Ford has created a Facebook app that allows people to take a virtual trip in the Focus Electric.
"Plug N Play in Electric City with the 2012 Focus Electric" is Ford's latest social media promotion intended to stir interest in new vehicles.
Jim Farley, head of global marketing, sales and service, sees Ford's reliance on social media as a "subtle difference between us and many other car companies."
The Facebook app will augment another initiative announced this week through which Ford and Yahoo joined forces to launch a reality show with teams competing in a scavenger hunt in their Focus Electrics. The show will be streamed on Yahoo in May.
The Focus Electric went into production in December, but only about a dozen had sold in the first few months as the $40,000 car slowly rolls out to dealers.
The only real competition on the market today is the Nissan Leaf, but an electric Fiat 500 is expected to go on sale in early 2013. Other carmakers also have promised electric vehicles, and there are more plug-in hybrids including the Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius. Ford will have plug-in versions of the C-Max and Fusion.
General Motors stopped making Volts for a month to keep production in line with slower-than-expected sales. Analysts are reducing projections for near-term electric vehicle sales. Many automakers, including Ford, are investing in direct-injection and turbocharging technologies that make gasoline engines more efficient.
Farley said advertising for the new Focus Electric has targeted likely electric vehicle buyers and areas of the country where these buyers are concentrated. Ford regards itself as a leader in using social networks for marketing its products. Ford used Facebook to unveil the current Explorer, and social media created a buzz for the Fiesta before it went on sale in the U.S.
Another precedent is the creation of a network television show called "Escape Routes," where the utility vehicle is the star in a reality show contest.
These channels are becoming Ford's avenue of choice to promote vehicles and brands -- instead of emphasis on TV ads and other traditional outlets where as much as 15% of the cost is in production.
"If a Ken Block video works better to promote the company, spending $10,000, than a $3-million Super Bowl ad, I'm much more proud of that Ken Block video online," Farley said.
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