FLASH POINT COMMUNICATIONS RECOGNIZED AS FORD MOTOR COMPANY'S PREFERRED SOCIAL MEDIA VENDOR

We couldn't be more excited! After more than 10 years of working with FLM Dealers from around the country, we recently received word that we were Ford's Preferred Social Media Vendor.

But with all the excitement, there's also a lot of questions. Why is Social Media Important? How are Dealers or Dealer Ad Groups using it? And why Flash Point Communications?

Why Social Media for Ad Groups?
As you already know, according to most studies, roughly 80%-90% of car shoppers turn to the internet prior to visiting a showroom. So the question is: when they DO search online, will they find your store? Getting found is where Social Media can help. Why? In a word: “visibility”. By publishing information about your Ad Group or Store via Social Media (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Flickr, etc.), you’re populating the internet with useful information about your store, about your vehicles, about your great customer service, and even how wonderfully you stack up against your competition. And if they can’t find you, they’re less likely to buy from you.

Even better? Consider testimonials from customers about a new purchase or a great service experience. Which do you think is more persuasive? Your latest ad? Or an authentic testimonial from a happy customer?

How are Dealers or Dealer Ad Groups Using Social Media?
Everything from online retention, conquesting and reputation management, Dealers and Ad Groups can benefit from social media. Want an example? Go to Youtube and search the term “Ford Customer Service”. Know the first organic search you’ll find? Yup. The video we did for the NW Ford Dealers, “Showroom Rap” about the Ford Focus. Now Google “Camry vs Mercury Milan Hybrid”. You’ll find the videos we did for the New England LM Dealers in the top position. So if it’s retention or conquesting, Social Media can play a huge role.

Like to see a few examples?
We built an entire platform (Flickr, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter) for the Northwest Ford Dealers. Click Here.

Interested in following along on a Road Trip through the Desert with the AZ/NV Ford Dealers? Click Here.

Interested to see how the SW Lincoln Mercury Dealers are making life better for their residents via charitable endeavors? Click here.

So, Why Flash Point?
Maybe it’s our 10 years of digital marketing for Dealer Ad Groups. Maybe it’s our proprietary Facebook tools like our Dealer Inventory, Locator or Offer feeds. Or maybe that it's we're driven to innovate, push the envelope and over-deliver for our Dealers.

The bottom line: if you’d like a full presentation on how Social Media can benefit you, all you need to do is drop us a line or give us a call. We’d love to talk to you. But one way or another…get started today.

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Flash Point and New England Lincoln Mercury create social media campaign

PR Week
November 18, 2009
Christina Capodice

BOSTON: New England Lincoln Mercury is in the midst of its first social media-only campaign, “Follow Me to Bliss,” which supports the fuel-efficient 2010 Lincoln Mercury Milan Hybrid.

Its focal point is a YouTube webisode series featuring Deal or No Deal models Lindsay Clubine and Katie Cleary driving across all six New England states in a Milan Hybrid on one tank of gas. The duo completes wedding-related challenges, sponsored by local businesses, in preparation for Clubine's upcoming nuptials to Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz.

The seven webisodes began airing in September and will run until the second week in December, demonstrating the Hybrid's green technology while attracting a new demographic to the product.

“We're targeting women in the 20 to 30 age range,” said Ralph Tricomi, business development manager at Ford Motor Co. “The social media aspect combined with the wedding theme will attract new customers who haven't considered purchasing a Milan Hybrid.”

The campaign utilized Clubine, Cleary, and Buchholz's celebrity status to gain media attention. Although “Follow Me to Bliss” has its own Twitter page, the models promote the road trip through tweets on their personal pages as well. New England Sports Network (NESN) provides up-to-date coverage on the challenges.

Flash Point Communications, Blanc & Otus, and Lincoln Mercury AOR RetailFirst are all supporting the campaign. The company has no PR AOR, so RetailFirst enlisted Blanc & Otus to handle media relations and to otherwise support the campaign.

According to Flash Point president and CEO Scott Empringham, they hoped to raise product awareness while engaging the community in a new way.

“We generated an open-source campaign,” said Empringham. “Instead of directly contacting businesses for support.

According to Empringham, 20 local businesses, including the Boston Red Sox's Fenway Park and Boston Harbor Hotel, offered their support within 10 days of announcing the campaign online in late May.

A social media-only campaign was an innovative decision for Lincoln Mercury, according to Tricomi.

“We wanted to be more efficient with media money in a competitive market,” said Blanc & Otus said it initially targeted local print, broadcast and online media in the cities where each challenge took place to announce the campaign. Their next step, which is still in progress, is reaching out to PR, advertising, and marketing trade publications, as well as automotive publications. Additionally, all business partners involved were encouraged to blog about their sponsored challenges. The campaign has been covered by NBC News, The Patriot Ledger, The Boston Herald, The Boston Globe, and PRWeek sister publication DMNews, among others.

According to Tricomi, the company's Web site traffic has increased 72% and web-based sales leads were higher than any other region in August.