Driving into new markets with Ford Motor Company
San Francisco’s Annual Chinese New Year Festival is the largest Asian event outside of Asia, boasting over ONE MILLION attendees each year, making it a prime opportunity for brands looking to connect with the Asian American community.
Ford Motor Company saw the potential and contracted to be the event’s Presenting Sponsor for 5 years, looking to maximize its impact and engagement with this multi-cultural audience.
The festival lives in the streets of San Francisco, shutting down traffic. Because of this, each sponsor must build, literally from scratch, their entire presence, from flooring to signage, to décor and more. The only thing provided are tents and tables on the gravel streets. It was our job to make the Ford block come to life!As the largest Asian event outside of Asia, San Francisco’s Annual Chinese New Year Festival draws over one million attendees each year, making it a prime opportunity for brands looking to connect with the Asian American community. Ford Motor Company saw the potential and signed on as the event’s Presenting Sponsor, looking to maximize its impact and engagement throughout the festival.
To bring Ford’s sponsorship to life, PanCom International, Ford’s agency of record, partnered with EMM to develop a high-visibility, high-impact presence that extended beyond the standard exhibitor footprint. Our first step was a deep dive into Ford’s exhibitor contract, identifying every possible opportunity for exposure. From there, we built a comprehensive, immersive event strategy that integrated Ford into every facet of the festival experience.
To bring Ford’s sponsorship to life, we developed a high-visibility, high-impact presence that extended beyond the standard exhibitor footprint. Specifically, we:
Took a deep dive into Ford’s exhibitor contract, identifying every possible opportunity for exposure.
Built a comprehensive, immersive event plan and budget to integrate Ford into every facet of the festival experience.
Designed and built Ford’s booth experience.
Managed staffing, coordinated cars, and staged the latest vehicle lineups.
Secured prime ad placement and created all display ads
Coordinated Ford’s presence for the parade and float displays
Worked closely with festival organizers to unlock additional branding opportunities, ensuring Ford’s presence was woven seamlessly into the event, from signage and print materials to interactive touchpoints that engaged attendees.
Managed every detail of the onsite presence
Over the course of six consecutive years, EMM managed every detail—from designing and activating Ford’s booth experience to staging their latest vehicle lineup, securing prime advertising placements, and even coordinating Ford’s presence in the parade and float displays. We worked closely with festival organizers to unlock additional branding opportunities, ensuring Ford’s presence was woven seamlessly into the event, from signage and print materials to interactive touchpoints that engaged attendees.
With a $1M+ budget under our management, we delivered a creative, maximum engagement, and flawlessly-executed sponsorship activation that not only elevated Ford’s visibility but also reinforced its connection with the community.