September
22nd, the first time the Pope Francis visited the US, was marked by a smart
PR move – accidental, that is. In Maryland for what is already considered an historical visit, the Pope traded
the usual limousine for a smaller-scale vehicle, a Fiat 500L. What would initially be just a more humble choice, turned out to be a smart PR move for the car
manufacturer, that quickly took the opportunity to social media.
Known
for his strong positions against capitalism and towards climate change issues,
the public is already used to the Pope trading his bulletproof
popemobile for more affordable and environmentally friendly cars. What’s more,
the Pope Francis has also made a habit of leaving his car to greet people, one
more reason for ditching the traditional mode of transportation. This
time, the choice went for a Fiat 500L, a crossover version of the popular Fiat
500 – and the brand took advantage of it.
 |
| Source: Mashable |
Right
after images of the Pope in his new car of choice were released, Fiat responded
on Twitter, using the hashtag #blessed, followed by a prayer hands emoji.
However, the brand proceeded to emphasize the moment, by once again tweeting
on the subject. This time, it included the hashtag #Fiat500L and referred
directly to “His Holiness”.
In
a time where Volkswagen faces serious challenges
and Fiat predicts to have his market share increase in the American market,
this episode offered the perfect conditions for a successful PR stunt. By
paying attention to one of the hottest topics in the US right now, Fiat took advantage of
the power such public figure – the Pope – has for the American audience, and
rushed to translate that into an online buzz.
For
PR matters, however, it also illustrates the symbiosis between the fields of
public relations and the media and, specifically, how they manage to feed each
other. On one side, Fiat took the images provided by the media and used them to
promote itself on Twitter, in a somewhat ironic tone. On the other, this Twitter
move ended up also prompting the media to talk about Fiat, as the online
conversations about the Pope having chosen such modest car – and the reactions
to it – soon became a news topic itself. For the car brand, this only meant one
thing: people are talking about it. What’s more, it’s being associated with a
positive figure, as if borrowing its social capital and transferring it into
Fiat 500L.
 |
| Source: The Telegraph |
- Sofia Baptista
All credits to Fiat for this very strong PR move. In Dutch this is called an 'inhaker' (this means picking up on something that's trending on Twitter and using this for your own good), and this is a perfect example on how to do this effectively. Especially with US media now writing about two car manufacturers, Fiat really seems #blessed to be on the good side of the coverage.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Maarten. I think Fiat made great use of this trending issue in society and they got what they wanted: free publicity.
ReplyDeleteThe Telegraph's comment is on spot: 'SUV-obsessed America'. Maybe Fiat should make some commercials with typical American people (free for own interpretation) in their little Fiat500 on the route 66. They've saved on their publicity now so why not?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if the team who decides in which car the pope's ride, did get any out of this. I don't think that they would give this free publicity to Fiat without anything in advance.
ReplyDeleteDanique van Hemsbergen
I also agree that this was a great PR move. The only thing that came to my mind is that the pope might not be a positive figure to everyone. When working together with such a positionated person, you might seem to agree with their statements. That means, Fiat might now be associated with the opinons the pope stands for and not every customer will share those.
ReplyDelete-Valerie Kirsch
I also think that it is a very successful PR move by Fiat and I would like to add one point to the discussion. Fiat and Pope Francis have already tried this move during this summer when the Pope visited Turin which is recognized as "the city of Fiat". In that case, Pope Francis used a Fiat Doblò which is not the most popular Fiat car but it is often associated to families and working class people. Also in this case, the majority of the news media covered this PR move and emphasized the fact that the car chosen matched the image of Pope Francis.
ReplyDelete