the blaze strategy

How do you throw a community party on a global scale?

That was Ford Motor Co.’s communications challenge as it celebrated the rebirth of Michigan Central Station in downtown Detroit after a six-year, multimillion-dollar restoration project shepherded by executive chair Bill Ford.

“The story was a big part of the strategy, laid out by Bill Ford, which was for Detroit to reclaim its mantle as a leading global technology and cultural center — for the Motor City to remain the Motor City. It was an audacious vision," says Ruderfer. “What that set up was the communications challenge: how can the Detroit community have this cathartic moment decades in the making? And how can Ford share its future vision of the city with the world?"