Ford Will Again Use Social Media, Remixed, To Launch Revised Fiesta

Though there were some critics who mocked their first go round with marketing cars through social media, Ford is apparently happy enough with the results of the 2009 Fiesta Movement that they're bringing back the Fiesta Movement to help launch the newly refreshed 2014 Fiesta. This time they're making the campaign even more focused (no pun intended) on using online communities, calling it the Fiesta Movement: A Social Remix. The emphasis on social media means less money devoted to conventional advertising. Liz Elser, brand manager for the Fiesta line, says "TV won't be a huge part of this campaign." Social media has grown since 2009. Ford PR rep Dan Mazei explained that four years ago, "Instagram didn't exist. We didn't have these short-form video platforms like Vine. There are all these new ways they can get the content out there." As with the original Fiesta Movement, Ford is using 80 bloggers they're calling "agents", some of whom are professional entertainers. The advocates were chosen based on the number of online followers they have. For some reason, Ford selected fewer Fiesta agents than the 100 that they announced back in February. It doesn't appear that many of the agents are over the age of 30. Ford says that they are not compensated with money but they do get free use of the cars, including gasoline and insurance. The Fiesta Movement agents are expected to take to the streets and highways of America, shoot photos and make videos of their experiences in the mid-cycle-refreshed Fiesta and then post them on the aforementioned social media sites. As Elser said, Ford may be holding back on their TV buys for the Fiesta launch but since most people still do watch television in some form some of the agent created content will also end up as TV ads on shows with a youthful audience, like ESPN's X Games or American Idol (for which Ford already is a major sponsor). In the 2009 Fiesta Movement, Ford's good will agents drove their Fiestas more than a million miles, created more than 50,000 pieces of content, and generated nearly 30 million views through social media. It's not known exactly how many Fiestas they helped sell. Ford, obviously, was not displeased with the results since they're doing it again.   from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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