Post by TonyV on Dec 2, 2009 1:50:38 GMT -5
Last Updated: December 02. 2009 1:00AM
Ford Fiesta marketing 'movement' pays off
Drivers' Web videos, blogs boost brand awareness long before model's launch
Scott Burgess / The Detroit News
Los Angeles -- It's not just marketing, it's a movement.
OK, it is just marketing, but smart marketing.
While Ford Motor Co. will officially debut the 2011 Ford Fiesta at the Los Angeles Auto Show this morning, it began its public campaign online last year: The Fiesta Movement.
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The results have been impressive.
Jim Farley, Ford's vice president of marketing, said the program is "a new way of going to market."
"Name awareness is almost 60 percent, and we haven't sold one car yet," Farley said.
The Fiesta Movement has been targeted at Internet-savvy consumers.
"The results show that Ford has been able to gain a lot of traction with younger buyers," said Ed Kim, an automotive analyst for AutoPacific.
These are the digital citizens to the new world, who don't just want to be connected to friends 24/7, they expect it. Every day another 11,000 get their driver's license in the United States.
Ford let about 100 people drive European Ford Fiestas and had them shoot video, write about their experiences on Twitter and blog about the vehicles. Known as "Fiesta Agents," each member was required to accomplish a monthly mission that varied by theme.
"Ford let us do whatever we wanted," said Hillary McHone, who put more than 37,000 miles on her Fiesta since April. The recently married McHone even used her Lime Squeeze Fiesta as the color palette for her wedding, and chose a dress of the same color. Many of the agents named their cars, and most personalized their vehicles.
For strait-laced corporate folks, it took some getting used to.
"There were a few uncomfortable moments," said Chantel Lenard, Ford's group marketing manager for small vehicles.
There were also a few accidents, said Farley, but nothing serious.
"We needed something nontraditional," Farley said. "The Fiesta Movement was not our launch, it was part of our launch."
More importantly for Ford, the program provided "an authenticity to the voice that drew a lot of people," said Sheryl Connelly, Ford's manager of global trends.
Ford realized more than 6.5 million views on YouTube of Fiesta Movement videos, and 3.3 million Twitter impressions.
"We weren't marketing a specific group, we wanted to market an attitude," Lenard said.
The idea was to focus on younger buyers, knowing that some older buyers might follow. The grass-roots campaign had some similarities to the launch of Toyota Motors Corp.'s Scion brand, which Farley led at the time.
"This is just the beginning," Farley said. "There will certainly be a Fiesta Movement II."
Movements don't just end, they evolve and Ford hopes to keep this one alive.
sburgess@detnews.com (313) 223-3217
Ford Fiesta marketing 'movement' pays off
Drivers' Web videos, blogs boost brand awareness long before model's launch
Scott Burgess / The Detroit News
Los Angeles -- It's not just marketing, it's a movement.
OK, it is just marketing, but smart marketing.
While Ford Motor Co. will officially debut the 2011 Ford Fiesta at the Los Angeles Auto Show this morning, it began its public campaign online last year: The Fiesta Movement.
Advertisement
The results have been impressive.
Jim Farley, Ford's vice president of marketing, said the program is "a new way of going to market."
"Name awareness is almost 60 percent, and we haven't sold one car yet," Farley said.
The Fiesta Movement has been targeted at Internet-savvy consumers.
"The results show that Ford has been able to gain a lot of traction with younger buyers," said Ed Kim, an automotive analyst for AutoPacific.
These are the digital citizens to the new world, who don't just want to be connected to friends 24/7, they expect it. Every day another 11,000 get their driver's license in the United States.
Ford let about 100 people drive European Ford Fiestas and had them shoot video, write about their experiences on Twitter and blog about the vehicles. Known as "Fiesta Agents," each member was required to accomplish a monthly mission that varied by theme.
"Ford let us do whatever we wanted," said Hillary McHone, who put more than 37,000 miles on her Fiesta since April. The recently married McHone even used her Lime Squeeze Fiesta as the color palette for her wedding, and chose a dress of the same color. Many of the agents named their cars, and most personalized their vehicles.
For strait-laced corporate folks, it took some getting used to.
"There were a few uncomfortable moments," said Chantel Lenard, Ford's group marketing manager for small vehicles.
There were also a few accidents, said Farley, but nothing serious.
"We needed something nontraditional," Farley said. "The Fiesta Movement was not our launch, it was part of our launch."
More importantly for Ford, the program provided "an authenticity to the voice that drew a lot of people," said Sheryl Connelly, Ford's manager of global trends.
Ford realized more than 6.5 million views on YouTube of Fiesta Movement videos, and 3.3 million Twitter impressions.
"We weren't marketing a specific group, we wanted to market an attitude," Lenard said.
The idea was to focus on younger buyers, knowing that some older buyers might follow. The grass-roots campaign had some similarities to the launch of Toyota Motors Corp.'s Scion brand, which Farley led at the time.
"This is just the beginning," Farley said. "There will certainly be a Fiesta Movement II."
Movements don't just end, they evolve and Ford hopes to keep this one alive.
sburgess@detnews.com (313) 223-3217