Putting PR in the Driver's Seat at Ford
The last few years have been tough financially on automotive giant Ford Motor Co. Earnings have been down and the company's stock price has been skidding. But through cost-
cutting and new automotive technologies Ford has improved on its financials this year, its 100th birthday. And Tom Hoyt, centennial communications manager and PR NEWS' PR
Professional of the Year (Corporate), is hopeful that the various centennial activities -- in which he played a key role - will have helped the company get back on track.
"The strategy was to leverage the past to talk about the future," says Hoyt, who, following his work on behalf of the centennial, is now working in the office of Ford Chairman-
CEO, William Clay Ford, Jr., the great-great grandson of company founder Henry Ford. "We wanted to talk about where we going, whether it's related to our products or any other
aspect of the company."
Hoyt helped to steer the anniversary celebrations, which culminated with five days of festivities in mid-June at the Henry Ford II World Center in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford's
world headquarters. There were a plethora of events featuring displays of current and concept vehicles from all of Ford's eight brands, including Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land
Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. A tour of Ford's new automotive plant, opening in Spring 2004, was also in the mix.
Aside from attracting 100,000 customers, employees, retirees, investors, dealers and automotive buffs, more than 750 journalists from around the world showed up to mark the
centennial. "We needed a hook each day," Hoyt says. "The centennial gave us a license to communicate, whether we were talking to stakeholders or rebuilding relationships that have
suffered in the last few years, with customers and employees."
Hoyt created a different news peg for the media for each of the five days of celebrations. So one day featured the arrival of 43 vintage Model T's driven nearly 3,000 miles
from California to Dearborn; another day showed off new products and technologies at Ford while a third day was devoted to Ford's international presence. To make sure the
festivities - coinciding with Ford's annual meeting - had broad appeal, however, the celebrations also included concerts by Earth Wind & Fire, Beyonc´e Knowles, Toby Keith and
the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. There was also a Ford Racing Night, featuring some of Ford's top NASCAR Winston Cup drivers, and, to entertain children, an appearance by "Blue,"
the popular dog from Nickelodeon's animated TV show "Blue's Clues."
Hoyt learned how to feed the media maw during his a 10-year tenure at the NBC affiliate in Detroit, where he was a writer, producer and assignment editor. He was able to
harness that gig into becoming the Executive Producer at the Ford Communications Network (FCN), managing the company's television news programming for employees. "Knowing how to
do news programming has been a key to the success I've had at Ford," Hoyt says. "I have experience with members of the news media and know how their minds tick."
He adds: "I knew what questions to anticipate, what B-roll to provide and what videos would be available" to help sell all of the automotive (and U.S.) history part and parcel
of the centennial celebration.
Another popular element for the media during the celebration was "The Road is Ours" tour. Developed specifically for the 100th anniversary, people got a two-minute ride in the
backseat of a Model T. The ride included views of the people, products and accomplishments in Ford's 100 years via music, narrative, product displays and roadside billboards and
exhibits.
The centennial received both local and national coverage as well as countless hits from local broadcast media. Hoyt is quick to congratulate his 75-person communications team
as well as Ford's PR agency, Burson-Marsteller, for pulling off the centennial. For now, though, Hoyt is focused on helping to get the message out from Ford's CEO to stakeholders
and the media.
Contact: Tom Hoyt, Ford Motor Co., 313.323.8143, [email protected]
Driven to Succeed
Tom Hoyt has had a varied career in communications since he joined Ford Motor Co. following several years in broadcast news. Here's the rundown:
- Centennial Communications Manager, Ford Motor Company: Luce says this is, without doubt, the highlight of his career. Working on a project such as the 100th anniversary of
a company with such a rich history has been extremely rewarding, both professionally and personally. I managed both internal (employee) and external (primarily media relations)
communications. - New Markets & Associations Communications Manager, Ford Motor Company: in this assignment, Luce managed corporate media relations in new markets for the company in
countries such as Brazil, China, India, Russia and Thailand. He was also responsible for communications relating to associations or partnerships, such as Ford's relationship with
Mazda. - Employee Communications, Ford Motor Company: my first assignment at Ford was Executive Producer, Ford Communications Network (FCN), managing the company's television news
programming for employees. This included producing a daily news show, as well as other news programs, including live broadcasts of special Ford events. - News Assignment Editor, WDIV-TV (NBC Affiliate, Post-Newsweek station), Detroit: Luce worked at WDIV in a variety of positions for 10 years, including writer, producer and
assignment editor. He was an assignment editor for more than five years during the period in which the station went from third place to first in the news ratings.