Ford Dives into Social Media

Autos Articles | June 5, 2009

The Ford Fiesta will finally be available to U.S. customers next year as part of Ford's strategy of offering a single global product lineup. Recently redesigned, the latest Fiesta is a compact hatchback that balances efficiency and sportiness and it has already seen tremendous sales success in Europe. Its success has fueled anticipation among American consumers and dealers alike, but to help maintain the anticipation, Ford has created a new campaign to generate interest.

To excite North American consumers about their latest offering, Ford has already shipped 100 Fiestas to the U.S. as part of the automaker's Fiesta Movement campaign. For the next six months, 100 Americans will drive a Fiesta completely free of charge as they record their experience and impressions of the vehicle online via fiestamovement.com.

The Fiesta Movement campaign is comprised of young and well-connected drivers. The campaign is intended to leverage social media to spur grassroots interest in the Fiesta and generate demand for the car leading up to its release.

This bold campaign is plenty risky for Ford as few companies have had success running similar viral campaigns. However, Ford Tacoma and other observers recognize that Ford has plenty to gain if the campaign proves to be successful. For a limited financial investment, Ford can put the Fiesta in the hands of influencers and in front of its target demographic at a significantly lower cost than a traditional media buy.

Of course not everyone believes that such a campaign will be capable of enticing consumers. First, with a free car, free insurance, and even free parking, how can anyone expect these drivers to give completely unbiased opinions of the vehicle? Despite these perks, Ford’s social media guru Scott Monty has indicated that the Fiesta Movement drivers were instructed to be truthful and honest. To do their part, Ford will not censor or edit the content generated by those participating in the campaign.

Although the campaign is risky, Ford has little to worry about and everything to gain. With brisk sales of the Fiesta in Europe

, the Ford Fiesta seems poised to be a success in North America soon enough.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joe Kent is a writer for TK Carsites, an automotive website design and marketing firm in Orange, CA, that specializes in automotive SEO and working with car dealers nationwide.