Fiesta Movement
Ford2009
Fiesta Movement is a 2009 influencer and social media campaign for Ford.
Why it works
Before the new Fiesta had even been unveiled in America, Ford handed 100 European-spec cars to 100 social-media-savvy 'agents' for six months, set them a series of missions, and let them post whatever happened, unscripted, to YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and their blogs. There was no traditional media buy. It is studied as one of the first large-scale influencer programmes by a major brand, and as a deliberate surrender of message control by a carmaker. Ford's social-media chief Scott Monty told Wired that 58% of consumers were aware of the Fiesta by the time of its official US unveiling, and Wired reported more than 6.5 million YouTube views and 50,000 requests for information, 97% from people who did not own a Ford. INSEAD's Andrew Stephen turned it into a teaching case that has repeatedly been a Case Centre best-seller and won a Case Centre award in 2013, which is why it still turns up in marketing classrooms.
Techniques
- Testimonial and endorsement A hundred social-media-savvy agents drive the car for six months, so it is introduced through their unscripted posts rather than the carmaker's own claims.
- Participation The agents complete set missions and publish whatever happens on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter and blogs, creating the campaign themselves with no traditional media buy.
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