Ford Motor Company is breaking with tradition in a big way. The company has been leaving digital breadcrumbs on the Ford Explorer Facebook Page, and in just a few days they’ll take to the web — instead of an auto show — for an all-day Facebook event to unveil the redesigned 2011 Ford Explorer.
On July 26, Ford, along with Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs series, will use Facebook to reveal the 2011 Ford Explorer. The online event will coincide with a big offline reveal in several cities across the nation, but this marks the first time a major car company will forgo the auto show for a web unveiling.
Scott Monty, Ford’s head of social media, tells us that this is a very “comprehensive online play” that extends beyond just Facebook and involves several other web-centric elements that the company cannot reveal just yet. Monty speaks enthusiastically when he says that, “This is a really really different Explorer, and we wanted to reveal it in a really really different way.”
On reveal day, you can expect to see a number of videos introducing online users to the new vehicle. Monty disclosed that some of the videos will serve as virtual walk-arounds designed to mimic the experience a person would have at an auto show.
In case you haven’t been following the Explorer build-up, some of the vehicle’s specs have already been released to the public. We know that it will be one of the first to include the much-discussed MyFord Touch technology, as well as a bevvy of driver safety features and an optional EcoBoost engine for 30% better fuel economy.
To heighten the anticipation, Ford has put out a few teaser videos and photos on Facebook. The Ford Explorer Facebook Page is also drumming up interest in the reveal with the promise of a free car. If the Page can garner 30,000 “likes” — the tally is already nearing 28,000 — the company will give away one 2011 Ford Explorer to a Facebook fan.
Ford continues to push the boundaries of social media innovation. The company has been widely regarded as an early adopter brand for years, especially when it comes to the Ford Fiesta Movement and Monty’s own very visible profile on the web. The online reveal of the 2011 Ford Explorer further demonstrates just how much the automaker believes in the power of social media.
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