No need to shout to be heard

CNN recently placed Ford and GM on corporate death watch after the two automotive giants applied for a $25bn bail-out by the US Treasury. The industry is suffering its worse crisis in decades: consumer demand is waning; those who are in the market cannot find credit; and steel prices have driven production costs skyward.

But it's heartening to see that Ford has the courage to launch a new model with a heavy media spend and a fabulous TV creative by Ogilvy: perfect for the target consumer and without being sullied by tedious product detail.



According to the supporting microsite (which is loaded with as many youth-oriented 'extras' as the car itself), the Fiesta doesn't just have an interior and exterior but also a 'lifestyle' all its own. Apparently, like your average Fiesta driver, it likes to dress up and go to nightclubs. It's a fan of iPod. And for those addicted to novelty you can start it by pressing the 'Power' button (keys, afterall, are so yesterday).

The entire campaign demonstrates Ford's new-found commitment to understanding the wants of young drivers. Performance statistics, fuel efficiency, boot capacity and even the maker's mark are simply of no interest any longer. The official partners on the site - Vogue and GQ - demonstrate that style and attitude are far more important. Toyota understood this when launching Aygo (CHI), but now Ford have finally figured it out too.

Whether Fiesta passes the authenticity test is yet to be seen, but given Ford is prepared to allow 25 seconds of the 30 to pass before the product reveal is a positive and bold sign.



Too little too late?

In 2000, after BMW had stripped the company of both it's most valuable brand and its front-wheel drive technology, MG Rover exchanged hands for the notional sum of £10 via a management buy-out. The consortium chose not to pursue a rational yet radical marketing-led recovery for the business, but instead blindly clung to the belief that talented sales teams and manufacturing partnerships with Indian and Chinese firms would keep the ship steady.

In hindsight, the consortium's choice of 'Phoenix' as it's moniker was blindly optimistic. The strategy led to the launch of a crap new town car, disenchantment from a previously loyal customer base, aggressive price cuts that bled margin and eventual bankruptcy.



It would be unfair to blame the collapse of the business on its muddled, if non-existent, marketing strategy. But the brand desperately needed to find its voice and to re-engage with its customers if the business was ever going to succeed.

Ford, at least in the UK, seems to have so far resisted the temptation to cut advertising spend and abandon a reinvigorated consumer-led strategy. And with Fiesta it's taking the Japanese head-on at their own game. Time will tell whether the Ford brand can be relevant again across all its ranges and if the business can survive, but the automotive world would surely be a poorer place without it.