Social Media Week: Ford Embraces Relationships With Relaunch of Fiesta Movement Campaign

As thought leaders, industry innovators, social gurus, digital marketers and more, gathered to discuss trends and developments at Social Media Week New York this week, a Ford pioneer rocked the show.

Kicking off the week in a keynote session held at Bloomberg’s headquarters in Manhattan was Scott Monty, global head of social media at Ford.

Monty emphasized the importance of social media in a digital world, and said that companies and brands should see it as a commitment and not a campaign. “We always need to be on,” he commented.

He highlighted the importance of integrated media and how owned, earned and paid all together can lead to “significant impacts”.

Looking specifically at the best formula for a campaign, Monty said that creating personal relationships are integral and help combat the impersonality of our mass media age. People engage with personalities and not product features, he noted.

In a twist that emphasized the importance of personal relationships and also took some of the audience by storm, Monty revealed the launch of an updated version of Ford’s ‘Fiesta Movement’ campaign supplying selected tweeters, bloggers, vloggers and other social media users with brand new Fiestas for six months, and asking them to record their experiences.

The selected 100 individuals or “social influencers” will receive the 2014 Fiesta free of charge for half a year and all gas, parking and insurance will be paid for by Ford. In exchange, the “agents” will compete in challenges across major entertainment hubs in the US, including promotional events tied to American Idol. Bonaroo, and the X Games. They will commit to generating various types of social media content from these challenges that Ford can use in traditional advertising material. 

All the content that is created will be eligible for TV and print advertising, said Monty, adding that the campaign is the next move of where Ford goes socially and how the company embraces the relationships that are vitally important to them along the way.

Ford’s original Fiesta Movement campaign in 2009 was considered a huge success story in how large brands can leverage social media for advertising. Thousands applied four years ago and more are expected to sign-up this time.

The application process opened on Tuesday and successful applicants will get their cars by late April or early May.

If you think you have what it takes to be a social influencer for Ford, you can apply by visiting www.fiestamovement.com or follow the hashtag #FiestaMovement.