To drive excitement and sales leads for the North American launch of the 2011 Ford Fiesta, Ford has launched a multi-tiered program of events in four Northeast markets (New England, Philadelphia, the New York/Tri-state area and Washington, D.C.)
The Fiesta Northeast tour follows on the heels of the Fiesta Movement, the savvy, award-winning national campaign that put 100 agents behind the wheel of their own Fiesta for six months and had them document the experience on their social networks.
The local program consists of Ford-sponsored events such as Boston Red Sox Fans Days or Philadelphia’s Fiesta Rocks concert in September, sponsored in partnership with Live Nation. In addition, local pop-up events at dealerships, festivals and local businesses take place in each market. At both types of events, consumers can test-drive the vehicle with a FORD product specialist on a closed circuit TV and check out the voice-activated Sync technology. The best part? Video cameras inside the cars capture the experience and upload content to thefordcast.com, Flickr, Twitter and the brand’s Facebook page. The results?
The promotion effectively fosters conversation between the brand and consumers while generating buzz and feedback about the Fiesta.
Location-based Marketing
Four personalized Twitter accounts and FourSquare profiles update fans on where the tour is headed and share content. Consumers also are asked to check in on FourSquare or Gowalla and share their experiences via their own Twitter and Facebook accounts.
To individualize the experience, the tour developed a personality for each of the four markets that reflects the unique target consumer in those areas. Three dedicated vehicles and a road crew of six to eight people travelled to each market.
The Target
Trendy, hipster Tri-State residents who frequent art museums and weekend farmers markets, for example, test drive the Fiesta Lime Squeeze Hatch, Blue Flame Hatch and Tuxedo Black Sedan, which have been detailed with “tattoos” to reflect the personality of this market. Sporty, spirited, proud Philadelphia folk who jog in the park or escape to the beach on weekends, on the other hand, try out an appropriately decorated Lime Squeeze Hatch, Blue Flame Hatch and the Red Candy Sedan. New Englanders are casual, fun-loving and outdoorsy types; Washington, D.C. residents are preppy, connected and in the know.
Throughout the tour, Ford is giving away four new Fiestas, one in each market, to consumers who attend an event, support social media or sign up on thefordcast.com. Props to agency: Mr. Youth based in New York City. While it may be hard for some to get excited about Ford's Fiesta per se, this integrated campaign tries hard to break through with a strong mix of above the line activities/support (TV/Print/Radio) - and more to our interests - a strong hyper-local promotional strategy, automated participatory/social media elements, PR 2.0., Experiential and location-based marketing.
Solid work all round, however, a few elements would have amplified activities further. Leveraging emerging technology, adding YouTube UGC/ stronger viral video activity, and most importantly employing (more sophomoric) HUMOUR (perfect for this target audience defined). Just imagine if FORD had married their campaign with something like Mekanism's work for Toyota ("Your Other You") http://bit.ly/1yJ2qi Something that would allow users to personalize a Fiesta in a clever, intelligent (and viral way) whereby users want to share the Fiesta with their friends (regardless of the branded content) because it's so cool and fun. Agency: JWT Team Detroit, Action Marketing Group, Undercurrent.
More on FORD's Fiesta Movement.
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Goodbuzz Inc. is a Digital Ad Agency that creates social media campaigns that entice consumers to play, create, and share brand experiences. Note: Any / all product names mentioned in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby acknowledged.
