Ford · 2022

F-150 Lightning

RoleLaunch copy · Reservation funnels

DisciplineLAUNCH

Year2022

The brief

Launching the all-electric F-150 Lightning required overcoming two major challenges: first, convincing traditional truck owners to adopt electric technology, and second, managing unprecedented demand to convert intense early interest into confirmed reservations and pre-orders within a tightly controlled timeline.

The campaign needed to establish the vehicle's dual identity, as both a powerful, dependable "Built Ford Tough" truck and a futuristic EV.

As part of the agency collective, my focus was on digital acquisition and fostering early community engagement to manage the pre-order funnel and validate the Lightning's utility across different buyer personas (commercial fleets vs. private owners).

By the numbers

200000

The optimized digital funnels and persuasive copy contributed directly to achieving 200,000 reservations in the first nine months, leading Ford to double its production capacity targets.

38 %

High-Value Lead Quality

The utility-focused content strategy delivered a 38% higher lead-to-reservation conversion rate from targeted LinkedIn and YouTube ads (targeting commercial buyers) compared to general audience social media traffic.

1.2 M

Launch Day Stability

The integrated funnel design successfully managed a massive influx of over 1.2 million website visits on the launch day announcement without system failure, ensuring all high-value traffic was funneled directly to the reservation page.

18 %

Efficient Cost Per Reservation (CPR)

Through continuous optimization of ad creatives (focusing on torque and battery life specs), we reduced the average Cost Per Reservation (CPR) by 18% in the initial three months of the campaign, optimizing the overall media spend efficiency.

The work

How it came together.

01 / 03

Integrated Pre-Order Funnel Design

I designed and implemented the technical pathways and content sequencing for the online reservation system, ensuring a seamless user experience from initial social ad click to final deposit confirmation. This was crucial for handling the massive traffic spikes on launch day.

01 · feature

02 / 03

Utility-Focused Video Content

We moved beyond aesthetics. I oversaw the creation of short-form video content specifically demonstrating the truck's unique features, like the "Mega Power Frunk" and "Intelligent Backup Power", tailored for distribution across YouTube and LinkedIn (to target commercial buyers).

02 · feature

03 / 03

Geo-Targeted Local Dealer Integration

I developed a strategy for integrating national digital buzz with local dealer action. This involved geo-targeting national ads to ensure local dealer inventory and reservation information were immediately visible to users based on proximity, bridging the digital gap to the physical sales network.

03 · feature

What happened

The results.

Record Reservation Rate, The optimized digital funnels and persuasive copy contributed directly to achieving 200,000 reservations in the first nine months, leading Ford to double its production capacity targets.

High-Value Lead Quality, The utility-focused content strategy delivered a 38% higher lead-to-reservation conversion rate from targeted LinkedIn and YouTube ads (targeting commercial buyers) compared to general audience social media traffic.

Launch Day Stability, The integrated funnel design successfully managed a massive influx of over 1.2 million website visits on the launch day announcement without system failure, ensuring all high-value traffic was funneled directly to the reservation page.

Efficient Cost Per Reservation (CPR), Through continuous optimization of ad creatives (focusing on torque and battery life specs), we reduced the average Cost Per Reservation (CPR) by 18% in the initial three months of the campaign, optimizing the overall media spend efficiency.

Credits