Ford Bets On Social Networking

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/04/how-the-fiesta.html

It seems as though Ford is looking to harness the power of social networking to promote their new car called the Ford Fiesta. It is interesting to see a traditionally old-school advertising industry (TV ads and billboards) looking to try different methods of advertising. It is a large gamble but it could pay off and perhaps other car manufacturers will start to use this model for spreading the word.

This article caught my attention because I am working for Ford come summer time. During my interview process I was combined with both people applying for a technology job like myself, but also with finance and marketing people. Although most of my discussions were in separate groups from the marketing candidates, I was able to speak to many of them and marketing was also discussed during a presentation. The bottom line seemed to be that the customers that considered themselves to be “Ford drivers” were older, and it was a custom passed down through generations. There were 2 big things being discussed, one being more fuel efficient cars and the other was trying to market to a younger audience. I think this article describes just how they plan on reaching a younger audience and as we all know from how fast social networks can spread, I think using channels like Facebook is a great idea for the strongest of the big 3.