Honda has kicked off a new multichannel marketing campaign to support the debut of its new car, the Honda Insight.
The car is being positioned as an affordable hybrid, and the messaging supports this with the tagline “hybrid for everyone.” The creative is clean and straight forward to help push this down-to-earth image. This strategy was developed by Honda’s agency of record, RPA.
“We are putting the vehicle up front and center to show off its features,” said Brett Bender, SVP, group account director, RPA. “Since this is an affordable hybrid, it is for everyone, and we are talking about this in the messaging. It is a hybrid for the masses.”
The campaign begins today with three TV ads, but will roll out online in late April or early May. The online components include homepage takeovers and online video.
Video home-page placements will run on AOL, MSN, Yahoo and YouTube. These videos give consumers an interactive tour of the Insight and focus on the product information. In addition, branded canvases will run on ABC, CBS and NBC.
The car also will be pushed through search and e-mail. During the prelaunch, Honda ran a blog, Latest Insight, which featured Honda engineers and product planners discussing the Insight and included videos. Here consumers could opt-in to receive e-mails about the product. This site will redirect to a marketing Web site for the car on April 16.
The car also is being promoted in the online gaming segment. The Insight will be one of the launch sponsors of XBOX Live Primetime, a free, live game show experience online. The Insight will be the sole sponsor of XBOX Live Primetime’s “Play and Win.”
