Giving the Ford Escape a 'lil street cred

While the Escape was an instant hit when it first launched , kickstarting the CSUV craze, years of recalls, and today’s fierce 30-competitor landscape have taken its toll, leading to an annual share decline of 15% the past five years.

With the newly launched Ford Bronco Sport now also quickly cannibalizing Escape sales, established and new players alike continuing to steal share, we needed to reposition Escape as the definitive city CSUV to win millennial drivers back to the brand.

The Insight

Simply stating the Escape was now urban wouldn’t be believable for our trendy millennial target because street credibility isn’t something you can just claim for yourself.

But witnessing the reinvention of brands like Crocs go from fashion faux pas to streetwear sensation seemingly overnight, by tapping into the power of collaboration with brands like Balenciaga, gave us a formula to consider.

Insight: Being seen with the cool kids, makes you one of the cool kids

The Strategy

[BUSINESS PROBLEM] Ford Escape's reputation as a poor quality vehicle driven by boomers has decimated Escape's marketshare

[CONSUMER PROBLEM] Problem is, urban millennials are self-conscious about their image

[INSIGHT] However, being seen with the cool kids, makes you one of the cool kids

[SOLUTION] We need to make Escape the urban CSUV that blends in with the cool kids

[CONSUMER GOAL] So they feel confident in their image

[BUSINESS GOAL] Helping Escape to regain marketshare, especially with millennials 

The Idea

We found our partner in Theo Skudra, who would act as the face of this campaign as the on-screen talent, as well as the behind-the-lens talent.

Theo was an established urban influencer in his own right, whose claim to fame includes being the photographer and music-video director to the biggest urban influencer on the planet, Drake.

The Execution

Our campaign would revolve around Theo Skudra seeing the city differently from the perspective of a world-class street photographer. This spot-driven campaign would run on TV, OLV, connected TV environments, as well as organic social.

The Tier 1 (brand advertising) components of this campaign cemented the urban credibility Escape.

The Tier 2 (retail advertising) components of the campaign highlighted how specific Escape features like Active Park Assist, helped Theo along the way.

Together, these efforts would help shift millennial perceptions of Escape as a credible urban SUV.

The Results

1. Doubled Escape's share of the CSUV category jumping from 9th (3.7% share) to as high as 4th (6.6% share) in category sales
   
   
2. Increased millennial share of new Escape drivers by 20% (while CSUV category average was only 4% during the same timeframe)
   
   
3. Campaign approved by @Champagnepapi