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Todd Earwood

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Advertise Where It Counts

Ford loves BPThe picture at left is what I found when I filled up my gas tank in my rental car (see full size). It seems Ford has formed a partnership to recommend BP gasoline when you fill up. I happen to be at a Shell station and didn’t leave to find a BP, but I took notice. If I owned this Ford vehicle, I’d probably think more about BP than ever before.

Seth Godin calls it “Interruption Marketing” in his bestselling book, Permission Marketing. What are the best places you’ve seen an ad run?

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Discussion

1. Jul 30, 2007—11:50 pm | Permalink Andy Swan · “Interruption Marketing” wish list says

[...] Todd Earwood has an interesting post about interruption marketing. [...]

2. Jul 31, 2007—3:56 pm | Permalink Jason Falls says

Interesting, but is this really effective? You don’t see it until after you’ve stopped at the gas station. Sure, there will be a carryover effect and your post is evidence that the advertising did what few do — captured your attention — but isn’t this little reminder like handing Wendy’s fliers out to people leaving McDonalds?

Just a thought.

3. Jul 31, 2007—9:52 pm | Permalink Travis Northcutt says

Well, no. Like Todd said, if he owned the vehicle, he’d certainly think about going to a BP station the next time. So, the first time an owner sees the recommendation, they may not be at a BP station, but if it’s not much more trouble for them, there’s a better chance they’ll go next time.

Personally, I’d be hesitant to follow any of Ford’s recommendations, given their current situation. That being said, I think it’s great marketing on BP’s part.

4. Aug 1, 2007—4:40 am | Permalink Peter says

If BP was really smart, they would get Ford to manufacture the car with GPS navigation that directed the car (or the driver) to the nearest BP station when you were running low on fuel.

5. Aug 1, 2007—10:05 am | Permalink Need for Information | Links For 7/31/07 says

[...] has a great example of “interruption [...]

6. Aug 1, 2007—3:05 pm | Permalink Mike says

If you really wanted to put that BP logo to good use, you’d use it as the “Low Fuel” indicator light!

7. Aug 5, 2007—3:27 pm | Permalink ford...yuck says

Are you really going to drive out of your way for “better” gas?

I think that’s the bottom line, and my answer is no.

Now if this effort is part of a larger campaign on why BP gas is better than others, I bet it would drive the message home. But as far as I know, that’s not the case.

8. Aug 12, 2007—8:14 am | Permalink Links For 7/31/07 says

[...] has a great example of “interruption [...]

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