Ford's Centre Bounce for The Oval

Ford Australia President Tom Gorman today announced the launch of an innovative new AFL website called The Oval.

Designed to maximize Ford's 80-year association with Aussie Rules including sponsorship of the Geelong Football Club and more recent support of the Sydney Swans, the new interactive website is aimed at all footy fans and goes live on May 1, 2006.

The new website follows a successful ninemsn trial, featured exclusively at CarPoint last year, that introduced an engineer's webchat over three nights.

This initiative allowed Ford engineers to demonstrate new technology in Ford vehicles and invited web visitors to converse with the engineers about it. The Oval is an ongoing interactive site that encourages visitors to return. Ford presence is limited to low key branding and leader boards similar to those in the real life situation.

In total contrast to the strong automotive flavour of most car company websites, The Oval has an authentic football club look that extends to the dressing rooms. For anyone who has played club football, just clicking on the site will evoke the smell of liniment, muddy football boots and smelly socks. The authentic, winter football feel of the graphics is intentional with the Ford oval almost incidental. Its accuracy is also quite uncanny and captures what makes AFL so special.

There will be sections of the site dedicated to the Sydney Swans and Geelong Cats but the main target is all football fans. According to Ford, it will take an "irreverent look at footy". There will be a weekly trivia quiz, unofficial history of football and an online handball competition that will tally individual results with prizes awarded at the end of the season. Web visitors can also create their own football cards using their own photos which they can then print out or send to friends.

Ford has acknowledged that the web is now "right up there with other media outlets" when it comes to spending their advertising dollar.  The company cites the massive switch to Broadband in Australia as the average online time has soared from nine hours per month in 2002 up to 17 hours per month in 2005. Research has also indicated that internet research in the last two weeks leading up to a purchase is now one of the most critical tools in new car purchases.

Who is Ford targeting with The Oval? The response was "avid footy fans". The Oval coincides with Ford's first cohesive model range since the days of Festiva, Laser, Telstar and Falcon. Following the aggressive sourcing from Germany of extra supplies of the new Fiesta and as South African Focus deliveries catch up with demand, Ford is in the position for the first time in many years to have the stock and model range to cater for footy fans of all ages.

Gorman confirmed that the Focus XR5 Turbo due next month has already generated an order bank exceeding supply. He hinted that there will be other Focus developments and the new Territory Turbo will be coming on line during the same period. The Oval provides the ideal context to announce these developments while leaving web visitors the choice to pursue extra information.

Look for it here.

The gates open on May 1, 2006 and according to Ford, "it's going to be as much fun as beating Collingwood by a point."

Now that Geelong is showing good form, Ford's football sponsorship may soon position it as a participant rather than a benefactor: a situation that Ford could no longer afford in today's market.