From Frumpy to Feisty – transforming the Ford Fiesta.
Our Mission
To change the perception of Ford Fiesta from a 'car your mum would drive' to something that would appeal to young women.
Our Idea
When younger women talk about cars, they use words like "love" "gorgeous" and "funky." Style and image are what they crave. We identified Britain's Next Top Model as having the right image and placed the Fiesta within the programme.
Our Execution
Rather than go for simple sponsorship, we decided that the Fiesta should become the star of the show. After numerous meetings with the show's producers, it was agreed that in addition to the accolade of becoming 'Britain's Next Top Model', the winner would also become the 'Face of Ford Fiesta', appearing in future ad campaigns.
In order to make the Fiesta the real star of the show, an episode entitled 'Good Clean Fun' was conceived. Contestants were asked to accentuate the Fiesta's core values - fun, feisty and sexy - during a photoshoot, which reached an estimated 820,000 of the target young, female audience. The episode was covered in an 8-page feature in Glamour magazine.
Our Success
The free PR generated from the 'Good Clean Fun' episode alone was worth #330,000. Follow-up research found a 19% increase in young women agreeing with the statement "Ford Fiesta is Stylish". In fact, there was an increase of 27% in Fiesta sales, year on year. Furthermore, there was an increase of 5,000 sales to single women under 30.