Three years after its Fiesta Movement campaign wrote a new playbook for social-media marketing, Ford is launching a "Social Remix" for the 2014 Ford Fiesta that it hopes will represent a similar advance—and sell more cars—through an industry-first paid-media campaign that is completely crowdsourced.

Scott Monty, global head of social media for Ford, is unveiling the Fiesta Movement remix at a Social Media Week panel in New York this morning. Monty told brandchannel before the session that "we're taking the core idea of Fiesta Movement, which is still a very solid concept, and taking it to the next level."

The automaker is introducing the new Feista through a multichannel campaign that will be entirely crowdsourced by consumers. Also, in an echo of the original Fiesta Movement year-long campaign that gave new Fiestas to bloggers and other online influencers ahead of the car's 2011 debut, Ford is once again seeking 100 "social influencers" to convey the "unique personality and attributes" of the attributes of the new car — but "in an entirely different way," as the automaker stated in a press release.Continue reading...

Just in case things get dicey once Mark Fields, Ford's presumptive next CEO, takes the reigns, Ford's board reportedly is considering keeping current CEO Alan Mulally around past his retirement as the non-executive chairman.

As skilled as is Fields, the 51-year-old head of Ford's Americas operations, you can't blame Ford's directors for not wanting to let Mulally go completely once he ends his tenure as CEO, with a rumored target for departure around the end of next year. The 67-year-old former chief of Boeing has worked wonders at the auto manufacturer since he took the helm in 2006, seeing it through the global financial collapse and Great Recession without a U.S.-government bailout, supervising the launch of a fleet of worthy new products, and guiding Ford into leadership positions in infotainment technology and fuel economy.

And though Fields may be champing at the bit, Mulally is hardly ready to ride into the sunset just yet. He's got Ford moving on a number of important ongoing and new initiatives. They include:Continue reading...

Ford sustained a heavy blow today when it dropped like a rock in the influential Consumer Reports magazine annual reliability ratings of brands in the U.S. market, falling to 20th place among brands from last year's 10th place.

Jeep took the top ranking among domestic marques, as Chrysler's brands surged overall in this evaluation. Or Consumer Reports summarized its new reliability data, "Ford is down, Chrysler is up and the Japanese carmakers came out on top."

The knock on Ford's reliability wasn't unexpected.Continue reading...

Who said America's love affair with the car is over?

A new report by J.D. Power & Associates confirms what everyone in the U.S. auto industry already understands these days: American consumers like sheetmetal that is new, different and exciting.

For the second consecutive year in Power’s annual APEAL study (an acronym for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout), recently launched all-new and redesigned models are substantially more appealing than their carryover counterparts.

The new snapshot also includes especially good news for the BMW, Chrysler and Hyundai brands.Continue reading...

We've already looked at the Chevy tie-in for Transformers 3 and noted how the film is the third installment in a trifecta of films — with Fast Five and Cars 2 — that make automakers squeal with delight.

So let's look at what else is hitting theaters this Independence Day weekend, including product placement champ Tom Hanks' new joint, and the Ford viral tie-in that managed to win out despite the timing.Continue reading...

Ford Fiesta and Chevy Cruze help fuel Detroit's comeback. 

Hangover 2, despite lousy reviews, is on track to be most lucrative comedy ever.  

Heineken extends UEFA Champions League sponsorship.  

Oscar Mayer, Ball Park hotdog wars heat up.

Hulu plans to add commercials.

Lockheed Martin falls prey to cyberattack.Continue reading...

According to the sonic branding experts at soundlounge, the precise formula for “sticky songs” is still elusive as little research exists about so-called earworms.

But a team of researchers at London's Goldsmiths College is on the case. A comprehensive survey is underway to garner some sonic branding insight.Continue reading...

Fans who were sad to see the last two American Idol contestants leave the show in the countdown to 10 finalists will be brightened by this bit of news: As members of the show’s top 12, both Paige Miles and Lacey Brown get to help design their own, customized versions of the new Ford Fiesta.

Ford’s “music video” advertising spots during the last several weeks of the Idol contest have been a fixture of all nine seasons of the show – and a great way for the Ford brand to reach young audiences with vehicles that are increasingly relevant to them. The compact Focus has anchored some of these spots in the past, and now the company has pivoted to promoting its new Fiesta subcompact which goes on sale in the US this summer.Continue reading...