Traditional Media Loses at Ford

Automaker Shifts Major Chunk of Budget to Relationship Marketing
DETROIT–Ford Motor Co.’s advertising agencies are reacting to the automaker’s decision, announced to media buyers last week, to slash spending significantly on traditional media and focus more on one-to-one consumer marketing.
One estimate has Ford slashing $100 million, or roughly one-third, of its print spending.
Magazine media reps are calling the shift a “massacre,” but Ford officials said the moves, which include dropping entire ad budgets at several magazines, are part of an ongoing strategy to reach consumers more directly.