For the second consecutive year, I was invited by Ford Canada to attend the 2016 Ford North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) Digital Summit. It’s an Exclusive VIP Event organized by Ford Motors, flying in the selected Digital Influencers from around the world to meet together and cover one of the largest North American Auto Shows in the world that is happening from January 11-24, 2016. I was one of the lucky exclusive Canadian Digital Influencers representing Canada.
It’s a 3-day Media Trip Event. First of all, let me start off with a summary of my Ford NAIAS Day-1 Itinerary so that you have a bigger picture of how my media event went.
Day 2 – Ford NAIAS Media Trip
1) Woke up early at around 7:00 am to walk into the atrium to grab breakfast and meet with other Influencers.
2) There was a breakfast buffet stations with goodies such as scrambled eggs, bacon, fruits, yogurt, etc. There was also a omelette station where a chef can cook it on the spot. I luv my eggs dearly so I ordered two sunny-side up eggs (MoVernie Question: How do you like your eggs?).
3) Went back to my hotel room, changed my clothes and grabbed my equipment and hopped onto the coach bus. We were heading to the Cobo Center, where the North American International Auto Show took place.
4) Grabbed our NAIAS wrist band and walked into the auto show. First stop we made was to check out the Ford Blue Oval Headquarter. Man! This place is gigantic, it had 2 floors. FYI – Ford had the biggest floor space at the NAIAS. In the middle of the Ford Blue Oval HQ, there was a big central screens, it displayed the tweets posted by Influencers who used the hashtag #FordNAIAS. That’s just show you how forward thinking and how much Ford believes in Social Media and being thoughtful to know how to communicate with the new generations.
5) At the Ford Blue Oval HQ, there were tons of interactive display and activities for the media and public to do. On both ends of the floor space, you could see a beautiful white Ford Explorer being lifted up high in the air after it picked up some show-goers to let them check out the innovation and technologies Ford had developed over the years.
6) On the other end of the floor space, the award-winning 2015 North American International Truck of the Year, F-150 Truck was lifted up as well with passengers, showcasing the attendees its state-of-the-art automatic system that would help ease you to backup your trailer or unload your boat when you are backing up. In the past, it’s a pain to backing up your truck when you have limited visibility in backing up your truck with tons of equipment behind you. Ford Motors listened to what its customers needs and its engineers developed a system that will make its customers’ lives better and easier.
7) On the second floor, there sits the gorgeous show-stopper 2016 Ford GT Super Car. Last year, this vehicle shocked the automotive world with its debut in the signature blue colour. This year, it’s shown with the white body paint. Trust me, every angle, every colour, this ride looks great!
8) After chilling for a bit at the Ford Blue Oval HQ, we were headed to the Joe Louis Arena to check out the Ford Presentation.
9) Joe Louis Arena is home to the NHL Detroit Red Wings, its an iconic building full of history. All of the brands at the auto show, Ford is the ONLY brand that conducted its presentation at the Joe Louis Arena. Meanwhile, other brands conducted its presentation at their respective show space. Ford really is a BIG player at the Detroit Auto Show & it really takes its product presentation seriously.
10) CEO Mark Fields and Executive Chairman Bill Ford took the stage, they thanked and greeted the media for attending the Ford presentations.
11) The best part of the Ford presentation? Famous Host of the American Idol, Ryan Seacrest was the host for this Ford presentation. Totally didn’t know he would be here, especially he was at the Golden Globes the night before. It’s so cool to see him at the auto show. Apparently, Ryan is a big supporter of Ford products for many many years and Ford has been a proud sponsor of the American Idol show for a long time, so it was a great connection there.
12) Ford showcased its 2017 Ford Raptor.
13) Ford also showcased its 2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid.
14) Ford also showcased its development on its “Autonomous” self-driving vehicles. They are the first car company to conduct testing of its autonomous vehicles under snow and ice conditions.
15) To make its consumer’s lives better by understanding what its customers needs. Ford introduced a concept called “Ford Pass”. What is “FordPass”? FordPass is part of Ford Smart Mobility – which is a strategy that combines connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, customer experience, data and analytics to better serve its customers.
16) After the Ford Presentation, we walked by to the Ford Blue Oval HQ, Ryan Seacrest was busy doing a Q&A session with university students about life and career choices.
17) Grabbed some lunch and beverages at the Ford Blue Oval HQ.
18) Decided to walk around the rest of the auto show to see what other car brands have to offer and also attended some of their presentations, unveiling some of its products to the world for the first time.
19) Mark Fields, CEO of Ford held a session with the students, answering their questions. Mark also shared his insights, his own experiences and his own career paths and shared with the students. The session was inspiring and really provided some motivational messages to encourage the students to find their own paths and goals and continue to work hard to fulfill their respective dreams.
20) Returned back to the Ford Blue Oval HQ. Davindra Ramnarine (@1goatroti), another FordNAIAS Digital Influencer and I interviewed President and CEO of Ford Canada, Dianne Craig at the Executive Ford Lounge.
(Photo: Craig Silva)
20) After the interview, Ford unveiled its first Ford Fusion Nascar.
21) We attended the Ford NAIAS Party in the evening, located right at the Ford Blue Oval HQ. Drinks and food were served. Live music pumping!
21) At the Ford NAIAS Party, Ford & Lego announced their partnerships in producing two lego play sets. One featuring the iconic Ford Mustang. The other play set consists of the historic Ford Model T and the 2017 Ford Raptor.
20) Hopped back on the coach bus and headed back to the Westin Hotel.
21) Mingled with other Ford NAIAS Influencers at the lounge area.
22) Went back to my hotel room and did some social media work.
23) Went for a nice sleep, all tugged in the comfy bed sheets and bed.
End of Day 2 of my MoVernie Ford NAIAS Media Trip.
Make sure you follow me on Instagram (@RealMoVernie) and Twitter (@MoVernie) as I will be posting awesome photos and videos at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).
And MoVernie is outta here!
Follow @FordCanada and @Ford on Twitter!
Also Follow #FordNAIAS for updates!
For NAIAS business hours or admission prices, click the site here.
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