Last month, Ford of Europe’s look on the big video games commerce honest Gamescom – usually held dwell in Cologne, Germany, however this yr going down nearly for the second successive time – concerned a dwell present on Twitch from Team Fordzilla, the esports workforce Ford launched on the video games commerce honest in 2019.But this is maybe the least attention-grabbing facet of how the automobile model is making use of the gaming house, each as a marketing alternative and supply of inspiration for its expertise.The model used the occasion to promote a collection of different initiatives: together with the Project P1 Concept, a digital racing automobile designed in collaboration with avid gamers, which has now been changed into a full-scale mannequin used as a simulator; and “Vanzilla”, an tailored Ford Transit van outfitted with gaming gear and accessibility options that may take nice gaming experiences to individuals who discover them tough to entry.According to Emmanuel Lubrani (pictured proper), senior supervisor, model communications and content material growth at Ford of Europe, the enterprise has taken an method to video games that is “barely completely different from what different present automobile manufacturers are doing”.
Other automobile manufacturers, he stated, have (maybe understandably) centered on sim racing, the style of racing video games that goals to precisely simulate an auto racing expertise, with main titles together with the Gran Turismo (PlayStation) and Forza (Xbox) collection. “You’ve acquired lots of Formula 1 groups in esports, or BMW or Mercedes,” Lubrani says. “The factor we did not want to be was [just] for efficiency esports, as a result of we want to be a presence in gaming, we do not just want to be a presence in sim racing.“If you have a look at different producers, they’re [acting as] a racing entity going into gaming. What we’re attempting to be with Team Fordzilla is to be a gaming entity, which occurs to do racing.”Both rival manufacturers talked about by Lubrani, it must be stated, are actively concerned in video games exterior sim racing. Last yr, BMW signed up to sponsor 5 of the highest esports firms, together with the UK’s Fnatic, US-based Cloud9 and Germany’s G2. Mercedes-Benz, in the meantime, has sponsored the ESL Premiership, a league for gamers of first individual shooter Counter Strike. Major manufacturers in different sectors have additionally taken excessive profile sponsorships, corresponding to Mastercard, which first turned a sponsor of esports big League of Legends, the multiplayer on-line battle area from Riot Games, in 2018.Ford differs from these manufacturers as a result of it needs a “presence in gaming which is not for consciousness however more for model relevance and favourability,” Lubrani says. “We want to be extremely skilled. We want to embrace gaming with legitimacy, credibility and authenticity – this is key. It could be straightforward to signal a cheque and put our identify on the jersey of an esports workforce competing in League of Legends, or one among these highly regarded video games that entice tens of 1000’s of individuals in arenas.
“That’s not what we want to do. That’s not us. We’re not Mastercard. We want our presence in gaming which is not for consciousness however more for model relevance and favourability.”’We’ve at all times been about accessibility and inclusivity’Ford has had a presence at Gamescom since 2015, step by step rising its exercise every year. In 2018 it used the occasion to launch a brand new automobile, the Ford Ranger Raptor.“We did not try this just for the sake of, you already know, getting consideration,” Lubrani says. “We did it as a result of [it] was going to be made out there as a DLC [downloadable additional content] in Forza Horizon 4.”In the previous two years, Ford has stepped issues up – in 2020 it unveiled its first digital racing mannequin, the P1. Ford claims the P1 was the primary digital racer to be designed in collaboration with avid gamers, by a collection of polls, leading to a collection of proposals that had been whittled down to two to be put to a public vote. Last December, Ford unveiled a bodily mannequin of the automobile, and this has now been changed into a racing simulator, which can be utilized with both displays or a VR headset. The simulator is not going to be open to the general public, due to its expense and the dearth of an quick access door, however Lubrani stated the chance to use it might be a prize in future competitions. The digital P1, in the meantime, is not but out there in any video games available on the market, however he stated this was within the works. The P1 is now being adopted by a second automobile, this time a racing supervan that Ford stated would “think about what an excessive efficiency mannequin of future Transit vans could appear to be”. These initiatives are “more than just a PR stunt or comms train”, Lubrani says, and gaming tech is more and more enjoying a task within the growth and testing of Ford’s automobiles. For instance, by “digital clinics” at which customers check options corresponding to an automatic parking perform and hazard detection (see beneath).The supervan is one among two Transit vans that presently have a starring function in Ford’s gaming operations.The different, the Team Fordzilla Gaming Transit – aka “Vanzilla” – is an illustration of two qualities Lubrani stated Ford has “at all times been about”: accessibility and inclusivity. Since 2015 the model has partnered with Microsoft, which has pursued comparable goals by initiatives just like the Cannes Lions Grand Prix-winning Xbox Adaptive Controller.“We stated, okay fantastic, you already know we have now to present mobility, we have now vans, we are able to carry the gaming expertise to individuals who can not go to a gaming occasion for no matter motive,” Lubrani says. “We determined to convert the most important Transit van we have now available on the market into an accessible gaming studio – it’s acquired wheelchair entry, it’s acquired adaptive controllers.” The van is shared between varied European nations, with every nationwide Ford workforce working with organisations corresponding to faculty, charities and hospitals, “so we are able to carry the enjoyment of gaming” people who find themselves disadvantaged of it. This might embody these receiving end-of-life care, or those that are bodily disabled or autistic.As for future areas of focus, Lubrani notes: “Mobile [gaming] is getting greater and greater. And it’s a really completely different viewers from, you already know, the hardcore sim racing. So we want to ensure that we do not miss that prepare.“There are so much more ladies on cell gaming [the majority of the audience is female] so how can we carry Ford, and the Ford model and what we stand for, to them in a means that is not just, you already know, shopping for property, like sponsorships, however by being an actual gaming entity and a group.”Main photos: the Project P1 Concept, Vanzilla, and Team Fordzilla’s 5 nationwide workforce captains
‘We want to embrace it with credibility and authenticity’ – why gaming is more than just marketing for Ford
