[quote author=Milan-Itude link=topic=69951.msg1219020#msg1219020 date=1172001928]
I like the grill on the Fusion too. But the question is should Ford upgrade/modernize its blue oval symbol? Its really an archaic symbol. And in an effort to draw more customers who have gone elsewhere, would this be a good change, and a symbolic gesture of a new ford going forward.
Dialogue welcome...
cheers....
[/quote]
I suspect that you are playing devil's advocate just a bit by suggesting that anyone tamper with the sacred "Blue Oval." Coca-Cola made a huge mistake by tampering with success ("the new Coke") and was forced to bring back "Classic Coke."
However, Mercury eventually did away with the warrior with the winged helmet in favor of a modernized, stylized three-bar symbol that worked out well. Countless other business icons have modernized their logos over time with great success.
A modernized Blue Oval could signal that Ford is about the 21st century instead of being stuck in the 20th century. There could be a lot of positives to come out of such a move, seriously. Of course it would have to be done in a tasteful, thoughtful way, maybe something as simple as a font change for the word "Ford." The current script lettering is definitely "old hat."
All that being said, the biggest change that FoMoCo could do to build customer satisfaction would be to get into the Internet in a big way: To run World Wide Web forums, like this one and others for the Fusion, as a company entity for all of its products. Talk about direct feedback. This would be quite a coup: Just imagine a huge complaint department and countless suggestions for product improvement.
The Internet is here to stay. Instead of spending lots of money with Microsoft to "Sync" electronic components, Ford could reach out and connect with millions of its happy -- and unhappy -- customers, really get a sense of what people want in their products. What works well and not so well in everyday life.
Making FoMoCo computer-friendly would have a tremendous positive impact on the marketplace for a fraction of what Ford spends on NASCAR each year -- estimated at somewhere between $100 million and $200 million.
A site like
www.Ford.Internet.com (fake name), run like a forum, could have a huge, positive impact. It would establish a direct link between the consumer and a corporate giant. The customer satisfaction rewards could be enormous and it could save both the consumer and the manufacturer tons of time and money. Literally tens of thousands of simple questions could be answered over the Internet by a reliable Ford Internet specialist.
Something of this nature would have a much greater positive effect on consumers than a logo change, but the two ideas could be incorporated at the same time.
What do you think?