Ford Motor Company gets a healthy and well-deserved share of praise for its outstanding use of social media and their organization-wide philosophy and approach. But, considering what General Motors‘ Chevrolet recently put in drive (sorry for the pun, but I couldn’t resist!) it appears they may not have the fast lane all to themselves for long.
For our readers who haven’t been following social media techniques applied by the big auto-makers, here’s a refresher. Chevrolet was considered late to the social media party two years after Ford found early success that continues today. But this year, Chevy was declared SXSW’s big marketing winner by blogs, Twitter users and local outlets like the Austin Statesman.
Perhaps this newly aggressive social media approach was developed in support of the upcoming soft launch of the Chevy Volt in late 2010 (Chevy’s new attempt to reach the under-34 set)? Whatever the motivation, Chevy has a strong Twitter presence, has been engaging robustly on Twitter and Facebook, and activated on-site vehicles with QR codes at SXSW (a bar code that you scan with your mobile device to learn more about that product) to drive users to a microsite. But the biggest news to date was “Chevrolet’s SXSW Road Trip Challenge,” a social media marketing competition they sponsored earlier this month.
As part of their Road Trip Challenge, eight teams from across the country all headed to SXSW in a social media-fueled trek that rewarded the group that completed the most tasks and built the most Web buzz on the way. These road trippers were given points by Chevy for challenges completed and the level of interaction their hometown had in the group’s trek. Ultimately, a team of four metro Detroiters — Henry Balanon, Brandon Chesnutt, Dave Murray and Audrey Walker – won the contest and received a Chevy-sponsored tweet-up (an in-person gathering of the Twitter community) for Detroit.
Ford continues to execute robustly on its social media strategy, and you have to admire their results. Scott Monty’s blog, and Ford’s almost ubiquitous presence on a wide range of social media platforms continue to set the standard not just in the auto industry, but for big brands as well. If you think Ford is resting on its laurels, think again. And … check out some of their raving fans.
This situation points out the importance of “trajectory”. GM is getting one … and Ford, which already has it, has to keep it up! It also illustrates how competitive advantage doesn’t last without a lot of work. BUT, when you look closely, it also illustrates how no one in the auto industry is really winning the race of leveraging social media to acquire the talent they need to take back global leadership. Stay tuned in the next week when we’ll talk more about talent, social recruiting, armadillos and roadkill!
Tags: Chevrolet, Chevy Volt, Detroit, Ford, Ford Fusion, General Motors, Scott Monty, social media, SXSW, twitter
