automotive industry in very competitive. Ford has had to find ways to keep ahead of the following major companies: BANC ONE, Bank America, BMW, Budget Group, Chrysler, Daimler-Benz, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Mack Trucks, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Saab, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen and many others. Ford has developed a number of strategies to do so. The following is a brief description of a few of the ways Ford keeps ahead of the game. The company also spends millions of dollars each year advertising its products to the public. They do this by way of television commercials, newspaper ads, and radio announcements. (See appendix)GLOBAL BRANDS"Trust our company, love our brands and delight in our services." This is the theme of Ford's global brand strategy. Ford's approach to brand marketing is that of six distinctive vehicle brands and four distinctive service brands. Among these vehicle brands are Mercury, Lincoln, Ford, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mazda, and soon Volvo. With several different brands under the name Ford a number of products with an overwhelming set of characteristics has been developed. These strong brand names, along with unique models within each brand assist Ford to build long-term, sustainable links to customers throughout the world. (For a listing of Ford models, see appendix.) People automatically associate certain nameplates to Ford, such as the Mustang, Thunderbird, and the ever popular Taurus. The brand characteristic of a Ford truck is "Built Ford Tough," while the characteristics of a sport utility vehicle is ,"go anywhere, do anything, practical adventure." The Jaguar XJR is another example of a unique brand of Ford. There are no others like it on the market today. The XJR is targeted at those customers who are looking for that extravagant "muscle" car. All of these sub-brands share the same global promise of the Ford Motor Company. Strong brand images also hel...
