Follow Friday Feature: 2013 Ford Escape Hunger Drive

By Kate Olsen

Ford has teamed up with Feeding America for a new cause marketing campaign.  The campaign goals are twofold: to help provide meals to the hungry in America and to showcase the all-new 2013 Ford Escape. Ford is calling this the 2013 Ford Escape Hunger Drive.

Through a series of events across the country, participants will get to experience the new Ford Escape, while also helping to feed those in need. For each event participant, Ford will help provide 40 meals to Feeding America. In total, Ford is expecting to help provide more than 1.2 million meals to Feeding America over the course of the campaign.

With Ford’s iconic American brand status, it makes sense for the company to align itself with a domestic cause that the average consumer can relate to and commit to – ending hunger in America.  Ford plus Feeding America works.

Effective cause partnerships succeed when both the company and the nonprofit partner achieve a return on investment.  This campaign places relevant brand and cause goals at its core.  Ford, which was likely already planning to make a big marketing splash for the all-new 2013 Ford Escape gets an added brand halo and buzz factor by incorporating a cause element into the launch.  Feeding America gets valuable exposure across the country courtesy of a major brand awareness platform for a Ford product and the nonprofit gets much needed resources to feed the hungry in America. 

I had the opportunity to interview Aaron Miller, Product Communications Coordinator for the 2013 Ford Escape Hunger campaign to get the insider’s perspective on the cause partnership.  (I love to see brands prioritizing an authentic connection to the cause!)

Want to read the interview? Check it out, via CompaniesforGood.org