Details
Summary
To position the Ford Ranger as a tough and powerful truck, Rappler created native articles that focused on different persons and their perception of toughness. The campaign garnered over 1,000,000 page and social views combined with a 6 minutes average time spent.
Publisher/Agency: Rappler
Campaign: #BuiltTough
Brand: Ford
Country: The Philippines
Rappler’s role was to showcase the Ford Ranger as a tough and capable vehicle
Mission
Rappler’s role was to showcase the Ford Ranger as a tough and capable vehicle that will enable consumers to pursue their passion with purpose.
Ford had previously partnered with Rappler for tips-based content to establish how the smart technology and features of a variety of Ford vehicles can cater to both urban city living and off-road destinations for professionals, families, and weekend warriors.
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The challenge for Rappler was to push the envelope and develop innovative executions that would add another dimension to the campaign specifically for the Ford Ranger #BuiltTough campaign.
KPIs
Page and social views.
The digital campaign in partnership with Ford aimed to maintain leadership in the pick-up segment and strengthen the brand positioning of the Ford Ranger
Target audience
The digital campaign in partnership with Ford aimed to maintain leadership in the pickup segment and strengthen the brand positioning of the Ford Ranger as a tough and powerful truck for consumers with active lifestyles, a segment that belongs to 55% of the Rappler audience -- 50% of which are in the market for autos.
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This community can be described as progressive, socially relevant, tech-savvy, and intellectually stimulated as they are always on the look-out for the latest news, current events, growth opportunities, travel & adventure.
Rappler humanized the campaign and used storytelling as a means to define toughness and position the vehicle as the audience’s partner in achieving their goals.
Strategic approach
Instead of a straightforward product feature describing the technical specs of the Ford Ranger, Rappler humanized the campaign and used storytelling as a means to define toughness and position the vehicle as the audience’s partner in achieving their goals.
The key takeaway is to inspire readers to perform better and emerge stronger one achievement after the next because it takes a tough person to drive a tough vehicle.
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The parallax - a special execution developed by Rappler ground up utilizes a mix of interactive elements and experiential visuals such as panoramic photos and slideshow galleries to immerse the audience in the content.
This design allowed Rappler to house multiple profiles and stories on one page and to increase audience engagement.
This definition of toughness was re-imagined through profiles of real people and translated into a visually stimulating execution to immerse the readers in their experience
Creative idea
Toughness is a muscle flexed only in times of adversity. It’s not an inherent quality; rather it’s built, strengthened, and earned with every roadblock that’s overcome.
Each person has his or her own story of toughness, whether it be a thrill-seeking passion for life, resilience in the face of opposition, or a tenacious spirit devoted to helping others.
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This definition of toughness was re-imagined through profiles of real people and translated into a visually stimulating execution to immerse the readers in their experience and environment they thrive in.
Rappler interviewed three personalities for the article from different fields to capture their perspective on what it means to be tough: (1) a female athlete, host, and football club manager who opened her own sports facility and indoor football turf, (2) a former showbiz personality turned restaurateur who manages several businesses, and (3) a surfer and social entrepreneur who advocates for the environment and responsible tourism in the Philippines.
In this sense, driving on tough conditions was used as a metaphor for overcoming life’s obstacles -- especially for Raf Dionisio who has embarked on a mission to reach out to remote indigenous communities in Zambales.
The story was able to show how a tough utility vehicle such as the Ford Ranger can help build communities.
Platforms
All the features were published on Rappler.com and amplified via its social media channels: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Content distribution and promotion efforts
As an engagement platform, Rappler believes in the power of the community. With each sponsored content, they end not just with the published story on a Rappler but with a call to action - whether this is in support of an advocacy such as in this campaign, or a business objective to fulfil a brand objective.
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Rappler harnesses the power of the community by ensuring that each feature is likewise amplified on social media.
They maximize the use of each social channel based on the behaviour of the Rappler community (i.e. Twitter is used for two-hours social conversations, Facebook is used for LIVE videos and Instagram for visual content).
Size of team involved
1 Account Manager, 2 Content Producers, and 1 Editor.
To date, the pieces are still being organically searched within and outside the Rappler site by auto enthusiasts in the market for new vehicles and vehicle services.
Results
- The campaign garnered over 1,000,000 page and social views combined.
- Average time spent on the special execution was 6 minutes which is 3x longer than the usual time spent on a standard advertorial on Rappler.
- The page also housed related stories which led the audience to discover other content published for different Ford car models.
- To date, the pieces are still being organically searched within and outside the Rappler site by auto enthusiasts in the market for new vehicles and vehicle services.
- Interest on the topic of driving and travel was sustained, elevating the key message of Ford even further by introducing new perspectives and meaningful stories with the concept of overcoming challenges, community building, and empowering oneself as a driver.
This case study is part of a collection of award-winning native advertising examples studies from Native Advertising Awards presented by The Native Advertising Institute.
We aim to acknowledge and reward great native advertising and promote inspiring, effective and creative work that helps organizations worldwide achieve their goals and tell great brand stories in a non-disruptive way.
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