Honda’s new, multichannel “True cost to Own a honda” campaign grew out of the company’s desire to educate consumers about long-term value when considering a car purchase, according to the company.
The campaign, announced earlier this week, was developed for Honda by its agency of record RPA. It encourages consumers to do their own research, compare Honda cars to the competition and find out the value of owning a car over a five-year period. The campaign is being pushed through the Internet, TV and radio.
“We want to [teach] consumers that, at the end of the day, it should not be about getting the big incentives and percentages off, it should be about long term value,” said Christan Miller, manager at Honda regional marketing “They should look at the cost of the vehicle over the long terms and consider the depreciation, the fuel economy and the insurance.”
The campaign is running on auto shopping site Edmunds.com, where consumers are invited to do the math and figure out the value of owning a Honda over a five-year period.
“For most people Edmunds considered us to be the most credible third-party automotive site out there, and we want to be where the consumer is researching,” Miller said.
Online advertising on other auto shopping sites will complement the campaign with messages adapted from data tests on the “True cost to own a Honda” pages. These online ads will direct consumers to ShopHonda.com.
“There is only so much of a reach that you can have on TV,” adds Miller. “With TV, we’re calling them to go online, but at the same time there are thousands of consumers that will not have seen TV spots but will see our campaign online.”
The campaign, which runs through July 5, is the second part of the “Honda values” push, which began with the “Happy Honda days” campaign last December. The overall messaging goal of “Honda values” is to push the brand message of value and quality, particularly in the recession.
“Consumers want quality, value, reliability and products built to last,” Miller said. “This is the core brand strength at Honda and, during these tough times, it is an important message to get across.”
