Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

Do You Have What It Takes?

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Are you a social media mover and shaker? Do your friends hang on your every word or at least enjoy your online photo galleries and YouTube videos? Most importantly, are you a Fusion fanatic? Then, your moment in the spotlight may have just arrived?

Ford is conducting a nationwide search for passionate 2010 Fusion and Fusion Hybrid owners to participate in Fusion 41, a consumer program designed to build awareness and excitement around the all-new 201 Ford Fusion.

The Fusion 41 program – named for the unsurpassed 41 mpg fuel economy that makes Fusion America’s most fuel-efficient midsize sedan, and the 41 participants – builds on the success of the Ford Drive One advertising campaign, which focuses on actual customers experiencing new Ford vehicles and sharing their stories with others. The Fusion 41 consumer story will come to life on the Internet, through social networking sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

How Fusion 41 works
Eight 2010 Fusion owners from throughout the country will be selected to participate in the Fusion 41. They will be chosen based on their passion for Fusion and their ability to share compelling information about the vehicle on the Internet. Applicants must have a current Facebook profile with a minimum of 100 friends and an active photo collection.

Each of the eight Fusion owners will then choose four friends or family members to join their team, and each team will be given a 2010 Ford Fusion or Fusion Hybrid to drive in an automotive relay race. To complete the relay, each team member must fulfill an assigned task within 41 hours, tracking competitive variables such as miles driven, stops made or the number of passengers picked up.

The winning team will be chosen based on their ability to complete the activities and provide proof by uploading photos and videos to various social media sites, including Facebook. The Fusion owner of the winning team will have their vehicle paid off, and team members will win free gas for one year.

2010 Fusion owners interested in competing in Fusion 41 may apply at www.fusion41.com between now and November 6.

Ford fuels social media
Research shows that social media sites are increasingly one of the best ways to reach out to consumers. Prior to the development of the Fusion 41 program, Ford expanded its presence on Facebook with a new application for its “Fusion + Hybrid” profile called “You Speak Green” that enables visitors to share their sustainable lifestyle suggestions. Since its launch in mid-July, more than 104,000 Facebook users have downloaded the application to their profile pages and 15,000 have posted tips.

Another example of Ford’s groundbreaking social media outreach is its support of the Fiesta Movement campaign to promote the company’s sporty, savvy new small car through social media agents. Agent postings have garnered significant numbers on social media sites, including more than 4.8 million YouTube views (www.fiestamovement.com), more than 600,000 Flickr views and more than 3.2 million Twitter impressions.

Quote
“Fusion 41 is a fun way to engage customers and get them talking about the all-new 2010 Fusion. There’s no better way to spread the word about our new products than by putting them into the hands of prospective customers and enabling them to experience our vehicles firsthand.”
– Jeff Eggen, Ford Car Experiential Marketing Manager

Tags: Facebook, Fiesta Movement, Ford, Ford Fusion, Ford Motor Company, Fusion 41 program, Fusion Hybrid, social media, You Speak Green, YouTube

Posted in Ford Cars - text, Ford Drive Experiences - text, Ford Fusion - text, Ford and the Environment - text | No Comments »

Ever Wonder What You Have to Do to Earn A ‘Key to the City’? Don’t Ask.

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Comedian Mark Malkoff and the Fusion Hybrid

What’s the deal with earning a “key to the city?” What gargantuan lock does it unfasten anyway? As civic rituals go it’s kind of an absurd photo op. Everyone gathers on the steps of City Hall and the mayor hands a humongous old-fashioned key to some grinning citizen. How about giving them a “get out of jail for free” card instead? It promises more action.

One wonders what comedian Mark Malkoff will have to do on his current quest to see how many mayors east of the Mississippi he can convince to give him keys to their cities. The jokester – who has made news before for doing unusual things like living and sleeping in an IKEA store for a week while his apartment was being fumigated – is undertaking this 28-day odyssey in a fuel-efficient fashion, behind the wheel of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Maybe you remember the Fusion Hybrid – America’s most fuel-efficient midsize sedan – making news in April when it set a world record traveling 1,445 miles on a single tank of gas. The Fusion boasts an EPA-estimated 41 mpg in the city.

Malkoff says he's thrilled to be partnered with the new Ford Fusion Hybrid, adding “I always tell people I feel like I'm driving KITT from 'Knight Rider' because of all the cool technology in the car. It's the best car I've ever driven."

All of Malkoff's adventures behind the wheel of the Fusion Hybrid will be chronicled in cyberspace. Videos, photos and blogs will be featured daily at www.markmalkoff.com/keystothecity, and Malkoff will provide interested followers with regular updates on social networking sites such as Twitter, Flickr and Facebook.

Malkoff and the Ford Fusion Hybrid began their quest into the unknown Monday in Harrisburg, Pa., where the mayor had a somewhat peculiar task in store for him to complete in order to earn a key to the city. Apparently, all of the police officers ride on horses, so the mayor wanted Malkoff to follow them around and clean up after the horses in order to get the key.

Malkoff, who readily admits he will do just about anything to get a key, says he hopes to earn 100 keys before his journey with the Ford Fusion Hybrid ends on Nov. 1.

Quotes
"Once people start finding out about this, mayors from all over the country are going to be Twittering me to come to their cities," he said. "I like doing things that on paper look almost impossible to pull off."
– Mark Malkoff, comedian

"Mark will be connected and working constantly with both hands securely on the wheel, thanks to the Fusion Hybrid's voice-activated Ford SYNC® communication system," said Eggen. "It also will be great to see Mark's reaction to his own real-world fuel economy."
– Jeff Eggen, Ford car experiential marketing manager

Tags: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, Blog, Facebook, Flickr, Ford, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Ford Motor Company, Fusion Hybrid, Key to the City, Mark Malkoff, midsize sedan, Technology, Twitter

Posted in Ford Cars - text, Ford Fusion - text, Ford in Entertainment - Text | No Comments »

‘Fusion + Hybrid’ Facebook Friends Flock to ‘You Speak Green’ App

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Debbie Santiago is turning off the lights when she leaves a room. Frances Ruiz is avoiding plastic water bottles in favor of an aluminum bottle. And Kameel Zakaria is using a rain barrel for watering his garden. These are just a few of the more than 15,000 people who have shared "green" lifestyle tips on the new "Fusion + Hybrid" Facebook app called "You Speak Green" – the latest example of Ford's campaign to engage consumers on their own terms.

Drawing a crowd
Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are more popular than ever. That's why Ford has increased its presence in the digital space to better enable an open dialogue with consumers about sustainable lifestyle choices in which personal transportation can be both environmentally responsible and fun.

Data suggest that social media sites are increasingly one of the best ways to reach out to consumers. According to Nielsen Company research, the total minutes spent on social networking sites in the U.S. has increased in 2009 by 83 percent year-over-year. Total minutes spent on Facebook increased nearly 700 percent year-over-year, growing from 1.7 billion minutes in April 2008 to 13.9 billion in April 2009, the most recent month reported.

The new Ford Fusion "You Speak Green" Facebook app is designed to encourage people to talk about ways to live sustainably and features a vine graphic that grows with each new eco-conscious comment, demonstrating the power of a collective effort through recycling, water conservation and other actions. Its design was inspired by the Fusion Hybrid's innovative SmartGauge™ instrument cluster, which uses a similar leafy vine that grows as the motorist drives more fuel efficiently.

The app, which Ford created in collaboration with Wunderman-Team Detroit and social technology provider Vitrue, is an interactive component of the online "We Speak Car" campaign (http://www.fordvehicles.com/2010fusion/) that debuted in March. Since the app's mid-July launch, more than 104,000 Facebook users have downloaded it to their profile pages and 21,000 have posted tips. You can download the "We Speak Car" Facebook app here.

Another example of Ford's groundbreaking social media outreach is its support of the Fiesta Movement campaign to promote the company's sporty, savvy new small car through social media agents. Agent postings have garnered significant numbers on social media sites, including more than 3.5 million YouTube views (www.fiestamovement.com), more than 440,000 Flickr views and more than 2.7 million Twitter impressions.

Fusion's sales momentum
As more consumers become aware of the Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid's fuel efficiency and innovative technologies, sales for both models are achieving all-time records. For August, Ford Fusion retail sales were up 132 percent year-over-year – a sales record.

Familiarity and favorable opinion of the Ford Fusion brand also is on the rise by as much as 65 percent compared with last year. There is increased interest in the Fusion by import shoppers, with almost half of Toyota Camry shoppers now putting the Fusion and Fusion Hybrid on their lists.

More than half of the Fusion and Fusion Hybrid's buyers are leaving competitive brands, with 60 percent of Fusion Hybrid customers abandoning imports. Customers also are choosing well-equipped and fuel-efficient models, with the I-4 and Fusion Hybrid accounting for 71 percent of sales. Customers are also embracing Fusion technology offerings like navigation, SYNC® and Sony® Audio.

Quotes:

"The user response to the Fusion Facebook 'You Speak Green' app has been outstanding. By providing users tools to support and amplify their self expression and their point of view, we veer away from being intrusive and start to build a true relationship. That relationship will build brand awareness and consideration in an authentic way."
– Adam Barrow, Ford digital marketing analyst

"Fusion and Fusion Hybrid, in particular, are attracting many car buyers to Ford dealerships who are new to the brand, and Ford's presence on social media sites like Facebook is helping to drive showroom traffic by increasing awareness of the Fusion's great fuel economy and innovative technologies."
– Greg Scott, Fusion and Fusion Hybrid marketing manager

Tags: Facebook, Fiesta Movement, Ford Fusion, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Fordmotorcompany, fuel efficiency, Fusion Hybrid, SmartGuage, You Speak Green

Posted in Ford Fusion - text, Ford and the Environment - text | No Comments »

THE FIESTA MOVEMENT

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

Ford asks tech-savvy consumers to share their Fiesta driving experience socially.

In a new program dubbed “Fiesta Movement”, Ford will choose up to 100 vehicle enthusiasts to drive a Fiesta and share their hands-on experience online at Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. The pre-launch program is like no other as it is uniquely focused on social media – indicative of the progressive marketing ideas taking shape at Ford. Consumers will be able to connect to the Fiesta discussion, and capture and share their experiences digitally.

Starting in late spring, the chosen consumers, called “agents”, will be asked to complete “missions” in their Fiesta. The missions take them to new places, to meet new people and to experience new things, all while bringing their friends and followers along for the ride. As well, additional consumers will also get a hands-on experience with the Fiesta in the form of test drives -100,000 in all.

Applications for those who want to be an “agent” in the Fiesta Movement can be found online at fiestamovement.com or fordvehicles.com/2011fiesta. The application also asks applicants to submit a two to five minute video explaining why they want the opportunity to become part of the Fiesta Movement. Applications will be accepted through March 13, 2009.

Quotes

“It’s one thing to talk about the vehicle, but it’s another to put people into the vehicle and let them experience it. To give people the hands-on experience to get excited about the Fiesta this early, is a great opportunity.”
- Connie Fontaine, Ford Brand Content and Alliances Manager

“This is another demonstration of ‘One Ford.’ Now that we are leveraging our global reach, this presents a unique opportunity. It’s already been launched in Europe with success, and now it’s our turn.”
- Sam De La Garza, Small Car Marketing Manager

“By focusing on social networks, the Fiesta Movement embraces a fundamental shift in the way people are communicating. The Fiesta brand is already being talked about…and we want to keep the conversation moving.”
- Sam De La Garza, Small Car Marketing Manager

Tags: Consumer reviews, Facebook, Fiesta Movement, Flickr, Ford Fiesta, social media, YouTube

Posted in Ford Fiesta - text | No Comments »