Ford Fiesta

Recommendation: Ford should continue targeting millennials, but adjust “The Movement” by:  aligning on short and long-term goals, eliminating weak Agents while featuring top Agents, repurposing freed up cars for test drives and narrowing Mission slate while providing top Agents with creative flexibility.

3C Analysis: The B-segment market is comprised of: a) ethnically-diverse, city-dwelling, technology-loving millennials looking to purchase a car after landing their first job and b) older, suburban consumers who value fuel efficiency and compactness. Despite difficulty with engagement, Ford should continue targeting millennials instead of older buyers for 3 reasons: 1) the segment has grown from 14% to 28% of the US population from 2004 to 2010 2) they represent an opportunity to revamp Ford’s overall brand with younger consumers and 3) older buyers are easier to target later on.

        Ford excelled at building large, heavy cars like the F-series, Explorer and Mustang, but had no core competency in the B-segment. It was hurt by the American car stigma of lacking style and representing suburban, conservative lifestyles. Ford’s most important B-segment competitors are Toyota (36.8% share), Honda (31.5% share), and Nissan (31.7% share). Toyota’s and Honda’s strength relative to Ford was its knowledge of the space having never left it, while Nissan competed on a low-price offering.

Strategy (Promotion/Advertising): Maximizing Fiesta awareness in the short-term is key since the car hasn’t launched and Ford isn’t known for B-segment cars. Having increased value, quality, green, and safety perceptions from 2009 to 2010 by more than Honda and Toyota, Ford should stay the course. However, it should eliminate wasteful spend on Agents with little influence without risking backlash by starting a Mission contest that fans vote on so Agents producing the best content win out. Ford can then repurpose losing Agents’ Fiestas for test drives to increase sales potential. To maximize reach while reducing costs, Ford should select Missions with co-branding potential. It should also provide advancing Agents with flexibility to produce content that will continue to authentically engage their following.