Brand: Fiesta (Ford)
Execution: Web, Twitter, Facebook, Experiential Marketing
Target: Urban Drivers
Rating: *****
Reviewer: David Vinjamuri

Description:
To launch the 2011 Ford Fiesta, a new version of the subcompact car, Ford is using a year-long experiential marketing campaign called Fiesta Movement.  Ford interviewed over 1,000 hopefuls to award 100 of them keys to their own new Ford Fiesta for six months.  They will complete “missions” which will involve using the cars in different ways and “lifestream” the results over social media.  In parallel and during the week of the New York Auto Show’s opening, Ford invited key Twitters and Bloggers to test-drive a 2009 Euro-spec Ford Fiesta, which will is the car that the U.S. 2011 model will be based on.

What Works:
Ford hired Crayon social media guru Scott Monty to run its social marketing programs and he has put together a clever offering for the Fiesta.  Ford realized that a significant portion of subcompact sales (particularly of hot models like the Honda Fit and Nissan Versa) are clustered in five key cities around the U.S.  This made a social networking strategy viable for the brand launch of the new Fiesta. The Fiesta occupies a key market niche for Ford, one which has been long dominated by Japanese brands and is led by the Honda Fit.  The 2011 Fiesta will bring a Euro-sensibility to the small car niche as the design will be brought over from the model currently on sale in Europe.  Ford is following a classic influencer model on one end, with activities like blogger/twitterer test drives conducted around the time of major Auto Shows.  At the same time, the Fiesta Movement offers both the chance for word-of-mouth marketing and consumer generated advertising similar to the Nissan Sentra launch where blogger Adam Horowitz was challenged to live out of the car for a week.

The targeting and the social networking make this launch a good test case for both twitter and expanded social marketing programs in the car arena.

What Doesn’t:
A movement that starts a full year before the product launches is a huge commitment, so Ford will have to keep its eyes on the road to avoid crashing this one.

Branding Bottom Line:
Ford thought it was all a great idea until it put this blogger behind the wheel.

Brand: Ford Escape Hybrid (Ford Motor Company)
Execution: TV
Link: Click Here To View (Go to “Second Quarter”)
Target: Environmentalists with Families
Reviewer: David
Rating: ****

Description:
Kermit the Frog (from Jim Henson’s Muppets) is mountain biking through a beautiful landscape, singing ‘It’s not easy being green.’ Then we see him kayaking and finally rock-climbing while the song continues. At the top of the mountain, he parts evergreen tree branches to revail a Ford Escape SUV. He looks inside it and walks around until he comes to the back where he sees the badge prominently saying “Hybrid” and then says, “Hmmm. I guess it is easy being green.” The mileage for the Escape Hybrid is shown in small type at the bottom of the screen. Then the voiceover says “The thirty-six mile per gallon Ford Escape Hybrid,” as the Ford logo and ‘Escape Hybrid’ shows.

What Works:
Ford was the second spot on the Super Bowl to feature a hybrid car (Toyota was first with a ground-breaking spot featuring Hispanic actors and some Spanish language). Ford uses Kermit, the very recognizable, very green frog as a metaphor for environmental awareness. It is a very, very simple metaphor and it works. Why?

1. Good Match to the Target Consumer – Ford understands that the reason to buy a Hybrid is emotional, not rational (for the consumer, the Hybrid is still more expense that the gas it saves). The consumer who is interested in the Hybrid is a consumer who wants to feel better about the environment. The consumer who is interested in an SUV likely has a family and needs the space. The play for Ford here is simple – the end benefit of the Escape is alleviating guilt.
2. Simple Execution – A song and a nice, long product shot is all it takes to make the point here.
3. Strong Affiliation – Kermit stands for green as do hybrids. It is an easy match. Showing Kermit doing green activities also helps.
4. Strong Branding – Ford does not make the mistake of forgetting to show the product.

What Doesn’t:
Putting a muppet in a commercial has to be at least as risky as using animals, possibly more. The potential for distraction is enormous. We would instantly be worried about brand recall. But it seems to work for Ford. Still, this is something to monitor closely.

Branding Bottom Line:
Ford pushes the cute button and scores.

Brand: Ford F-150 Truck
Execution: TV
Link:
Target: Serious Pickup Users
Reviewer: David
Rating: ****

Description:
A Ford F-150 Truck is hoisted up into the air, with the entire weight of the truck carried by a bolt – 6 of which are used to bolt the flatbed to the frame of the truck.

What Works:
There is nothing original about this ad, but it WORKS. Why? Because Ford is staying absolutely true to its F-150 brand positioning “Ford Tough.” And because the “permission to believe” or “reason why” – in this case the fact that one bolt for this truck is strong enough to bear the weight of the entire truck – is believable.

Also – for those friends of mine in love with location shots, long intros and great artistry – I should note that the F-150 is the hero here – it is on camera the entire time. In a lab. Contrast this with the Nissan X-Terra spots which have the Nissan rambling all over the countryside but are nowhere near as focused in their delivery against the brand positioning.

I hate pickups and I drive an imported car, but I have to say kudos to Ford. It’s nice to see an American car manufacturer absolutely nail a spot like this.

What Doesn’t:
“Tough” isn’t a particularly unique positioning and it may be difficult to own in the long term. It does cross territory with Jeep, Hummer and a few other brands, although the products are not direct competitors in most cases. Still, Ford has done a good job over a long period of time..

Branding Bottom Line -
Ford got it right for the F-150. Now work on the rest of the product line