Unique online advert campaigns is Ford’s brand in a box as of late but will mid-sized sedans sell to a younger social media savvy populace?
Wayne Gerdes -
CleanMPG - June 28, 2012
2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid as seen at the NAIAS show floor this past January -- A guaranteed 2013 NACOTY award winner but sales success will depend on a lot more than any media campaign or NASCAR promotion.
Ford is readying what they are describing as a “Transmedia” campaign for the upcoming all-new 2013 Fusion called: ‘Random Acts of Fusion’. The new marketing initiative promises to deliver an entertaining and experiential introduction for the all-new sedan.
Jim Farley, Ford’s Group VP of Marketing, Sales & Service was behind the “Fiesta Movement”, a first of its kind youth oriented involvement campaign where 100 European Fiesta’s were given to social media active youngsters to do essentially whatever they wanted for a lengthy period of time. The program created a tremendous amount of online Buzz as we covered it in detail almost on a daily basis way back in the day but the program yielded few results in terms of Fiesta’s consumer popularity once released to the general public for sale.
For the “Transmedia” Ford Fusion campaign, Farley is surely hoping for better results.
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“Combining social media, entertainment and unexpected consumer experiences will allow us to connect with audiences through every type of media, making Fusion’s profile larger than ever.”
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Random Acts of Fusion will star a number of personalities from consumers to celebrities – including Emmy Award-winning TV and radio host and producer Ryan Seacrest – as the program crisscrosses the country introducing the all-new Fusion to millions.
According to Ford, Random Acts of Fusion will play out over time through a story arc across a variety of media channels that will be driven by digital and experiential while also including radio, broadcast and social media.
As time goes on, people will better understand why the program is titled Random Acts of Fusion and how that relates to the car itself.
Consumers can start to piece the puzzle together by visiting the Ford Fusion Facebook page to find out more details this week.
What the Ford team really needs to do is price the all-new 2013 Fusion right and it will sell by itself. It is all but guaranteed to be the 2013 North American Car of the Year and as far as sales success, let’s hope Ford keeps its pencils sharpened instead of creating a media circus while overpricing the vehicle like Chevrolet recently did with the 2013 Malibu and Malibu Eco.
Regarding the 2013 Fusion, it’s a sharp looker and with a 47/44 mpgUS city/highway rating when equipped with the 62 mph glide capable Ford eCVT mated to an atkinsonized 2.0L in the hybrid, the only thing standing in its way is the possible price. The $27,995 base price Ford is considering is an obstacle that no amount of media spending will overcome when it comes to Joe and Jane Q. Public making the decision to purchase or not unfortunately
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