On February 9th, 2011, Matt VanDyke, the director of US Communications for Ford Motor Company came to speak in the Herg. Auditorium in Newhouse 3. Matt and his team were named “Marketer of the Year” by Advertising Age. They won based on their industry and leading use of digital and social media techniques.
Matt’s speech, “Breaking out of the Box” consisted of his breakthroughs for Ford and how he managed to get the product out to the public in a new and inventive way. Matt knew that Ford had a stigma for being the American car company that reeked of oversized and gas-guzzling automobiles and trucks. He was faced with the challenge of switching over to please a new market of people who valued smaller, more fuel efficient cars.
Ford was compelled to create a new type of car, one that was consumer pleasing, yet lived up to the Ford expectations and was worth their investment. In 2008, Ford was changing at a rapid pace as they incorporated safety along with new “green” values. The Ford Fiesta gave other green cars a run for their money even before it hit the market. The Ford team created hype through social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, and peaked customer interest. Over 4,000 people sent in videos to Ford explaining why they should be picked to test drive the Ford Fiesta, which was more buzz than Ford expected.
They knew that in order to reach the most people at once, they needed more than just primetime television commercial slots. By using social media, they successfully promoted their new product and it quickly went viral.
I think that a lot of companies can learn from this social experiment by using media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to promote product awareness. It is a great way to reach a large range of people without buying a primetime television slot that isn’t guaranteed effective.
