Ford's social-media, grass roots, and promotional campaign to promote the newest iteration of the Ford Focus is a road rally that starts in Miami today. The Rally also will also be the subject of
Ford's program around the Super Bowl. Ford, which isn't advertising during the game, has grabbed pre-show airspace on Fox to run "Focus Rally: America Pre-Kick" at 6 p.m.
"Raising consumer
awareness about the new 2012 Focus via Focus Rally: America is our top priority right now," said Matt VanDyke, Ford's director of U.S. Marketing Communications. "That is why we jumped at the
opportunity to get the Focus rally into the Super Bowl Pre-Kick show."
The Focus Rally comprises six teams of two people competing for $100,000, with both team members also winning new 2012
Ford Focuses.
The company will air three spots during the program. A 30-second and 60-second ad will introduce the rally teams and will also offer a call to action for viewers to go to
FocusRally.com. The third spot will promote Ford's F-150 pickup truck and the new EcoBoost powertrain.
The marketing program around Focus Rally started on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Thursday
night, where the several teams of two were told where their road trips would begin. Ford also used the show to promote the plug-in version of the Focus.
The program, which runs over five
weeks includes live content on FocusRally.com, where consumers can also interact with the teams, a daily wrap up on Hulu.com. Olympic gold medal winner Jonny Moseley will serve as the host of the
program.
Ford says over 10,000 people have already signed up to support a team and that the top three markets generating followers are California, Illinois and New York.