YPSH : Brian, welcome to YourPlaystationHome! Let's start by talking about you for a moment. First, tell our members who you are and what you do at Ford? View attachment 3410 Ford : I'm Brian McClary and I work at Ford Motor Company in the Digital Marketing Group. I lead Ford's efforts in social media and emerging media (gaming, mobile, iTV etc). I also like to call it the coolest job in the world! YPSH : Tell us a little of your background. You attended Western Michigan University - Haworth College of Business. Did you always have an interest in advertising and marketing? Ford : I attended Western Michigan University where most of my family are alumni. I became interested in advertising and marketing in high school when I participated in D.E.C.A. D.E.C.A is a group that allows students to compete in business competitions around the country. I competed in an advertising case study my senior year and fell in love with all things advertising / marketing. YPSH : What got you interested in emerging technologies and gaming? Ford : I've been a tech-geek my entire life - I even referred to myself as that during my interview at Ford. I've been playing games since I was four, and have been an early adopter for as long as I can remember. YPSH : You worked for two agencies, Young and Rubicam and Campbell Ewald (one of the largest advertising and digital communications agencies in the United States, with almost $2 billion in annual billings). Since Campbell is based in Michigan, I'm going to assume that's how your work with Ford got started? Ford : I'm a proud Michigander and have lived in Michigan my entire life. I heard about an opening for a Social & Emerging Media Specialist on Twitter and was contacted about the job by a recruiter on LinkedIn in the Fall of 2009. YPSH : Your work with Campbell evolved into working with gaming. With Ford, you are branching out from that experience into marketing integration with other digital mediums. Before we get into the details of Ford's involvement with Home, tell us a little about some of your other projects, like Ford's new "Take Charge" contest on its Electrified Vehicle Facebook page. Ford : Before I joined Ford, I often used examples of what Ford was doing as case studies for other clients. Ford has been very involved and viewed as a leader in emerging technology. Some projects that I have worked on have included an integration in to The Tester: Season 2, sponsorship of The Tester: Season 2 Reunion Special, programs on XboxLIVE and multiple programs on Facebook. The "Take Charge" app on Facebook is one of my most recent projects. We are asking the FB community how they are "Taking Charge" by having them submit ideas on how they are acting in an environmentally friendly way. I have been very impressed with the response and we have received some great entries. The winner will receive a trip to Ford HQ for an "Electric Vehicles Experience" where they will get a first hand look at what we are doing in the EV space. YPSH : What is the Ford Digital Media Lab? Ford : The Ford Digital Media Lab is an area that I set up at our office. It is a modest set up with a 32in LCD tv with all 3 major gaming systems (PS3, Wii and Xbox360). I set this up to allow my co-workers and other Ford employees the chance to check out these new gaming consoles and show them how cool they really are. YPSH : Any other interesting new ideas in the works for platforms other than the Playstation 3? Ford : Hmmmm, you will just have to wait and see. YPSH : I have become an avid reader of The Brian McClary Daily. Tell us how that got started and how that project is going. Ford : WOW! Glad to see that someone is actually reading that. It is a tool that I learned about on Twitter. This is a cool program that scans your Twitter followers and who you follow and puts the most relevant content in 1 spot. YPSH : This brings me to Ford's involvement with PS Home. How did Ford first become interested in Home? Ford : I'm a HUGE gamer and love all things video games. I checked out Home when it first launched and have paid real close attention to what other brands have done. I used Red Bull island as an example of what brands can do inside of Home. When I show people this, it really inspires them and shows off the cool stuff that can be done in Home. YPSH : Other car manufacturers have done some promotions with Home. Do you see Ford at that same involvement level or going for a larger commitment? Ford : I can't speak to what other car manufacturers have done inside of Home because I haven't worked on them. We will continue to evaluate Home as a part of our emerging media programs. View attachment 3409 YPSH : I should clarify here we are talking about the North American version of Home. Up until now, Ford has teased us with a few virtual items. We all knew something was up at Ford since we saw the "Ford Building" in Home's Central Plaza during the holidays. Tells us about what we are about to see from Ford in Home. Ford : The only thing I can say is that you are going to see something really cool in Home in the next few days. The sneak peak that was teased over the holidays was great. I received a few mentions on Twitter about it asking for more info but I have to keep my cards close to my vest on this one. I will tell you though that you will be impressed with what we are doing. YPSH : Just how interactive will this new project be? Will we see mini-games, cool virtual rewards, personal spaces, clothes? Ford : Yes ; ) Every gaming program that I work on at Ford must give something back to the gamer. This can be exclusive content, prizes, outfits, items etc. When I review gaming proposals, I put on my "gamer hat" and think about how the gaming community will feel about the program. YPSH : Will Ford continually add new content over the long haul to keep us coming back for more? Ford : We will continue to evaluate Home for future programs. YPSH : How long did it take from beginning to end to produce this project for Home and how many worked on it? Ford : We have been talking with Sony about this program for over a year. It has been a team effort working with our advertising agency, Team Detroit and Sony. A lot of hard work and late hours have been put in to this project. YPSH : Did you run into any technical challenges developing this project for Home? Ford : No challenges that I worked on directly. My production team could probably give you more info. YPSH : What is it you like most about Home? Do you personally use it? Ford: I like a lot about Home. I really liked watching episodes of The Tester in the Playstation Theater to hear what other people were saying. I do use Playstation Home. Keep an eye out for me (bmac8781) where my avatar is all decked out in Ford gear. YPSH : If you were asked what you would like to see in the next gen of Playstation, what would it be? Ford : Great question. The only thing I would like to see is shorter load times. YPSH : Lastly, I want to mention that YPSH has started another discussion thread specifically for Ford to receive feedback from us, the users. I would encourage everyone to take a look at it (here) and give Brian you constructive feedback and any questions you may have. On behalf of everyone here, we welcome you to YPSH and look forward to your participation here as well as in Home. You can see Ford Focus Rally America now in Theatre Six in Playstation Home and get a cool reward just for being there! © www.yourplaystationhome.com - All rights reserved - Copying is prohibited without written consent of the author
Great interview Karen. Very very nice. I wonder if he knows about what Audi has been doing in the EU?
Lovely interview, look forward to whats next from Ford will read ot again later when its not almost 5am and im not 90% asleep hehe.
w00t, cant wait for the ford space. hope they have sweet rewards. audi has some decent rewards but all the reward outfits during the carshow event were female outfits, not that its a bad thing of course but woulda been nice to have something for us gentlemen. who knows, maybe ford will reward players with a scaled version of a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach I. ~i can only dream~
From one Michigander to another, Happy to see that a Michigan based company is going to have a huge impact on Home. I look forward to all that Ford has to offer, Ford has done so much for Michigan.
Loved the interview and I can't wait to see what Ford is planning to integrate into home Like I said before and I'll say it again I'm really excited and Ford becomes NA's version of Audi, But better.
Sounds Good Ford we will see it's time for an American Company to take the lead again great interview Miss karen I like
I said it before and I'll say it again, it's great to see so many companies join here and listening to what the home users really want welcome and we promise not to be too harsh on you
Ford should feel free to copy Audi's involvement in Euro Home. I'm sure that North American users would be more than satisfied. Maybe the mansion garage contains a gold Mustang.
