Yahoo Signs Up Ford For Online Promotions

Brandweek, Jan 10, 2000 by Susan Kuchinskas

Yahoo's Fusion Marketing Online (FMO) program has landed another huge client--Ford Motor Co.

Yesterday, Ford Motor Co. president and CEO Jac Nasser and Yahoo! co-founder and "chief Yahoo" Jerry Yang announced their two companies are teaming up to develop personalized services for Yahoo Autos tailored to specific Ford vehicles. The announcement was made at the North American International Auto Show 2000 in Detroit.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Yahoo will create co-branded content areas for owners of the various Ford brands, including Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Mazda; Jaguar and Volvo will be added later this year. Ford owners will be able to register their vehicles on the site, then access owner guides, trip-and vacation-planning services and major-market traffic updates. They'll receive c-mailed recall notifications and service reminders, and will be able to create vehicle maintenance logs and review their Ford Credit account information. They'll also find links to appropriate Yahoo Clubs such as the 11-member Taurus Knights or the 250-member Classic Mustang Club, and will be invited to participate in online chats with Ford engineers.

At the Dearborn, Mich., automaker's own site, ford.com, Ford's OwnerConnection will provide the same offerings without co-branding by Yahoo. In other words, such things as vehicle registration and owner guides will be presented as coming from Ford, while the services that Yahoo provides will be accessible via links to the portal. There will be no shared database between the two sites; an owner who registered at OwnerConnection would have to register again at Yahoo Auto.

Yahoo chief sales and marketing officer Anil Singh said the Yahoo site lets Ford reach customers in one of their preferred online habitats. "Yahoo provides two ways for Ford owners to register online and create their own personalized services to get information about their vehicles," he said.

Yahoo's FMO program, launched March 4, 1999, pro vides integrated online campaigns and promotions that include banner ads, sponsorships, e-mail marketing, online research and such innovations as mini-portals. Procter & Gamble and Victoria's Secret, both Cincinnati, are other "big brand" FMO clients.

Singh would not disclose the financial details of the deal with Ford, but said, "Over this year, based on each brand's objectives, [the brands] will be showcased across the network."