Mark - When is Ford going to start advertising the Raptor more aggressively -I haven't seen a single add for them here in south Texas. Is the answer that it selling faster than you can make them without any ads? Or that you're targeting your ads to the highest sales areas, such as the western desert region, so i just don't see them down here in the muddy, redneck, monster truck, corner of the world? Thanks for the wonderful truck, the standard side impact air bags, and all of the great work that Ford has done!
Flounderstalker - thanks for your Raptor purchase. Our marketing has been very targeted and focused on hard core off-roaders and we haven't done any "mass" media or tv ads on Raptor anywhere. Given our constrained Raptor capacity and limited marketing budgets in this tough economy it makes more sense to focus our advertising $'s on the base F-150.
We're doing a lot of targetted experiential marketing including off-road truck races, NASCAR, Monster Jam Monster Truck events, and action sports. We also had Raptor with the driving simulator at some major auto shows and invited select off-roading folks in for a closer look at it's capabilities.
As you folks know the truck does amazing in virtually any off-road terrain - mud, snow, trails, etc. We entered F-150 SVT Raptor last year in the TAWA (Texas Auto Writers Assoc.) Truck Rodeo and we were very honored to come away with the top award - the prestigious Truck of Texas. The auto writers commented that it was the ultimate truck for getting across a ranch quickly and comfortably. Given that TX buys nearly 20% of all full size pickups - we focus a lot of attention making sure we satisfy the pickup loving Texans. I worked in Ford's TX regional office prior to my current position and I try to return to TX several times a year. The top markets are just as we expected prior to launch - Vegas, Phoenix, TX and SoCal.
Just having folks like you drive the truck around town creates a lot of awareness and excitement as people see the truck and want to know what it's all about. Thanks - you're helping with our advertising!