Wyoming residents: Ray Romano wants you to reserve a Ford Fiesta

Ford Fiesta brand manager, Sam DeLaGarza (Ford)

First things first:  Ray Romano has nothing to do with the Ford Fiesta.  The Fiesta's brand manager, Sam DeLaGarza, who I think looks a lot like Ray Romano, posted on his Twitter account today that the only state not yet represented in the 2011 Ford Fiesta reservation program is Wyoming.

View the Fiesta in all its glory in this linked slideshow.

I interviewed Sam back in June of 2009 and he and I discussed the smart fortwo reservation system.  I had stated that in my own experience, I was disappointed that smart had not reached out to early reservationists with any special treatment such as sending out small trinkets or e-mail status updates as the year progressed towards the official launch. Sam said that Ford had heard the same thing from focus groups.  All of this would imply that Fiesta reservationists should be hearing from Ford while they wait.  Who knows, maybe Ford will even send you a little something (no promises, just a theory).

Ford is throwing in its SYNC system as an enticement to order early.  The reservation is non-binding and unlike the $99 smart fortwo program requires zero upfront payment.

In a side note, the real Ray Romano wants me to tell you about his new show, Men of a Certain Age, which is featured on TNT.

Subscribe to receive alerts when the author submits a new article, follow the author on twitter or contact via e-mail!

Read More...

This commercial doesn't blend in with the others: Ford Fiesta in a Blendtec blender

Piece of boron steel about to go into a Blendtec

Let’s take a walk through this morning’s inbox, shall we? Something from Audi about Chicago enthusiasts, GM press advisories for tomorrow’s 230 event, weekend racing racaps, a Ford Fiesta in a blender, Twitter follower updates, something from the White House. Wait…A Fiesta in a blender? I’ve gotta see this one!

View the slideshow below for photos of the Fiesta and Miss Scotland.

I’ve been very complimentary of the Fiesta Movement marketing campaign and this new Blendtec tie-in is another reason why. I have already covered what happened when a tire attempts to become a passenger in a Fiesta, but now we know why: The Fiesta's boron steel refuses to become one with a blender!

Fiesta agent Ryan Dembroski, who looks for all the world like Dwight Schrute from The Office in the video, helms this production (along with the Blendtec guy of course). He's not a kooky, sexy Fiesta Agent like Brittani Taylor, but the video is very entertaining and like many a good pitchman, doesn't really make you feel like you are watching a commercial.

For more info: Check out my interview with the Fiesta's brand manger.

Subscribe to receive alerts when the author submits a new article, follow the author on twitter or contact via e-mail!

Read More...

Ford Fiesta Movement agent meets Eleanor

Agent 21 behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta

I am continually impressed with the quality of work that Fiesta Movement agents are pumping out. For little more than the price of a car rental, Ford is getting expansive social media coverage of its 2011 Fiesta produced by very creative people. What's not to like?

You might recall my interview series with San Francisco Fiesta Movement agent White Menace that I conducted last month. Today I highlight another agent, Burbank's Brittani Taylor (AKA Agent 21). In the embedded episode below, Brittani takes her Fiesta over to Cinema Vehicle Services to check out the life of a Hollywood car coordinator.

The embedded clip below doesn't really focus on the Fiesta (no pun intended), but it does keep it the back of your mind. In this clip, Jerry Bruckheimer's Shelby GT500 Eleanor from the movie 'Gone in 60 seconds' makes an appearance. Overall the clip is pretty silly, but I enjoyed it. In my opinion this is grassroots marketing done right!

For more info: Check out my interview with the Fiesta's brand manger.

Follow the author on twitter or contact via e-mail!

Read More...

Ford Fiesta Movement May update: Fiestas-A-Go-Go

WooHoo, a free car! Fiesta agents get some training in Seattle

Ford recently sent out a May Fiesta Movement mission recap. It highlights the best missions and videos from the past month. Last month Fiesta Movement May missions took agents searching for Bigfoot, visiting Mount St. Helens and driving a Fiesta until the gas tank was empty. Agents traveled 245,558 miles across the country, with one agent racking up 11,700 miles on his Ford Fiesta. Nearly 5,500 consumers have test driven a Fiesta in May through the Fiesta Movement’s test drive tour, which is scheduled to visit at least 100 cities through December.

Agent Joe P. was tasked with filling up the gas tank of his Fiesta and driving until he runs out of gas, Joe made an adventure out of his mission. To make it even more of a challenge, Joe couldn’t drive the same road twice so he could see how far he could get – or how close he could stay. Check out the video by clicking here.

The world of technology is the next mission theme for Fiesta Movement agents. In June, the agents will visit places few outsiders have been, with an inside look at the happenings of some of the hottest technology names such as Pandora and Twitter. Throughout the month and after its completion, followers can keep up with agent activity on the live feed on the Fiesta Movement .

I have my own person recommendation for a Fiesta Movement mission. A 1,000 mile road trip (or longer if they dare) where the agent and friends are only allowed to eat food with the word Fiesta in it, such as "Fiesta Taco Salad" and "Fiesta Burrito." They may want to run that mission towards the end of the program because God only knows how the car is going to smell! BTW Ford, I am not volunteering for any such mission myself.

Just starting in May and running through December, five regional test drive teams representing the Fiesta Movement will travel across the country to engage consumers with the opportunity to test drive a European-specification Fiesta.

The month of May has generated the following stats for test drives:
• 5,486 total test drives
• 42,247 total miles driven

The teams will visit at least 100 cities over the eight months, with a goal of 100,000 test drives overall. Stops will be in small towns and big cities, as well as at major and regional events and festivals. Information about drive stops, including monthly calendars, is available on www.fiestamovement.com under the “Test Drive” section. Visitors to the site also can sign up to receive test drive updates, as they become available.

The 2011 Fiesta will be available for purchase starting in the Summer of 2010. Also showing up around the same time next year is the A-Team movie. Perfect combo?

For more info: Check out the Fiesta Movement or visit the 2011 Fiesta's website.

Follow the author on twitter or contact via e-mail!

Read More...

1 Million miles in a 2011 Ford Fiesta and 1 Million Questions for Fiesta’s brand manager (Part I)

Ford Fiesta (International version)

Recently I have posted several articles on the forthcoming 2011 Ford Fiesta. I’ve test driven a European example, spoken with a Fiesta Movement agent and now I’ve had a chance to chat with the Fiesta’s brand manager, Sam De La Garza. What follows is a comprehensive look at the 2011 Ford Fiesta and how Ford is working hard to reach out to prospective customers.

It’s been awhile. That’s how Mr. De La Garza described Ford’s absence from the B-Segment (subcompact) in the United States. Ford’s early 1990s effort, the Festiva / Aspire, was the last time that Ford tried to sell to the B-Segment to Americans. Ford found that many people aspired to drive something else (my phrasing, not Sam’s) and subsequently left the segment here in the United States. The auto sales landscape has been altered dramatically since that time and now Ford is ready to take a fresh look at small cars in the United States. The question is, “How does Ford go about creating a successful launch?”

Firstly, Ford has to have one heck of an offering. The new Fiesta has been widely praised by the international media. The Fiesta has been awarded a prestigious ‘red dot’ design award for international product design with 28 leading designers and design experts from 19 countries calling the Fiesta one of the most stylish cars in the world, stating the design as “innovative and dynamic.” The Fiesta has been selected as “Car of the Year” by various publications. Topping it off, the Fiesta has been a sales champ since its launch in Europe. All of that is good and well, but Ford does have memories of its past European imports in the United States such as the Merkur line and the Contour/Mystique. Ford is determined to make sure that history does not repeat itself with its new “One Ford” initiative. But how? How can Ford make sure that the 2011 Fiesta is a car that people want to buy and not something they are compelled to buy because of a low price or massive incentives? It’s a simple answer with a creative approach: Find out what the customer wants, but not just through clinics and surveys...(to be continued)

In Part II of this interview, you’ll find out much more about the 2011 Fiesta. What is Ford’s fuel mileage target? Will a three door be offered? What about a performance model? Any chance of a diesel? Will the U.S. car get the same soft-touch plastics as its Euro brethren? What has Ford learned so far from the Fiesta Movement? What is this about 1,000,000 miles in a Fiesta? All of this and much more shall be answered! Stay tuned!

Read More...

The new Ford Fiesta is a Menace to society (Part II)

Ford Fiesta with a big smile on its face.

This is part two of my interview with White Menace. Menace, aka Jason McMurry, is one of a hundred agents who are spending six months behind the wheel of their own Ford Fiesta. You can catch part one of my interview by clicking here.

Jason found out about the Fiesta Movement from his friend at Justin.tv. Justin.tv is a website for lifecasting and live video streaming of events online. Jason's friend thought that he would be a good fit for the Movement and suggested he make a video. We know how that turned out!

Prior to applying to join the Fiesta Movement, Jason was not familiar with the Fiesta. That’s not shocking to hear as the Fiesta won’t be available in the United States until the summer of 2010. What Ford hopes to do is prime the pump by making potential customers aware of the Fiesta and what it has to offer. In a way, the Fiesta Movement is like a trailer for a blockbuster movie that is being shown to audiences well in advance of the movie's arrival in theaters. What is different here is that instead of one team making a commercial, Ford has 100 well-connected, creative people and their entourages Twittering away on behalf of its new car.

I asked Jason about the danger of appearing co-opted by a major corporation. Jason says that he is very sensitve to that and makes sure that he doesn't hit his followers over the head with the Fiesta. If it makes sense to mention the car he does so, but not so much that it sounds like a 30 Rock sketch.

Jason has been quite taken with his Fiesta. It’s easy to park, a real plus in San Francisco, has expressive styling and it sports both Bluetooth and USB connectivity for his iPhone. Being a European market car, Jason’s Fiesta is not equipped with the Microsoft SYNC system. Since the car is a year from launch, there is no official spec sheet for the U.S. model, but I think it is safe to assume that SYNC will be available. Jason said the fuel economy was good, so good in fact that he isn't even keeping track, all he knows is that he drives a lot and rarely fills up. Ford is estimating the Fiesta's fuel mileage will hit somewhere in the high thirties and low forties. How about the negatives? It’s pretty difficult to come up with complaints about a car that you get to use for free, but Jason did offer up that the seatback recliner is a knob as opposed to a lever and this makes it difficult to recline the seat.

Fiesta Movement agents are asked to complete one mission each month. Jason's first assignment was to visit the National Yo-Yo Museum in Chico, CA. You can check out his experience at the museum in this video. For his next mission, Jason will be interviewing the folks over at Pandora. Pandora is a music service where users enter a song or artist that they enjoy, and the service responds by playing selections that are musically similar. I'm actually listening to Pandora right now!

Jason’s Fiesta has literally stopped traffic, with some interested parties following the car around town until it stops so that they can ask questions. In his experience so far, Jason estimates that 70 percent of those folks who do approach him are aware of the Fiesta with the remainder being attracted to the car upon first sight. When I spoke with the Ford team touring the West Coast with the Fiesta Movement, they quoted a similar percentage.

Jason will have the Fiesta for another four and half months or so. In addition to the missions, he hopes to take a road trip hitting hot spots in Southern California, Vegas and on through Arizona.

For more info: You can directly shape the 2011 Fiesta yourself. Head on over to FordVehicles.com/2011Fiesta, click on “Your Fiesta,” pick your body style, color, transmission and choose the top three features you’d like to see! You can follow Jason's adventures through one of his many social media outlets: Fiesta Movement, Twitter, and YouTube.com/whitemenace to name a few.

Read More...

The new Ford Fiesta is a Menace to society (Part I)

White Menace in front of his Fiesta

Okay, the Fiesta isn’t a menace in and of itself. Rather it is being driven by a Menace, as in White Menace of Live 105 (a San Francisco modern rock station). Menace, aka Jason McMurry, is one of a hundred agents who are spending six months behind the wheel of their own Ford Fiesta, ”lifestreaming” their experiences, and completing monthly missions to show you what the Fiesta is all about. Recently, I had a chance to sit down with Jason and chat about his movements…his Fiesta Movements.

Jason grew up in a Ford family, his mom drove a Ford Probe and his dad piloted an F-150. Like many of his peers, Jason took that family history of domestic car ownership, set it aside and made his first car a Honda Civic. As those in Ford marketing would say, that kind of behavior is “not optimal.”

How does Ford attract young, hip people such Jason? Well, first Ford has to have the proper hardware to sell to buyers who expect a certain level of style and features in their ride. The sleek looking 2011 Fiesta seems to have those qualities in spades. With that box ticked, Ford has to set out and educate the masses about how hard it has worked to improve its products. Cue an ’80s style movie montage! With no montage readily available, Ford did the next best thing and setup a social marketing program. Ford set out to find 100 social media stars and gave them each a European Ford Fiesta to play with. Applicants for the Fiesta Movement submitted a video telling the Ford team why they’d be a great choice. Ford chose the crème de la crème and after a brief two day orientation sent these so-called “agents” on their merry way with their new Fiestas.

How did Jason find out about the Movement? Now that Jason has now been behind the wheel of his Fiesta for about a month and half, how does he like his car? Hits? Misses? What has been the public’s reaction? Why did Jason almost lose his head to a Yo-Yo? Was another agent’s Fiesta stolen in NYC? All these questions (and more) will be answered in Part II of this series. Stay tuned!

For more info: Check out the Fiesta Movement. Read up on White Menace.

Read More...