Think You Have What It Takes To Fiesta?

Ford Motor Company is about to relaunch a new U.S. model called the Fiesta in 2010 (European model shown) and they want to know if you’ll do the advertising for them. Not the traditional 30-second TV spots that you’re accustomed to, though—This time they want you to be their word-of-mouth marketing stewards.

Here’s how it works. They’ve set up a site at www.fiestamovement.com where they invite “people with a strong presence on the web, an ability to craft a compelling story through video, and a hunger for adventure” to apply to be one of 100 participants to take delivery of a Fiesta for 6 months. They’ll even pay for your gasoline and car insurance for the stint.

In return, all they’re going to ask of you is that you tell your online friends and followers about your experience with the vehicle.  To make it more interesting, and so that folks aren’t just posting videos, blog posts and tweets about their trips to and from work, they’re going to give them monthly assignments (think scavenger hunt) that will “take them to places they’ve never been, to meet people they’ve never met, and to experiences they’ll never forget.”

Ford is going to pick the 100 participants based on a number of factors. Among those the sphere of influence for each participant, their ability to articulate in both written and spoken word, monthly miles driven, and although they don’t specifically state it, I imagine they are going to target specific demographic and psychographic sets that are likely to be Fiesta buyers. If you aren’t one of the 100, don’t worry, they also plan to supplement with over 100,000 test drives before the vehicle’s official launch.

I think this is going to be an amazing way to relaunch the vehicle here in the United States. By the time the car reaches dealer lots in 2010, there will be built-in demand, tons of content and information for potential buyers, and Ford’s engineering and marketing teams will have received vital American feedback from 100 very expressive owners.  Vehicle launches will never be the same.

Gotta run. Time to go make my video. ; ) Maybe being Twitter friends with @ScottMonty, Ford’s social media chief, will play in my favor…

Update: Make sure to follow @fiestamovement on Twitter, also.

by Garret Ohm

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