“Innovation is the development of new customers value through solutions that meet new needs…” — Wikipedia

Lately when we use the word “innovation”, we use it to label the new, young, startup company. We tag “innovation” to Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon and LinkedIn, companies which are all well under 50 years old. Most companies who have been in existence upwards of 50 years are seldom described as innovative. But Ford Motor Company which was started in 1903, is just as innovative now as it was with the sale of its first Ford Model A. In 2013, Ford’s contribution to solutions that meet new needs includes the Fusion, Escape, Fiesta, Mustang and F-150 to name a few.

I have said in previous blog posts that visiting the Ford Auto Show display at the North American International Auto Show is like visiting an Apple store. It’s a way for families to see the new, the future, the innovations to come. Exhibit participants swarm each vehicle, like they were iPads, iPhones or MacBook Pros. Not because they are wow gadgets, but because they offer functions which can help me today and are easy enough for “even me to get the hang of”. Ford has shown that they are a company that understands it’s customer because they live in the same time the customer lives in.

While at the Ford display, you can play trivia games via your cell phone. Just be the first to text the correct answer to win a prize. Download the Ford Auto Show App for either Apple or Android to really have fun. (https://www.blueovalcard.com/naias2013/mobile-app/) With it you can collect badges, click on a QR code to access detailed information on the vehicle. (My only small aside, is that the vehicle display should have made it more clear that the QR code you want to scan is the “blue” one on the vehicle and not the b&w code on the pricing-feature label) A far cry from the loads of car brochures you would lug around the exhibit center in years past. Or you can grab a credit card sized loyalty card you can load with your email address via computer stations on site. As you take the card around the displays, just swipe it by the vehicle you are interested in and information can be emailed to you. How cool is that?

Yes, Ford Motor Company, new customer value through solutions that meet new needs.