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Pioneering B2B Brand Strategy at Ford Pro with Iain Lanivich
Translating a retail icon into a commercial brand means harnessing great creativity, vision, grit, and a deep understanding of your customer.
In this episode, John and Kyler sit down with Iain Lanivich, Head of Brand, Creative, and Content at Ford Pro, to explore how he helped build the Ford Pro brand from the ground up. Coming from an agency background, Iain shares the surprises and challenges of operating in a corporate system not always built for creativity, and how he found ways to make it work anyway.
You’ll hear how he made the case for big ideas inside a risk-averse environment and why he believes “pre-selling” internally is the only way innovative creative gets off the ground.
Key Takeaways:
- Pre-sell Bold Ideas: Don’t wait for permission. Introduce creative thinking early so the assignment is shaped around the idea, not the other way around.
- Brand Means Productivity: Ford Pro is about saving time, cutting costs, and getting more done. Feeding that into their brand ensures customers experience them the way they want to be experienced.
- Educate to Differentiate: From dealers to internal engineers, brand storytelling needs to align everyone around the same narrative, even if they’ve been doing it the same way for decades.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Meet Iain Lanivich
(01:24) From agency life to Ford Pro creative leadership
(04:10) Why brand consistency is tougher inside big companies
(07:18) What makes Ford Pro unique in a fleet-focused world
(10:06) Clarifying “Pro”: Productivity, not professionalism
(12:48) Translating emotion into B2B fleet marketing
(15:27) Gamifying customer education with creative events
(17:59) Navigating corporate resistance to innovation
(20:51) The Pure Michigan Sleep Album story
(26:23) Breaking down the Vehicle Integration System
(31:57) How to protect creative energy in high-pressure orgs
(35:44) Small business branding advice from Iain
(38:41) Segment-based messaging vs. a one-stop shop
(43:00) Blending creativity, data, and technology in B2B
(44:00) Iain’s reflection on Ford Pro’s evolution
View all episodes
By Element ThreeTranslating a retail icon into a commercial brand means harnessing great creativity, vision, grit, and a deep understanding of your customer.
In this episode, John and Kyler sit down with Iain Lanivich, Head of Brand, Creative, and Content at Ford Pro, to explore how he helped build the Ford Pro brand from the ground up. Coming from an agency background, Iain shares the surprises and challenges of operating in a corporate system not always built for creativity, and how he found ways to make it work anyway.
You’ll hear how he made the case for big ideas inside a risk-averse environment and why he believes “pre-selling” internally is the only way innovative creative gets off the ground.
Key Takeaways:
- Pre-sell Bold Ideas: Don’t wait for permission. Introduce creative thinking early so the assignment is shaped around the idea, not the other way around.
- Brand Means Productivity: Ford Pro is about saving time, cutting costs, and getting more done. Feeding that into their brand ensures customers experience them the way they want to be experienced.
- Educate to Differentiate: From dealers to internal engineers, brand storytelling needs to align everyone around the same narrative, even if they’ve been doing it the same way for decades.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Meet Iain Lanivich
(01:24) From agency life to Ford Pro creative leadership
(04:10) Why brand consistency is tougher inside big companies
(07:18) What makes Ford Pro unique in a fleet-focused world
(10:06) Clarifying “Pro”: Productivity, not professionalism
(12:48) Translating emotion into B2B fleet marketing
(15:27) Gamifying customer education with creative events
(17:59) Navigating corporate resistance to innovation
(20:51) The Pure Michigan Sleep Album story
(26:23) Breaking down the Vehicle Integration System
(31:57) How to protect creative energy in high-pressure orgs
(35:44) Small business branding advice from Iain
(38:41) Segment-based messaging vs. a one-stop shop
(43:00) Blending creativity, data, and technology in B2B
(44:00) Iain’s reflection on Ford Pro’s evolution