Will Facebook replace the traditional auto show car launch?
Is the car show headed for the scrap heap? The auto industry is buzzing today after Ford debuted the new 2011 Ford Explorer model to the public in a brand new way: ditching the closed-door feel of the auto show and instead bringing the new model straight to its Facebook fans.
The social media-focused launch was complimented by a real-life event in downtown Manhattan (and similar appearances in eight other cities), which aimed at capturing the adventurous philosophy of the brand by building an artificial forest on a major city street to feature the new SUV and provide video material for the Facebook unveiling. Could this be the new formula for future auto launches, going direct to the consumer, bypassing the automotive press?
To be fair, Ford filled its Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels with the typical launch-day fare: videos of company execs extolling the virtues of the new model and celebrity spokesman Mike Rowe interviewing a smiling Ford CEO Alan Mulally. The real action started well before: the new Ford Explorer Facebook page has been holding a sweepstakes to win a new Explorer and is cultivating wall discussion around the SUV’s new features. Ford’s goal was to reach 30,000 fans before even revealing the Explorer, which it duly met. And, in the last 24 hours alone, 10,000 new fans have signed up for a total of 54,000.
For Ford, the key to the new “formula” has been in holding a high-profile, yet highly accessible, event where a trove of “earned media” can be generated (i.e. videos, photos, etc.) and re-used. The company has plenty of material now to directly upload to its Facebook, YouTube and Twitter channels to share with its followers and encourage them to discuss. As The Detroit Free Press noted, the old model involved spending $50 million to $100 million on a four-week TV advertising campaign to generate buzz. Rebecca Lindland, automotive analyst for IHS Automotive, told the newspaper, “we are going to see this more and more because of the impact of social media.”
How has the public responded to this new form of auto show? From wall conversation chatter, it seems the personal feel of the event has really hit home with both consumers and investors alike:
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SMI writes:: Will Facebook replace the traditional auto show car launch? http://bit.ly/bdDaFn
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Will Facebook replace the traditional auto show car launch – http://bit.ly/bugePD
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Igår lancerede Ford deres nye model – Lanceringen foregik kun på Facebook http://ht.ly/2h6m2 Er det fremtiden? http://ht.ly/2h6kg
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Will Facebook send the traditional car show to the scrapheap? http://bit.ly/bdDaFn /from @socialinfluence #auto #motoring #socialmedia
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Will Facebook replace the traditional auto show car launch? – Is the car show headed for the scrap heap? The auto in… http://ow.ly/18jfVL
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[...] Brian Skepys notes that they increased their fan base by 10,000 fans in one day (currently at 53,000+ fans) and have most certainly prompted competitors to begin thinking about alternative ways to launch cars outside of the traditional auto show setting. [...]
Will Facebook replace the traditional auto show car launch? http://ow.ly/1qLwUI
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Positive reaction so far from Ford’s decision to launch their latest model on facebook … http://bit.ly/dk4ZIv
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Will Facebook replace the traditional auto show car launch? http://bit.ly/asACVJ via @AddToAny
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[...] media blitz shouldn’t come as a surprise. Just in the last two days we reported that Ford was ditching the traditional auto show for a Facebook launch in the unveiling of the 2011 Explorer, and we also [...]
Will Facebook replace the traditional auto show car launch? http://bit.ly/asACVJ via @AddToAny
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[...] For example, Ford earlier this summer wanted to recruit 30,000 fans to its Ford Explorer Facebook page just prior to launch. To sweeten the pot, it promised to give away a car to one lucky Facebook fan; it went way over. [...]
[...] building to social networks to help build grassroots excitement around the new technology, and Ford ditched the traditional closed-door auto show for the release of the 2011 Explorer, which proved to be good [...]
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