Fiesta is Ford's digital car

Ford's latest version of its light car, the Fiesta, will eschew mainstream free to air television marketing and focus on web, cinema and pay television consumers.

In dealers from mid-January and on sale after Australia Day, the Fiesta will be the subject of an intensive online advertising offensive (including direct email), as well as a nationwide sponsorship of the summer season Moonlight Cinemas and a pay-TV focused broadcast campaign.

The decision to focus on online with the Fiesta marketing is in part to do with the car's target customers. However, the direction is more holistic, say Ford insiders; with the Fiesta's trumpeting the arrival of a significant upgrade in connectivity to the light car segment (with Bluetooth standard on LX and full iPod compatibility via USB ports on highest grade model), the web focus was logical.

"That's where our Fiesta customers are," Ford Australia Vice President Marketing Sales and Service, Beth Donovan told the Carsales Network.

"A key component of connecting and engaging with our consumers is via the digital space, as this is where people are spending most of their time today. All of the Fiesta communication channels will have a strong push to the Fiesta website which communicates Fiesta as a brand in its own right."

According to Donovan, the website -- launched with the car at October's Australian International Motor Show in Sydney (more here) -- has attracted over 37,000 unique visitors. She says around 20,000 have opted into Ford's direct email campaign on the new car.

"Though the Fiesta is only in its prelaunch phase, we're confident the Fiesta digital destination, is playing a key role in our communications," she said.

Donovan said Ford will target fashion, chat and news websites with its Fiesta campaign as well as engage in an extensive search engine marketing campaign. Ford will serve video on the new Fiesta website and has a mobile-friendly version of the content for users.

The company has also negotiated in-program content on the popular television program, Australia's Next Top Model. Its reduced free-to-air television advertising will target the spots.

According to Donovan, the new light car will adopt Ford's global television commercial.

This is despite the creative for the commercial closely mirroring the advertisement local free-to-air television broadcasters are using to promote the arrival of multiple digital television channels.

Broadcast under the branding 'Freeview', the digital television ad features a series of 'leapfrogging' video screens. The Fiesta commercial, which has aired since mid-year in European markets, bears an uncanny resemblance to the campaign. It uses multiple screens to 'build' a Fiesta in an urban streetscape.

Ford says it is in "discussions" about the ad, but has stopped short of legal action. However, in answer to the Freeview campaign it says it will likely "reduce" its ads' exposure on free-to-air channels.

"It was a complete surprise to us, the Freeview ad... We'll probably take down the overall spend we'll make on [free to air] TV," Donovan told the Carsales Network.

According to Donovan, the 'soft' launch commercial, which 'conflicts' with Freeview will be supplemented by a more feature and benefit based ad.

"The launch ad we'll show for a period and then it'll be complemented by what we call tier 1.5 -- so it'll have, pricing it'll have features... And the screens will show interior shots, instrument panel, connectivity, the seats and some [additional] external shots of the car."

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