Looking with increasing urgency for ways to reverse tumbling sales of the Fiat 500 in North America, Fiat is changing its marketing direction and rolling out a new 'storytelling' campaign designed for radio and the brand’s Facebook page. The new campaign, “Alternate Routes,” features everyday people telling their unique story in two-minute audio vignettes broadcast on-air and online via select CBS Radio stations in the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Orlando markets. Having acrimoniously dumped its launch agency, "Alternate Routes" was created in partnership with Universal McCann, CBS RADIO Altitude Group and RadioFace. Each of the stories is told by a diverse group of entertaining people representing a spectrum of ages, ethnicities, backgrounds and personal experiences. As each storyteller’s tale unfolds, listeners are invited to the Fiat's Facebook page to hear the end of the story. “The Fiat brand was captivated by the concept of the campaign because, in some way, each story reflects the passion and the spirit of the Fiat brand,” belies Fiat chief Olivier François. “Each story captures your attention to the point where you will not want to change the radio station or leave the vehicle. Listeners will want to retell these stories to their friends and family,” he thinks, possibly without having yet listened to at least the first of the stories. Each of the stories were told before a live audience and then captured on film. Twelve stories will air over an eight-week period and an additional eight stories can be viewed on Fiat's Facebook page.