Ford Bets On Social Media For Fiesta

Ford is gambling on the power of social media for the new marketing campaign surrounding the Ford Fiesta subcompact. The auto giant handed over 100 new Fiestas to "agents" selected from 4,000 applicants and created YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter accounts for them to relay their experiences. "Ford is taking a hands-off approach and telling participants not to hold back their opinions, bolstering the campaign's credibility. 'We've told them to be completely honest — that's the only way it's going to work,' Monty told us. 'We won't tell them what to say, nor will we censor or edit any of their content.' So far, it's working in Ford's favor. The tweets on the FordFiesta Twitter page are generally favorable, if a bit dry, as are the posts over at The Fiesta Movement Facebook page. None of the 80 pictures on the Fiesta Movement Flickr page show broken down cars. There are a few hundred videos on the FiestaMovement YouTube account if anyone's got a few hours to kill."

Comments

Twitter... again?

[MrEricSir]

Why is Twitter suddenly such a big deal? Yesterday we hear that Oprah is starting to use Twitter, now Ford. But why?

Is Twitter really some kind of revolution, or is everyone jumping on a random bandwagon because they're afraid they'll look behind the times if they don't?

Re:Twitter... again?

[Sporkinum]

I remember looking at twitter a few years ago and thinking it was fucking retarded. My opinion hasn't changed.

Re:Twitter... again?

[JustinOpinion]

Twitter is a big deal because people use it. Yeah it's that simple.

Like many such things, it's a matter of network effects. There's nothing intrinsically amazing or even unique about Twitter. But some people started using it because it was fun, and it caught on. Now the pervasive reason to use it is to connect with all the people using it: either to follow people/trends you care about, or reach an audience you're interested in (whether that's "friends" or "the world" or "customers"...).

You'll also notice that Ford is not merely using Twitter. They are using Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, etc. From their point of view, Twitter is just another channel through which they can reach potential customers. Thus they just add it to the list of newspaper, phone, radio, TV, etc.

"Jumping on the bandwagon" may seem uncool, but when one is trying to connect with others, it's quite logical to join in the most popular communication channels.

Clever

[clarkkent09]

We won't tell them what to say, nor will we censor or edit any of their content.

But we gave them a free car so out of a 100 people majority are probably going to feel bad about writing something negative. It could backfire badly if the car turns out to be a pos, but if the car is at least half decent this seems like a nice marketing move.

Btw, if Lamborghini ever decides to employ the same strategy let me be the first to volunteer

Re:The special hundred

[fictionpuss]

And if there are real reasons to be sceptical, such as those as you suggest, then it'll all come out in the wash.

To me though, it just seems like one of those rare instances of a large company respecting its customer base and bravely embracing the internet - good things IMHO.

Getting large companies to get in touch with its customers like this can be really tough.. but when you think about it, and all the wasted natural resources from making crappy products.. initiatives like this should be encouraged.

Risky move

[Locke2005]

Right now, I have a lot more respect for Ford than for GM or Chrysler. They are not going bankrupt, and the new Fusion Hybrid looks to actually be a decent car. But if the marketing drones an GM or Chrysler can actually locate these blogger cars and sabotage them, then Ford is going to have a Public Relations nightmare on their hands.

Re:The special hundred

[Skyshadow]

I'm sure these are well optioned-out and checked over before they're sent out, but modern cars almost never run into issues in the first few thousand miles anyhow -- if you want to talk build quality, you need to put 20 or 30k on the odometer.