Car companies seem to really like the iPad. A number of car brands including BMW, Audi, and others have produced iPad apps that act as brochures or magazines, and today Ford has released its first iPad app, a digital brochure for the 2011 Ford Fiesta.
While not exactly groundbreaking, the app really doesn’t need to be – it just needs to be slick and work well, and it does both nicely. Also, it is what it is – it isn’t an “app” anymore than the Audi Magazine “app” is – it’s just a nice way to view marketing focused content that people interested in this car might find appealing. So what exactly does it offer? For one, the app lets you swipe the screen in any direction to go to the next screen and also includes the following features/content:
- View 360-degree views of both the exterior and interior
- See the differences in Sedan/Hatchback models and trim levels
- Shows the 15 class-exclusive features
- Play with the Fiesta’s 4″ LCD multi-functional display
- Watch videos
- View all of Fiesta’s exterior colors, including Lime Squeeze and Bright Magenta
- See accessories on the car, including body graphics
- Find your closest dealer
- Check current dealer inventory
- Request a price quote
We reached out to Scott Kelly at Ford’s Digital Marketing department to see if this app would be the start of many iPad apps to come, and he responded in an email:
“We consider this first app an experiment. We want to understand how customers use new devices like mobile in the shopping process. We will always have websites but we believe new devices, especially those like the iPad demand a different experience. This app in particular brings together the elegance of holding that “traditional” brochure with the interactivity of videos and seeing multiple colors and views that was traditionally limited to PCs/Macs. Everything we learn will drive what we do in the future.”
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As Kelley says, this app is an experiment, and Ford is certainly not alone in experimenting with the new tablet form factor. That said, hopefully moving forward we’ll see more interactive and fully featured iPad apps that really take advantage of the form factor and go beyond slick marketing, whether in the auto or in other industries.
You can download the free app on iTunes.
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