Ford Flex gives out iPhone application to alter photos

While the Flex has been off to a slow start since its launch in June -- despite strong reviews -- its promotional iPhone application already has caught fire.

The automaker hadn’t even officially announced the release of the program, but nearly 20,000 potential Flex buyers already had downloaded the free application by today.

The program allows users to enhance photographs on their iPhone with a variety of fun features, or learn more about the Flex.

Once the application is opened, users can enter a darkroom, where they can alter photographs with special effects. For example, a user can run a photograph through a kaleidoscope filter, using his or her finger to circulate the image, and save the end result.

Or they can tap a door called “Discover Flex,” which promotes the features of the new crossover.

Ford, like other automakers and sellers of consumer products, has been struggling to break through the cluttered multimedia marketplace and find ways to get its message about its new cars and trucks to consumers.

Earlier this year, Audi released the Audi A4 Driving Challenge, a free iPhone game to promote its 2009 A4 sedan.

In an interview today, Usha Raghavachari, Ford’s marketing communications manager for crossovers, told the Free Press that Ford commissioned the program “to create a little more buzz” around the Flex.

Ford sold 7,552 Flexes in the United States between June, when the vehicle started arriving in showrooms, and September, a performance that is far short of the company’s objectives but difficult to evaluate in the brutal economic climate. However, Kate Pearce, marketing manager for the Flex, said the vehicle is now the leader within Ford for attracting non-Ford customers.

What’s more, buyers are opting for highly equipped versions of the Flex, she said: 47% of the Flexes sold are the top-of-the-line Limited model, which starts at $34,705. Nearly one-third of consumers are choosing to equip their Flex with the rear refrigerator console, which costs an additional $760.

Raghavachari also said many consumers are attracted to the Flex because of the strong technological offerings, such as Sync wireless communications and entertainment technology, as well as Sirius Travel Link. So launching an iPhone application, she said, fits in with reaching the target consumer.