Ford at Essence Fest 2024 · "She's Got Motion." National 360 + event production. Creative Director.
Ford "She's Got Motion" at Essence Fest 2024. Lineup at the booth: the Freedom of Choice — Bronco, Explorer, Mach-E, Mustang, F-150 — all on stand. SiriusXM broadcast live from the main stage to millions. The working line we built around it all: "With Ford, there are no wrong turns. Come move in your own way."
The challenge: no custom shoot. We built a fresh, electric campaign from existing assets — and engineered three on-stand activations that turned attendees into the content.
The booth's centerpiece — a Fordified runway with the vehicles lining the path like VIP red carpet. Attendees registered, received a giveaway, then strutted down in front of the car. A fashion photographer captured each pose. Every guest walked away with a digital print — a polaroid-style takeaway that hero'd them alongside the vehicle. Glam, motion, ownership in one frame.
A collaborative mural built live. The prompt: What moves you? Attendees wrote their answers, got photographed, and pinned both (card + photo) to a growing 16×12 wall. Two prints each — one for the wall, one to keep. By day three the wall itself was the art.
A transparent Essence Magazine cover frame attendees could stand behind for a cover-shot photo. Designed for UGC — she is the cover, Ford is the context. Built into her post before she left the booth.
100×100 ft booth. 24×12 ft stage for SiriusXM. Sign-in iPads, custom carpet treatments, double-sided 16×12 SEG graphic walls, lounge seating, vehicle displays. Significant budget constraint — solved by designing for shareability over scale.
The activation, in motion. Ford’s presence across the weekend in New Orleans — pavilion, panels, performances, ambassadors — cut into one piece.
Completed 2024
The five routes we presented: She’s Got Motion, which ran, and Rise Beyond All Limits, Voltage, Merger and Route 03, with the summary of all five first.
The booth rendering, the floor plan, the zones and the merchandise.
The pavilion at Essence Fest 2024: the crowd, and the Mustang convertible on the floor.
The five-slice carousel and the launch posts, at full resolution.
The landing page, the email and the display banners.
Posters, print and the tote bag.
Owned channels: IG in-feed, IG Reels, Facebook and Twitter. Ford Essence Fest performance metrics; 2023 as the comparison.
Directed all creative execution for Ford’s activation at the 2024 Essence Festival — one of the largest festivals in the world — with a multidisciplinary team of designers, writers and producers.
The activation had to cover physical, digital and social on a tight budget, so the strategy was designed to stretch: one booth build taken from design through production, with sweepstakes campaigns, social content, web banners and event signage built off it, and the talent and influencer partnerships managed alongside.