Vintage bronco, made with Midjourney

This is the first in a series of Great Product Marketing posts where I dive into a company’s product marketing that I love. I find myself looking at the details of product launches, trying to piece together the Messaging Framework, and thinking about how it all came together.

The Ford Bronco relaunched to much fanfare and excitement in 2021. People had been cooped up inside due to the pandemic and wanted to be outside again. National Parks were getting overrun with visitors and campsites were getting booked up instantly - the timing was perfect to reintroduce the off-road capable, sporty Bronco.

Great product marketing requires Marketing and Product to come together to deliver a great experience. Without a great, differentiated product, there’s nothing for marketing to talk about. Without great marketing, the product features and vision fall flat. Ford meticulously planned out both of these aspects and nailed the landing. From the touches of retro in the design language to the infusion of fun in the naming to the inspiring long-form video - this was one of my favorite launches in recent memory.

The Original Ford Bronco (1960)

The Ford Bronco has a long history of being a beloved, iconic SUV. It was introduced in the 1960s as a competitor to the Jeep Wrangler and Land Cruiser and leaned into its positioning as the fun off-road vehicle.

It’s astonishing how much cars have changed since the 60s. The Bronco debuted with only 105 horsepower and even that was a step up from its competitors. For comparison, the 2022 Toyota Camry (the vanilla ice cream of cars) comes with almost double the horsepower at the lowest trim. Oh yeah, the Bronco was only $2,000 at the time! Adjusting for inflation, that would only be ~$17,000 today. The original Broncos were all two-door SUVs, but Ford eventually added a four-door option in future generations. They touted features such as 4-wheel drive and rugged suspension for extra sportiness.

Original Bronco ad

Ford made an amazing decision to launch the original Bronco with 3 trims — one of which didn’t have doors or a roof. The Roadster trim really drove home the adventures you could have with an off-road capable SUV. Even the front windshield could be pushed forward to lay flat. It’s hard to imagine any car manufacturer taking that kind of risk these days.

‘66 Bronco Roadster from the catalog.

Ford would continue to sell the Bronco for 30 years before discontinuing it due to poor sales. OJ Simpson’s infamous highway police chase featured the last generation of Broncos.

If you’re interested in reading more about the history of the Bronco or seeing original brochures, check out the page Ford built for this relaunch.

Modern Bronco Relaunch (2021)

When Ford announced the new Bronco — 25 years after the model had been discontinued — people were understandably excited.

Ford went back to the original winning formula of capable and fun. Not only did they build the car with technical specs to make it capable of dealing with demanding terrain, but Ford also added features to make it differentiated from other off-road SUVs. Removable roof and doors! 200+ aftermarket accessories! I think many were surprised by some of the features since they hadn’t been seen in cars since the original Bronco.

I thought it would be fun to look at their launch through the lens of the Product Marketing Messaging Framework. Here’s what I came up with:

Product Value Prop: The new Ford Bronco is the most capable SUV in its class for adventure-goers

Key Message: The 2021 Ford Bronco is capable of taking you on any adventure

Benefits and their Reasons to Believe:

• Capable of handling anything
  • 300+horsepower
  • Standard 4x4 with GOAT (Goes Over Any Terrain) modes
  • Standard 30-inch tires with industry-leading ground clearance
• Fun on your terms
  • Easily removeable doors and roof
  • Hundreds of aftermarket accessories for camping, boating, off-roading, etc.
• Legacy of excitement
  • History of off-road endurance racing
  • Design notes from the original Bronco

In my first draft of this messaging framework, I actually had “most fun” as the value prop. I thought about the shots of the Bronco without doors or a roof, the spirited driving through different landscapes, and the fun aftermarket accessories like the camping tent - those all seemed to point toward ‘fun’. But after rewatching the launch video, I noticed how much more Ford focused on the technical elements to prove how capable the car is. They spent most of the video talking about drive modes, clearance heights, axel disconnects, departure angles, etc. It was clear that ‘fun’ was an output of the Bronco being capable, not an input.

There was quite a bit more that could be added under each Benefit, but I listed the main RTBs. Ford did a tremendous job in not only building a product that was great, but they highlighted those features in their videos, website, press release, and every other marketing touchpoint to drive home just how capable this car is.

Results

The car world responded — the Bronco garnered endless positive press and was lauded on social media. Ford sold out of the launch edition Broncos almost immediately. In 2021, “Ford Bronco Sold Out for Years” was the headline due to high demand and chip shortages.

There are few car launches each year that actually break through the noise and Ford deserves a lot of credit for building a car and marketing it in a way that got people excited. Just compare this to the 2022 Subaru WRX launch:

It’s also a car with a long legacy and passionate fanbase, but the new model received a mixed response given it’s styling and whopping 3 horsepower upgrade over the previous generation. This was reflected in 2021 WRX sales, but it’s unclear how much was due to poor demand vs pandemic supply chain issues. Regardless, it certainly didn’t ‘sell out for years’. Update: 2022 WRX sales dropped 31.2% as well.

Takeaways

• It all starts with audience understanding and insights - Ford was crystal clear about who they wanted to make this car for.
  • The Bronco buyer wants to be outdoors and needs an affordable(ish) SUV that could handle all conditions. They want something a bit more comfortable, roomy, and updated compared to the Jeep lineup. Lastly, they want a car that makes a statement design-wise.
  • I love love love this focus when I see it in products. Instead of making the Bronco utilitarian and a potential option for everyone who wanted an SUV, they focused their energy on one type of buyer and the product is infinitely more exciting because of it. It reminds me of Lotus’ offerings: uncomfortable ride, not reliable, loud cabin - but laser-focused on bringing the most bang for your buck on the track.
• Product and marketing need to work in tandem - It seems like Ford thought carefully about its positioning in the market and the key differentiators that they could key in on. They focused on features that they knew would grab buyer attention and headlines - removable doors and roof, the vast array of aftermarket accessories, and even the naming of the HOSS system (High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension) or GOAT modes are memorable and spark interest.
• Video was so impactful for the Bronco - Seeing the Bronco in action was so much more powerful than pictures / words could ever be. Shooting video is many times more expensive than photos, but absolutely worth it in this case. It’s hard to imagine just how steep or treacherous terrain can be with only photos. In my work, I rarely shoot video given the costs, the time it takes to complete, and how quickly it becomes stale, but it was awesome to see its impact here.

Perhaps the only stumble Ford made was accidentally setting the launch date on OJ Simpson’s birthday. Oops!