation system helps to avoid low-speed front-end collisions by monitoring the road ahead and braking automatically if the sensors detect for stationary traffic or a stopped vehicle in front of the all-new Focus.

Share it

Each participant will be filmed in real-time during their ‘smart demo’, capturing their spontaneous reactions.

On the Monday following the weekend event, all participants’ videos from each location will be uploaded simultaneously, with each participant receiving a link to their own video that they can share with friends in their Facebook networks.

The videos will then compete against all other videos from their event location for a combined score derived from the most number of unique views, entertainment value, and the participants’ creative response to their favorite smart feature in the all-new Focus over the ensuing period of ten days. The two most popular videos from each two-week period – 10 in total – will be named the ‘finalists’. Each finalist will win an Apple iPad.

Win it

Following the road show in select shopping centers, universities and office locations, a voting period from October 8-18 will be open for the 10 finalist videos, when consumers can log on to Facebook (www.facebook.com/fordfocus) and vote for their favorite video. The most popular video at the conclusion of the voting period will win the technology-packed all-new Ford Focus.

“This new completely integrated, 360-degree pre-launch campaign for the all-new Focus will engage consumers in a unique way, leveraging social media via Facebook and provide personal experiences with the all-new Focus, and will continue to build excitement around the country leading up to its official launch,” said Prudz Castillo, AVP for Marketing, Ford Group Philippines.

Globally Engineered

The all-new Ford Focus continues the extraordinary momentum of the Ford brand in the Philippines, as the next of eight all-new global One Ford vehicles to be introduced in the market by mid-decade.

Globally engineered, the Focus is Ford’s best-selling vehicle worldwide – and the all-new Ford Focus is built at Ford’s new, state-of-the-art USD 450-million manufacturing facility in Rayong, Thailand.

The vehicle sets a new standard for the region with an unmatched combination of smart technologies, fuel economy, safety, expressive design, responsive performance and high levels of craftsmanship.

Smart Focus

The global scale of Ford’s C-car program makes additional technologies and features more economically viable for cars in this segment. This exceptional technology investment is aimed at ensuring the all-new Focus offers customers an exciting array of advanced features only found in more expensive vehicles.

Leading the way is Ford SYNC® which provides hands-free, voice-activated in-car connectivity. This award-winning system allows customers to connect almost any mobile phone or digital media player to their all-new Focus via Bluetooth® and USB connection respectively. The driver is able to make calls or play his or her favourite music via voice commands and a steering wheel-mounted control, all the time with eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

In addition to Active Park Assist and Active City Stop, which will be on display through the ‘smart demos’, the all-new Focus’ smart technologies also include the first-in-segment feature of Blind Spot Information (BLIS), as well as Smart Keyless Entry and the keyless Ford Power Start ignition.

"The class-leading technologies and innovations of the all-new Focus will be showcased through ‘Start it. Share it. Win it’ campaign. Participants will see exactly how the vehicle puts the fun, comfort and excitement back into driving and will understand why we are so confident that our customers in the Philippines will love this technology-packed vehicle,” said Castillo.

To register and for more information, please visit: www.facebook.com/fordfocus.