Innovation

Ford/Latcha & Associates

The Opportunity

At a time when auto manufacturers were challenged by one of the most difficult market environments in their history, Ford Motor Company made a number of astute moves that have paid off. One was their approach to marketing collateral. While others in the industry cut back on product brochures, Ford chose to reinvent them as targeted print materials that would drive sales by helping their dealers connect with customers. They needed a cost-effective way to put locally relevant marketing materials into the hands of 3,300 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury dealers across the U.S.

The Solution

Working with Ford and its brochure partner, Latcha + Associates, Consolidated Graphics developed a “dual-print” brochure program tailored to Ford’s need for cost-effective customization. Pages with

standard product information are printed in quantity using a traditional offset process. Variable data digital printing of covers, coupled with a fulfillment solution that works with Ford’s existing online store, enables dealers to customize their brochures. They can add their location and contact information, maps – even Quick Response codes that drive customers to micro-sites – to create locally relevant marketing collateral that helps sell cars.

The Results

Ford’s 3,300 U.S. dealers have “print-on-demand” access to customized brochures for 24 different vehicle models. With the ability to order smaller quantities than with traditional printing methods, they will never run out of marketing material or incur the cost of inventories and obsolescence. Utilizing industry-leading digital printing and workflow management technologies, Consolidated Graphics handles the logistics of producing, packing and shipping tens of thousands of orders that have the potential for more than two billion variations. The result is on-time delivery and 100 percent accuracy.