Ford Bronco
The team behind the “Built Wild” campaign garnered awards and massive sales for their client, Ford Motor Company, with an innovative launch of an iconic brand—using Frame.io to stay in sync while working remotely.
See how the Ford Bronco creative team pivoted to a virtual rollout during the pandemic.
Challenge
For the first time in 24 years, American automaker Ford revived one of their most iconic lines, the Ford Bronco, in 2020. Rollouts of this magnitude are generally elaborate live events that take place across the country. When, at the last minute, the COVID-19 pandemic made live events impossible, Ford needed a way to reach their target market virtually—with only three weeks of preparation time.
Solution
A team of top industry experts led by Disney CreativeWorks came together to produce an advertising campaign consisting of three spots of three-minutes—one for each of the new Ford Bronco models. The team was spread across the country, and all work needed to be done under strict COVID safety protocols. Using Frame.io, they were able to shoot, edit, and deliver all the spots in record time.
Results
The three spots were scheduled to air on three networks (ABC, ESPN, and Nat Geo) concurrently during the first commercial break in the 8:00 p.m. hour on July 13, 2020. The innovative campaign was noticed not just for its reach and success, but also for its novel approach. The rollout garnered millions of simultaneous live views, with the spots then becoming available on Hulu and YouTube for subsequent viewing.
"I have been so blessed to see a few special launches in our industry connect with customers. These digital assets are among the best I have ever seen."
Take a closer look at the production and post-production players and processes that helped deliver an ambitious package, making the rollout an unqualified success.
Frame.io centralizes teams.
The major players involved were spread across the U.S., which meant that they needed a way to communicate ideas and feedback clearly and accurately without being on location or in the same room. The project was headed by Disney Creativeworks in Los Angeles; Ford agency GTB was working from Detroit; production company Stept was in LA with Oscar-winning Creative Director Jimmy Chin shooting in Wyoming; production company Riverside Entertainment shot outside of Nashville; and post-production house Bruton Stroube/Outpost was in St. Louis.
Frame.io saves time during compressed schedules.
Typically, a rollout of this magnitude might involve months of planning and production. Instead, the project spanned only a few weeks from concept to delivery with all team members working remotely. With such a compressed schedule, fast and accurate communication was vital to hitting the deadline. And with a rollout this big, being able to share assets and cuts securely was key.
The time from dailies arriving at Bruton Stroube/Outpost to final delivery was less than a week. Immediately after ingesting the footage into Frame.io on day one, Outpost was able to give clients their first look at dailies. Outpost (who was editing one of the spots) then used Frame.io to share assets such as graphics and text elements, and to stay in sync with the creative team at Stept in LA (who produced the other two) so they could ensure that the three films had a consistent look and feel. They used the Frame.io integration with Adobe Premiere Pro during offline, and then sent assets to online and color grading in BlackMagic DaVinci Resolve. They were even able to work with VFX artists off site by exchanging assets through Frame.io using the After Effects integration.
Frame.io enables faster approvals from multiple stakeholders.
Approximately 15-20 stakeholders needed to weigh in, all the way up the chain to Jimmy Chin, Ford COO Jim Farley, Disney’s Bob Iger, and the executives at the three networks. With a fixed airdate, getting feedback and approvals quickly was vital, and Frame.io Review Links ensured quick turnarounds.
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