Well, at least according to Josh at SuperNews!

If Jesus was beheaded instead of crucified, would Christians be wearing guillotines?

Ford recently handed 100 Ford Fiestas to 100 people selected from 4,000 applicants. These “agents” — that’s what Ford calls them — get to use the cars for six months in exchange for completing monthly “missions” with different themes. They’ll share their experiences through YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter accounts Ford created for the campaign.

By turning the marketing over to social networking sites, Ford provides its target audience with content generated by people within that audience. Ford is taking a hands-off approach and telling participants not to hold back their opinions, bolstering the campaign’s credibility.

So, do you think this is a smart marketing strategy? Will it be credible?

Build Your Brand.

A brand is a product/company personality that helps distinguish it from the competition. It evolves out of the product essence.

A strong, positive brand creates value in the eyes of a customer. So, the better you build your brand, the less you have to compromise on price. But, to be successful a brand has to built on a solid, truthful foundation — whatever that truth is. Apple, Mercedes, Disney, FedEx and Nike are just a few examples.

Lastly, brands aren’t just for big companies. Every big company began as a small company with a clear, positive brand. Our client branding efforts have included a NY church, a local CT school and a vitamin company. And, prior to starting my business, I was involved in the campaign that helped brand an unknown shoe designer named Kenneth Cole.

So, what’s yours? Quality? Service? Price? Whatever it is it’s something that your marketing must reinforce across all communication channels, from business card to TV spot. Even your office space. You can’t brand yourself as a cutting-edge ad agency if your office looks like a law firm. Also, your brand shouldn’t try to be all things to all people. “The best, cheapest, most dependable” is not a strong brand image.

Economic downturns force paradigm changes, often for the better. To steal a line from Apple, it forces companies to “Think Different.” Business models that are smarter and more creative (and not necessarily bigger) are the ones that benefit in down times. Those that aren’t, die.

Apple is a great example. They never stop innovating and came out with some of their best products (Mactintosh, iPod) during tough economic times. Here are some of ours: Logo Facelift, Website Facelift, and Marketing Therapy.