1. Lappeenranta University of Technology
A330A0300 Strategic Global Marketing Management
Olli Kuivalainen and Mohamadali Ahi
Strategic Global Marketing Plan for Ford
7.10.2013
Ballas Georgios, 0415258
Bouris Andreas, 0415339
Keskinen Laura, 0372663
Selkänen Toomas, 0344668
Rosenlund Rosa, 0373235

2. Contents
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................ 1
2. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................. 1
2.1 Ford Motor Company................................................................................................................. 1
2.2 S-Max concept............................................................................................................................ 2
3. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS.............................................................................................................. 3
3.1 Market analysis .......................................................................................................................... 3
3.2. Internal Analysis........................................................................................................................ 6
3.3 Competitor analysis ................................................................................................................... 7
3.3.1. Level of competition .......................................................................................................... 9
4. SEGMENTATION, POSITIONING AND PARTNER NETWORK............................................. 9
4.1. Current segmentation............................................................................................................. 10
4.2. Future segments ..................................................................................................................... 10
4.3 Positioning in the current product category.......................................................................... 12
4.4. Future positioning ................................................................................................................... 12
4.5. Partner network analysis ....................................................................................................... 13
4.6. Development suggestions for partner network................................................................... 14
5. MARKETING OBJECTIVES AND GOALS ................................................................................ 15
6. MARKETING STRATEGIES AND PROGRAMS ...................................................................... 16
6.1 Product decisions..................................................................................................................... 16
6.2 Pricing decisions ...................................................................................................................... 17
6.3. Distribution decisions ............................................................................................................. 17
6.4 Promotion decision .................................................................................................................. 18
7. IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTROL......................................................................................... 19
8. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................. 20
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................... 21

3. 1
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Our strategic marketing plan for Ford focused on the upcoming launch of their remade S-Max
concept car. The key aims of our strategy include the recapture of the success of the initial
launch of the original S-Max, where the moderately priced multi-purpose vehicle managed to
challenge the higher priced premium cars with its superior offering at a lower price point, as
well as the diversification of the S-Max’s customer base with the introduction of new
characteristics and attributes to the model.
Our diversification and marketing communication will concentrate on the sustainability and
increased fuel efficiency brought by the introduction of Fords new Ecoboost engine
technology to the S-Max model, as well as the optional high tech offerings individual to Ford
and the new S-Max, which have the potential to attract a group of consumers not traditionally
interested in larger utility vehicles.
We found that the current market situation has the potential to support the reintroduction of
S-Max, hopefully surpassing the success achieved by the previous generations of S-Max.
While there is always a demand for vehicles which provide superior value compared to the
price point, we consider the changes made to the original concept the main aspect which will
cause S-Max’s financial performance to exceed expectations.
2. INTRODUCTION
Ford Motor Company is a well-known global car manufacturer, which came in to public
attention when they released the first mass produced car directly aimed at the general public
with their low priced Model T –car (Gearhead, 2012). Since then Ford has transformed from
a local American car company into a global player in the car industry, with a strong market
share in all key market areas around the world, with good expectations for growth (Melloy,
2013).
2.1 Ford Motor Company
Ford is a large car manufacturing company rooted in U.S., with subsidiaries all around the
world. The company’s headquarters are located in Michigan, where the company was

4. 2
founded by Henry Ford. The current CEO is Alan Mulally, with the position of Executive
Chairman belonging to William Ford (Ford Press Release, 2013). The company was founded
in 1903, and has since become a notable player in the global car industry, with acceptable
market shares in the main markets worldwide, and a good projected growth for the current
and coming year (Melloy, 2013).
Ford’s main source of revenue is its large portfolio of car brands, with their own One Ford
brand strategy being the main focus of the company, despite sizeable shares in other car
brands operations. The company praises itself in the development of vehicles with bold
designs, with additional concern put into the handling and performance of the vehicles. (Ford
Press Release, 2013) The company was founded in 1903, and has since become a notable
player in the global car industry, with acceptable market shares in the main markets
worldwide, and a good projected growth for the current and coming year (Melloy, 2013).
2.2 S-Max concept
During the year 2013, Ford has increased its focus on the One Ford strategy of concentrating
on the division of core brands from the spin-off brands which are self-sufficient (such as
Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover) and concentrating on strengthening the cars
belonging to the Ford brand (Melloy, 2013). S-Max is one of the car models that are part of
the Ford brand, along with other popular models, such as Focus and Fiesta. S-Max has
traditionally been a model targeted solely to European market, and the S-Max concept, which
is a focus of this case, is not aiming to change this despite some displayed interest for the
car in other markets (Stoklosa, 2013).
The S-Max concept is a re-introduction of the highly popular car model launched in 2006,
which aims to diversify the customer base of the original offering, and widen the niche the
model originally targeted as a Ford’s self-styled sports activity vehicle (SAV). S-Max concept
is essentially a minivan with a twist, as it brings a more sporty feeling with the concept car
also bringing sustainability and economy aspect to it, along with a wide array of optional
high-tech features not yet present in the car market, such as car-to-car communication,
heart-rate monitoring as well as other health related gimmicks. (Ford Press Release 2013)

5. 3
3. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
We will analyze Ford’s internal and external environment, try to define its capabilities
and business environment and also evaluate Ford’s competitors. For that we will conduct
Porter five forces, SWOT and competitor analysis.
3.1 Market analysis
In Europe, Ford has suffered from reduced sales and revenues last year resulting in negative
pre-tax results.
Chart 1: Automotive sector- Europe 2012 full year key metrics compared with 2011. (pg. 25, Ford
annual report 2012)
Ford remained Europe’s No. 2 best-selling car brand for the fifth consecutive year in 2012,
boosted by strong performance in the U.K. and growth in Russia. Ford’s market share in its
traditional 19 markets was 7.9% for the year, down 0.4 percentage points on 2011. (Ford
corporate webpage) The market share of the company is decreasing steadily from 2007 until
2012.

6. 4
Chart 2: Ford Motor Company Market Share – Europe percentage (Ford corporate webpage -
Sustainability-Financial Health section)
The Porter's five forces analysis is a tool which is able to describe the characteristics and the
attractiveness of the industry. The five forces are: intensity of rivalry, bargaining power of
suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, presence of substitutes and threat of new entrants.
Each force plays its role in developing the company's strategy. (Hollensen 2010a p. 629)
The intensity of rivalry in the European automotive industry is very high. There are a lot of
competitive companies struggling to gain higher market share. Product differentiation is very
low as almost every company produces all kind of vehicles (cars, SUV'S, trucks, etc.). In
order to compete with each other, car companies offer vehicles with slightly different
characteristics and price and mainly use advertisements to point out these specifics. It is
interesting that the ten car brands with the highest market share in passenger car market in
Europe gather a total market share of 66.4%, showing us the high intensity of rivalry. (ACEA
2012)
CAR
BRAND
MARKET
SHARE
GROUP
Volkswagen 12.8% Volkswagen
Ford 7.6% Ford
Opel 6.7% GM
Renault 6.5% Renault
Citroen 6.4% PSA
Peugeot 6.3% PSA
Audi 5.6% Volkswagen
BMW 5.1% BMW
Mercedes 4.8% Daimler
Fiat 4.6% Fiat
Table 1: Top 10 car brands Europe - market share - 2012 (ACEA 2012)

7. 5
The bargaining power of suppliers in the industry is very low. Many parts are needed to
produce a car and each part can be bought from many suppliers all over the world. As a
result car companies can easily switch to different suppliers. The bargaining power of buyers
in the industry is relatively high. Consumers have a great variety of choices because there
are many companies selling similar products (cars). For that reason car companies are
obligated to develop attractive vehicles in order to maintain or increase their market share.
The bargaining power of buyers is not completely high because the buyers are not
concentrated and they do not purchase in large volume neither they pose a credible threat of
integrating backwards to manufacture the industry's product (cars).
The presence of substitutes is quite low. The main substitutes are bikes, public transportation
and walking. Automotive industry though, is not really threatened by these substitutes
because cars offer high convenience and autonomy. It is of interest that the last 4 years
people tend to use more those substitutes, because of the economic crisis. Nevertheless, the
automotive industry is not appreciably affected.
The threat of new entrants in the industry is very low because of extensive barriers of entry.
First of all, automotive industry has achieved economies of scale, meaning that the
competing companies need to be able to produce massively which is very difficult for new
entrants. Furthermore, huge amount of investment is needed to be able to produce and fund
the research and development needed to be adequately innovative. Brand identity plays an
important role in the industry giving customer loyalty to the existing companies. Customers
will not easily trust a new, unknown company. Another entry barrier is the difficult access to
distribution channels. Automotive companies need to have a well-established distribution
channel in order to widely spread their products.

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3.2. Internal Analysis
Strengths
 Well-established presence in
US market
 Financial performance
 Brand recognition
 ECOnetic technology
Weaknesses
 Heavy losses in Europe
 Low market share in Asia
Opportunities
 Fuel prices
 Asian growth
 Trend towards "green" cars
Threats
 Exchange rates fluctuation
 Intense competition
Strengths
Ford has strong presence in US market gathering 15.2% of the industry's market share (Ford
annual report 2012, pg. 23). Ford is the second best-selling car brand in the US market after
General Motors (17.8%) (GM Annual report 2012). As it comes to financial performance Ford
walks in solid ground. It was the only automotive company of the US' "Big Three" which did
not need government bailout at the economic crisis of 2008. (Keith Naughton 2011) Ford
brand name is recognized everywhere, and that because Ford is one of the oldest car
manufacturers in the world operating for 110 years. The brand is well-known and trustworthy
and it is identified by its blue oval logo for decades. Another strength of Ford is ECOnetic
technology which is an innovative initiative in the industry. The idea was to bring together a
range of vehicle features and technologies specifically targeting better fuel economy,
reduced emissions and overall lower cost-of-ownership – without compromise to great
design or driving dynamics.
Weaknesses
Ford has suffered from substantial losses in Europe the last few years since the European
crisis begun. Especially in 2012 Ford's deficit in Europe was approximately 1.75 billion
dollars and it is expected to rise to 2 billion dollars in 2013 (Ford Annual Report 2012, p.25).
Ford has also a very low market share in Asian Market, only 2.8%. This market is
approximately doubles the size of the US market and very important for the future
development of the industry's sales. (Ford Annual Report 2012, p. 26) Fortunately, the

9. 7
expected losses in Europe did not end up being as drastic as forecasted in 2012, as
CNBC reports that Ford is well ahead of its goal of breaking even by 2015, as of
second quarter of 2013 (Melloy, 2013).
Opportunities
Raising fuel prices may actually have a positive effect on Ford. Ford sales will benefit from
the increasing fuel prices thanks to the fuel efficiency approach of the new ECOnetic
technology. Customers prefer fuel efficient vehicles when the fuel price levels are high. Ford
might not temporarily have a good market share in Asia but the Asian market seems very
promising for the automotive Industry because of the increasing demand for personal
vehicles. Ford's goal is to increase their market share in Asia as shown to its strategy for the
decade. (Ford Sustainability Report 2012/13, p. 27) The latest trend towards "green" cars is
beneficial for Ford. Legislation regarding CO2 emissions of vehicles is getting stricter.
Customers prefer eco-friendly cars and this is an advantage for Ford because of the existing
ECOnetic technology which enables the production of environmentally friendly vehicles.
Threats
Ford operates globally and requires substantial amount of cash in many currencies in order
to execute transactions. Fluctuations on exchange rates therefore, affect Ford's revenue in a
major degree. Ford is also threatened by the industry’s intense competition. Automotive
industry is very competitive and many car manufacturers struggle to gain a little portion of
market share. Ford, which is the second best-selling brand in USA, has only 15.2% of the
market share. Moreover the intensity of competition can be shown by the fact that companies
continuously try to make new cars with slightly different characteristics from their competitors
and point out the price in their advertisements in order to compete successfully.
3.3 Competitor analysis
Competitor analysis aims to identify strengths and weaknesses of Ford's competing
companies. Each major competitor will be analyzed separately.

10. 8
Volkswagen
Volkswagen Group owns a large market share in Europe (24.5%) because many of the car
brands it consists of have notable market shares (Volkswagen 12.8%, Audi 5.6%, Skoda
3.9%, Seat 2.1%) making Volkswagen a very strong competitor in Europe. (ACEA, 2013).
Except for the European strong presence, Volkswagen operates all over the world
specifically in 153 countries. The VW Group owns 104 production plants in Europe, Asia,
Africa, North and South America being able to produce worldwide and reduce transportation
costs. (Volkswagen 2012) Another strength that Volkswagen has is that Volkswagen Group
consists of 13 separate automotive brands and it is able to combine their R&D to achieve
high efficiency and cut down costs. On the other hand the environmental profile of
Volkswagen Group is not that green as it seems to be. Volkswagen officially states that it is
an environmentally-friendly automotive company but in reality that is not exactly true. "Yet
despite this clear popular and business demand, Volkswagen has been actively lobbying
against this crucial policy through the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association
(ACEA). In another letter dated 1 February 2011, replying to a Greenpeace request to
explain Volkswagen’s stance on the 30% proposal, the company described it as a policy
which' puts jobs at risk and results in de-industrialisation in Europe’, reminiscent of language
it used when lobbying against the current vehicle efficiency standards" (Greenpeace 2011).
Opel
Opel is a subsidiary of GM which is a very large and well-known automotive company. GM's
brand name by itself defines Opel trustworthy. The combination of GM's brand name and
Opel's German philosophy places Opel in strong position as it comes to vehicle
manufacturing. Opel also has a large market share in Europe (around 6.7%) taking the third
place after Volkswagen and Ford. (ACEA, 2012). However, despite having a large market
share in Europe, Opel is responsible for GM's losses in Europe. "GM is the leader in China
and the United States, the world's two biggest markets, but the company's goal of ending
deficits in Europe by mid-decade is daunting. Its European operations have lost $18 billion
since 1999, including $1.8 billion last year, and the market continues to fall for a sixth
consecutive year." (Tim Higgins 2013)
Renault
Renault is No 1 in terms of low CO2 emissions in Europe. With an average of 115.9g of
CO2/km per vehicle, Renault Group has moved into pole position in Europe based on its
passenger car sales over the first half of 2013. (Renault Press release 2013). A weakness for
Renault is that its operations are concentrated in Europe, which is a very competitive and

11. 9
fragmented market. Renault lacks in direct global sales and presence in general. (Standard
and Poor's 2012)
3.3.1. Level of competition
The Multi-Purpose Vehicle market includes a wide range of products with different size (mini,
medium, large) and different features from different brands. Ford is aiming to gain higher
share in the MPV market launching the new S-MAX. The competition will be tough and S-
MAX will be competing against current and concept models. Some main potential
competitors are:
Volkswagen Touran is a family MPV with well-built and comfortable cabin. It is considered to
be a very practical car with reasonable pricing in medium-feature versions but the top-end
versions are quite expensive. Moreover styling is quite ordinary and engines in low-end
versions are weak. (WC 2013a) Opel (Vauxhall for UK) Zafira Tourer seems a proper rival to
Ford S-Max. It has flexible and spacious interior but third-row seats are pretty uncomfortable.
Its exterior is very stylish and has a sporty approach. Diesel versions are very efficient in
contrast to the petrol ones. (CB 2013a) Renault Scenic is available in 2 versions, the 5-
seater Scenic and the 7-seater Grand Scenic. Both have practical and well-built interiors and
are one of the cheapest options in this category. Their exterior design is very simple and their
basic petrol engines are weak. (CB 2013b)
4. SEGMENTATION, POSITIONING AND PARTNER NETWORK
One of the biggest issues among the marketers and business men in today’s global
environment is the complicated process of segmentation and positioning, and in more
specific words: How to identify different segments and decide which of them are the most
suitable for the company’s product or service? After the solving of that problem, the next
issue is the positioning of the product for the customers. (Hassan & Craft 2012) These are
the questions to be answered in the next paragraphs.

12. 10
4.1. Current segmentation
Nowadays the researchers and marketers have focused only on a narrow field of what
comes to segmenting the potential customers. Marketers tend to rely on geographical
factors (like age and gender) too much. (Hassan & Craft 2012) It is understandable, because
using only the geographical factors can be really efficient (and kind of easy) way of
segmenting the customers. Defining the product aspects and finding out what features and
aspects of the product the customers might approve the most, can be vital for the company.
So, that this could be done, information and data about the significance consumers attach to
different product features is needed. Customers put weight on different features when buying
products. These features each customer attach weight to, differs with demographic
characteristics, such as age and social class. (Creusen 2010)
Relying on geographical factors can be seen in Ford’s current segmentation strategy. Ford’s
segments for their automotive unit are geographical: Ford North America, Ford South
America, Ford Europe and Ford Asia Pacific Africa (Ford Annual Report 2012, p. 148). The
particular segmentation for our case, Ford S-max, allows us to create new opportunities
because of its feature to be just a concept car. This is why it does not allow us to get
knowledge about current segments. The segmentation of the old version of this cross-over
car, the old S-max, can on the other hand be used. We also concentrate in this marketing
plan to Ford Europe segment.
The old S-max car was meant to get middle classes’ attention. The price being between € 26
000 - 38 000 (Pricelist S-Max 2013) and the design of the car were meant to fit into average
family’s life. Sociodemographic segmentation variables for the old S-max could be age (for
example 35-49 or 50-64), lifecycle (couples with young kids, couples with dependent
children), income (the potential income of buyer couple could be 47 000 - 90 000 €).
(Hollensen 2010, p. 289) So the targeted segments in B2C markets were middle classy
European families with average incomes, who are in their busiest years because of the
children’s’ hobbies and with parents’ own careers. Features that potential buyers want from a
car could be safety, reliability and packaging.
4.2. Future segments
The main idea of our new segmentation in the future is the fact that we have a concept car
which is kind of a new version of the old S-max. We want to keep the old customers who had

13. 11
bought an old S-max, but in the same time to enlarge our segments and gain more
customers from other segments also. This can be achieved by adding new features to the old
picture the old S-Max buyers have. The new features tempt new customers, but there is the
same old picture behind the new features that the old customers will recognize. This allows
us to develop the loyalty in our old customer relationships.
The common picture people had about old S-max were a picture with features of reliability
and safety. A good old family style, multi-purpose vehicle car with lots of space. The picture
that we want the new customers to get from new S-max concept car is ecofriendly, green
and sporty car which fits almost all kinds of customers. The mission of the segmentation
strategy for new S-Max concept car is that we want S-Max to be the car which provides the
best bunch of benefits which fits the particular needs the European customers’ have.
The segmentation variables we believe will get us the best segments are age, lifecycle,
income (choosing this enables us to leave occupation and social class out of our variables),
lifestyle and usage frequency/intended product use. We want our main segment to be formed
with average customer to be young man/woman or newly married couple with lots of
hobbies. Also couples with babies or older kids fits into our customer profile. For achieving
the segment with right income (about 47 000 - 90 000 €) forces us to enlarge our segment
also to older couples with dependent children. According to this, the ideal age for our
customers is approximately 30 years old and over. Our customer is having an active lifestyle
with own hobbies, children’s’ transportation for school and hobbies and of course customer’s
own work life. Addition to that, he/she is also quite aware of social and nature phenomena
like climate change and wants to make a difference. Usage frequency is heavy, because our
product is to be used in everyday life. Intended product use refers to why our customers use
this car (to transportation between home, workplace and hobbies and needs lots of space
because of different appliances and safety seats). So we are using sociodemographic,
behavioristic and psychographic segmentation variables (Hollensen 2010, p. 289).
As summarized, when the production version of the S-Max concept car is ready by the end of
2014, our market is the whole Europe, and our target segment is filled with young or middle
aged, active and aware adults or couples with possible children and with quite average/high
income. (WC 2013b) The modern and kind of aggressive design of the car also speaks for
itself when thinking the possible segment of young sporty adults. This kind of customer is the
one that we want to target by our marketing mix. Our targeting strategy is differentiated target
strategy, because of our goal to target segments, young adults with active lifestyle and young
and older couples with family.

14. 12
4.3 Positioning in the current product category
When company has defined its segments and target markets, positioning is a next step to
reach the right customers in effective way. Positioning can be defined as a process, where
company creates and designs its image and reputation in the minds of consumer (Hollensen
2010, p. 303). The purpose of positioning is to create powerful reason why the target market
should buy company’s product (Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman, Hansen 2009, p. 361).
Positioning is not only to analyze own customer, but it is also connected to the market
competition and substitute products. According to Johansson and Thorelli (1985), making an
appropriate product positioning plan is one of the cornerstones of the firm’s marketing
strategy. Positioning is not only one step in the marketing strategy, but also idea which goes
through the whole strategy. Meticulous positioning simplifies the creation and implementation
process of marketing mix.
According to Ford’s Sustainability report (2012/2013) they are constantly trying to analyze
their current customers and the whole market to understand their potential customer’s values
and needs. Ford’s positioning is based on the value for money and high quality of safety.
Primarily their customer is not going to buy the image of the car such as the more premium
brands could have. Instead customers value more good technology, safety and good driving
experience.
Because our chosen product is a concept car, and not yet on the markets, can be examined
positioning of the former S- Max. Like already analyzed the segment of the S-max in the
former chapter, S-Max was positioned to the middle-price family car. Ford wanted to highlight
car’s safety and transformability features. As a surprise the competitors and also to Ford, S-
Max managed to pull buyers from premium brands, and kind of upgrade its positioning by
itself (Franey 2007). Already with the S-MAX Ford wanted to fade out family car’s minivan
image and strengthen the idea of car of possibilities. (Ford’s Sustainability report 2012/2013)
4.4. Future positioning
Car markets are highly competitive and customers’ needs change all the time, therefore
companies have to constantly rethink their positioning. In the late 2012 Ford made their first
customer trends research, where they surveyed customers’ new values. Important issues
was among other things safety and secure, fuel-efficient vehicles and style of urban living.
(Ford’s Sustainability report 2012/2013)

15. 13
Ford’s future positioning strategy will be combination of old quite safety positioning and new,
which based on Ford’s customer trends research. We want to keep our good positioning and
image as manufacturer, which produces cost effective safety cars. Our price positioning may
increase slightly, but still remains in the mid-range cars category. S-Max was positioned quite
strongly as a family car, which we want to still remain. Families’ life situation change all the
time when children grow up, then also change feature what families need to their cars. This
is a one reason why we want to enlarge and diversify our positioning.
Positioning of our new S-Max concept car will be a stronger focus on the car’s
transformability. It is made to easier urban life style, which sometimes need quite much of the
car. At the same time it is car for 7 people and car for sport or other equipment. When the
family positioning isn’t so strong also couples without young children or need of 7 seats will
buy it.
Third customer trend was constantly growing interest about environment and eco-friendly
driving. During the last years Ford has invested lot of money and effort to improve and invent
new technology (Ford’s Sustainability report 2012/2013). S-Max has high- tech technology
and eco-friendly engine, which we want to especially highlight in our positioning. This new
positioning helps us to draw attention to new customer segment
4.5. Partner network analysis
In the last two decades, firm’s supply sides strategic importance has increased significantly.
The firms have had tendency to oursource activities, establish more close partnerships and
reduce their supplier base. (Hollensen 2010, p. 263) The supply chain in automotive industry
is one of the most complicated of any industry. Automakers trust on thousands of suppliers to
provide the parts, services and materials that are crucial for making the final products.
Almost every supplier serves frequent automakers, and each of those suppliers can have
also multiple suppliers. There can be six to 10 levels of suppliers between an automaker and
the materials and parts supplier. (Ford Sustainable report 2012/2013) In this term paper’s
part Distribution decisions we write more about distribution network and dealerships.
This is reflected in Ford’s business also. They have been working to strengthen their global
supply base by reducing the global number of production suppliers from over 3,000 in 2004
to about 1,260 at the end of 2012. Their supplier reducing plan’s target is to reduce the

16. 14
supplier amount to 750. (Ford Annual Report 2012, p. 14) Ford has over 4,400 supplier
manufacturing sites, 130,000 parts currently being manufactured and 500 production
commodities to manage. Ford has over 11,000 other partners, like suppliers in construction,
computers and industrial materials and also over 600 nonproduction commodities. (Ford
Sustainable report 2012/2013).
The goal in this process is to create more cost-efficient, healthy and stronger supplier base
and also to evolve contractual and child suppliers to mature and partner suppliers (Hollensen
2010, p. 267).
This process also aims to create closer relationships, because Ford has chosen the way
towards global, common vehicle platforms. This means cooperation with other automotive
companies by using common suppliers. This means that more and more suppliers are cut off
and some suppliers become more and more close. It is more cost-efficient to develop new
innovations in technology (like motor engines) with a partner than every company just by
themselves.
4.6. Development suggestions for partner network
There are limited options for Ford and for all automotive companies how to develop partner
network. And in our case, how to better Ford S-Max’s production and sales by developing
partner network. Trimming and reducing the supplier chain is our main action, because
cutting the costs from supply chain is vital for business and it also allows Ford to direct
resources for improving the distribution, where Ford can be more creative in our opinion. It is
not profitable for Ford to manufacture all the parts and materials S-Max needs by itself, so
the supplier network and the reducing of it for getting closer and more trustful partnerships
would be the main action.
Our other suggest for developing the supply chain is to concentrate to these nonproduction
partners, like computer partners who provides services in car’s computer features (like
android-system in new cars which allows cars to communicate with other cars). In this area
there could be lots of potential for improving the actual product, S-Max, and the partner
relationship. For example, in the segment where S-Max is marketed for families, could also
be an Angry Birds S-Max, which tells all the needed information for the kids through bird’s
voice in the screen which is meant for “Back Seat Drivers”.

17. 15
5. MARKETING OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
The introduction of the new S-Max concept in Frankfurt car show serves as a good indication
of Ford’s continuing interest in the European market. For the past few years, Ford has
proven to be more adventurous when introducing new cars to the European market when
compared to the American market, as evident by the late introduction of models such as
Focus and Fiesta to the U.S. (Stoklosa, 2013). The new S-Max concept follows this pattern
of trying waters in EU region, before bringing tried and true car models across the pond to
Fords home region, as it will be launching primarily in the European market.
We consider S-Max concept’s main goal as being the capture of the large cars’ segment in
EU, aiming to take market shares from the popular minivans and sport utility vehicles (SUV).
Enlarging the segment and to diversificate the positioning Ford tries to increase sales volume
10 % comparing to the old S-Max’s sales from 2006. Especially increasing the first year’s
sales volume would be our target because of the aggressive marketing.
With its focus on previously less utilized characteristics, S-Max has a potential to fill a
previously unexplored niche. According to Ford’s design director Martin Smith, the goal of S-
Max concept is to concentrate on the unique characteristics of S-Max, and refine the car to
be even more specialized in the niche it has previously filled, aiming to exploit the theme of
modern luxury, which has even captured buyers of premium cars (Simister, 2013). This will
be augmented by the multitude of innovative technologies introduced alongside the S-Max
concept, such as car-to-car communication and health tracking (Ford Press Release 2013),
as well as refining the existing brand, and capturing new target segments with the
introduction of new features, such as the smaller turbocharged Ecoboost engine, which has
the potential to capture both environmentally and economically conscious customers,
interested in more “sporty” utility vehicles.
While Ford has managed to retain a strong position in the European market, the company’s
market share has been in decline for the past few years (ACEA 2012). The re-introduction of
the popular S-Max line of vehicles is expected to stall the loss of market power and the goal
is to retain (or recapture, depending on the results of year 2013) Ford’s current market share
of 7,6 % cars sold in Europe. Depending on the success of Ford’s other products, such as
Focus and Fiesta, it is possible to aim to recapture the highest Market share from
Volkswagen, which as of 2012 hold the first place by a large margin (ACEA 2012). If the year
2013 proves successful for Ford, it will create a good basis for the introduction of the new S-
Max concept in 2014, and possibility of turning the decline into growing market share.

18. 16
6. MARKETING STRATEGIES AND PROGRAMS
The main purpose of marketing strategies and programs are to guide companies’ marketing
activities. Marketing strategy sets goals and limits how to act. Planning is mainly based on
historical facts, analyses and pure forecasting. Big challenge is to follow strategy and re-act
market changes both at the same time. (Kotler et. al 2009, p. 76)
6.1 Product decisions
According to Hollensen (2010, p. 393) product decisions are one of the most important
decisions when developing effective marketing mix. Our product is interesting, because S-
Max Concept car is kind of upgraded version of old S-Max car, hence product decisions are
going to follow decisions of old S-Max.
High formability of car features enables us to serve better our customers and also increase
customer satisfaction; we have lot of customization possibilities in our product. S- Max
Concept car will have also lot of different color and trim alternatives from which customer can
choose the best one. We also want to keep old S-Max’s three different accessory packages
(Zetec, Titanium and Titanium X Sport) which have different features. Accessory packages
are in different prices, and selecting the most suitable option customers can also little bit
affect to the price of car. (iBrochure 2013) S-Max Concept car has a lot of new technological
and design features, which differentiate our car from competitors’ models. Special
accessories are for example wellness features, Wi-Fi safety systems and MyFord mobile
applications which connects your favorite mobile applications to the cars systems. (Ford
Press Release 2013)
When we talk our product’s life cycle there is always two categories. Car is a durable good
which usually change its owner many times. Therefore we have to think life cycle of owner
and the whole car. We are already offering maintenance services, which are important things
for lengthen the car life cycle and also strengthen the brand image. Nowadays when cars
have more and more electronic programs it is remarkably important to offer program updates
and new technology also to the older models. So the main focus is on developing program
updates to customers who have bought new S-Max.

19. 17
6.2 Pricing decisions
Economic situation on European markets has been really difficult for a long time. Economic
recessions has affected consumers’ incomes and consuming. Usually buying or changing car
is not the most urgent acquisition if there are problems with money. Challenging market
situation has even more increase competition between brands. Due to highly competitive
atmosphere companies have all the time pressure to monitor price levels. According to
Marsh (2000) it’s really important to evaluate competitors’ prices and compare them to own
prices.
According to the Ford’s pricelist 2013 old S-Max was from 26 000 to 38 000 € depending on
special accessories depending on the buyer’s choices. It is fact that new S-Max concept car
will have higher price due to better technological and environmental quality. Despite the
pressure to increase the price we want to keep our mid-range car image and secure our
current price position. Due to this we forecasted that the minimum price increase would be 5
% from the old S-Max’s price. (Pricelist S-Max 2013)
6.3. Distribution decisions
Ford’s goal in dealership strategy is to achieve a sustainable and profitable dealer network
by measuring the exact number of dealerships and identifying the right locations to which
ensures the most profitable outcome, and ensuring the appropriate branded facilities (where
they sell cars) to satisfy current and future demand. Ford is also selling cars in outlets, which
have been experienced dealer consolidations over past few years. (Ford Annual report 2012,
p. 14)
When thinking of bettering our strategy, the key for better distribution have to be creating
more creative ways of distributing this car and combine distribution with the promotion of this
car. It is a fact, that the certain car sales sell new and used cars. Ford doesn’t want to give
their products for anybody to sell. Ford wants to keep explicit selling places and trustful
distribution, because that is part of the car business and strengthens the reliability of Ford
cars.
Our main action on bettering the distribution policy is that we want to include distributors to
the promotion process more deeply than before, for example through the organizing of the
different car shows Ford is in. We want to keep the distributor network as it is, because we

20. 18
feel it is the right thing to do in terms of keeping and increasing the sales. So when Ford
makes a deal with different kind of distributors, Ford has to cooperate with them also in terms
of marketing and promoting. Distributors may have important connections to which turn to
account (or example, if Ford wants to promote S-Max in family expos, distributors might want
to participate and involve to these expos more).
6.4 Promotion decision
According to Ford’s Sustainability report (2012/2013) the main purpose of promotion and
advertising is to improve customers’ awareness of company’s excellent quality, safety and
environmental performance. The main goal of promotion and communication is to develop
even better two-way communication with customers and also with stakeholders and partners.
Ford uses already wide range of different communication methods and channels, which we
are also going to use.
Ford has three different advertising strategies: corporate-level, product level and dealer-level
advertising. We are going to focus on product level and also offer marketing material to
dealer level. Because European cultures and markets are quite homogeneous, we thought
that most cost-effective way is to produce standardized TV- and print advertisements. We
are going to make a TV advertisement and few more targeted print products including
promotional material for shows, magazine ads and brochures. Each country can modify
materials for example by translating texts to their own language. Each targeted ad is going to
highlight the specific feature, which we want to present to our target segment. In the
television advertisement the overall goal is to reach both of our segments and inform our
customers about our product’s core elements. Television ad is just the first part of our
campaign. This is the reason why TV ad is more general and not so specific – the nature is
more of attention drawing.
We use TV only beginning of the campaign because it is really expensive and also difficult to
reach required segments. We don’t believe that the massive TV campaign could get us as
much benefits than it causes costs. The second phase of the campaign consists of more
targeted ways of marketing in two parts. First part includes more traditional print
advertisement in every channel each country will prefer. Reason for this is to target people
who are 45-65 years old and use more traditional media channels. Second part consists of
more bold and experimental actions which uses channels Ford has already used, like

21. 19
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. Ford has already launched a product
successfully through Facebook. (Ford Sustainability report 2012/2013)
We want to increase our coverage by using product placement as well as TV- and print
marketing. Choices are different TV-programs and movies which fit to our segments’ interest.
Also special programs related to the automotive industry (Top Gear and Fifth Gear) would fit
to our campaign.
Last dimension of our promotion strategy is the strong presence in different events where our
potential customers might visit (for example sport-, outdoor and family shows and other
events). In Ford’s last launching campaigns the company has successfully used Drive One –
concept, where chosen customers got a chance to test-drive the new car. This word-of-
mouth-concept can be seen in Trusov, Bucklin and Pauwels (2009) study where they found
out those customers which the company has acquired through WOM (for example by inviting
customers to an event or to like Facebook page) also spread WOM effectively.
7. IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTROL
To get the whole picture about the campaign and sales volume of S-Max concept car,
monitoring the effects of marketing strategy is vital. By continuous measuring we can
immediately find and correct the possible problems in marketing that might harm the sales.
This enables us to give real time information to our shareholders and also helps us to prove
our product is profitable and worth of investing.
In our strategy we defined our goals to be increasing our market share, expand the customer
segment and diversify the positioning. In the end all these actions lead to the better
awareness of the Ford brand among the customers and competitors.
To achieve these goals, we have chosen few different metrics we are going to monitoring.
The most important metric is sales volume of S-Max concept car. We have target figures for
long-term and short-term periods (monthly, quarterly and yearly) which we want to achieve.
Comparing our sales volume to competitors’ sales volume in long-term, we can check our
market share’s improvement.
Because social media channels have quite big portion of our marketing strategy, we are
going to measure the price of drawing people’s attention on the internet. The most simply
way of measuring it is to find out the CPC (Cost per Click) and how much there is talking and

22. 20
sharing among people in social media (word of mouth). We also want to know how our
campaign is reached new segments and have we managed to raise interest among our
segments. The goal of this task is to find out did Ford get new customers. All these metrics
are measuring how our brand awareness had developed.
8. CONCLUSIONS
The main theme of the upcoming launch of the refurbished S-Max is diversification. S-Max
aims to improve the existing model in all aspects, starting from the design of the car and
continuing to the existing features and characteristics of the existing models. But as
mentioned, S-Max aims to be more than a simple improvement to the previous model,
targeting new customer segments with a multitude of new features. The most drastic change
to the core product will be the introduction of a more eco-friendly engine, which is aimed to
make the care more sustainable in addition to being more economical to drive, a
characteristic that is sure to find traction in the current economy where gas prices keep
rising, without a sign of stopping any time soon.
The main attributes that promise success for the concept car lie in the target segmentation of
S-Max and S-Max concept. The 2006 model received high praise for its great price to quality
ratio, which translated to great sales in the European region (Priddle, 2013). The existing
user base, and the good reputation the brand carries are going to ease S-Max concepts
launch, and with the initial interest this is expected to create Ford will be able to capture the
market segment with its superior offering compared to the competitors’ products. Also, the S-
Max concept’s adjusted target segmentation has the potential to provide added benefits as
we expect there to be demand for an economic minivan, a niche that Ford is focusing on with
the launch.
S-Max advantage towards competition can be mainly attributed to it being superior to the
products of competitors. We aim to recapture the success of the original S-Max, where the
car managed to steal customers from competitors’ premium offerings, with the sheer quality
and price point of the car (Franey 2007).

23. 21
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