Ford Fiesta Movement: An Old Industry Breaking New Ground
The last recession did not spare the US automakers from its wrath. A house of cards built upon mismanagement, lack of innovation and a failure to predict the changing tastes of consumers, the American auto industry stood on a precarious edge. As the Senate Banking Committee heard testimonies from the heads of “The Big Three”, the public’s faith in the once mighty leaders crumbled away. GM and Chrysler attempted to cut costs wherever they could with GM even dropping many of its PR contracts. Amongst the mayhem, Ford saw an opportunity; an untapped resource. No one had ever tried to market a car through social media. In a last ditch effort at reclaiming its name, Ford laid its cards on the table and invited 100 “socially-vibrant 20-somethings” to a fiesta.
The success of Ford’s Fiesta Movement is staggering, and its not even over. Though the social media campaign can not take all of the credit for Ford’s resurgance, neither can the rest of Ford’s team. Surely a thank you letter addressed to Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, is in order.
Why Even Bother Making Your Own Commercial When You Can Have Someone Else Just Do It For You?
Coerced Musings 
Though I do agree that Ford own Mr Toyoda a card of thanks I think what is more important is that Ford saw an opportunity and ran with it. Using Social Media and the social capital or 100 ‘agents’ is innovative now or three years ago. I wonder how this campaign would have played out without a history of bailouts and faulty car parts.
We are on the same page here. I only mentioned Mr. Toyoda as an anecdote, not as the driving force behind this campaign. I agree with you that the impetus for this campaign was in its placement. Social media had been largely untapped in the automotive world. There is no doubt in my mind that the results would have been more or less the same regardless of any prior bailouts or faulty car parts suffered by Ford’s competitors.