#HONDANEXTDOOR

Short List
Title#HONDANEXTDOOR
BrandHONDA
Product/ServiceCARS
Category A03. Cars & Automotive Products & Services
Entrant SID LEE Paris, FRANCE
Idea Creation SID LEE Paris, FRANCE
Production MILES Paris, FRANCE
Credits
Name Company Position
Sylvain Thirache SID LEE Paris Executive Creative Director
Johan Delpuech SID LEE Paris President
Bruno Lee SID LEE Paris Deputy Managing Director
Fabien Buferne SID LEE Paris Account Director
Camille Lefrere SID LEE Paris Account Manager
Gullit Baku SID LEE Paris Copywriter
Ludovic Gontrand SID LEE Paris Art Director
Thomas Laget SID LEE Paris Head of Integrated production Director
Aldric Menanteau - Producer
Ambroise Soulé SID LEE Paris Strategist
Christophe Decultot HONDA France Vice president Honda motor Europe
Pierre Guignot HONDA France Department Manager - Car Division
Steve Amsellem HONDA France Marketing Manager
Eliott Brunet MILES Producer
Geordy Montfils MILES Director
César Décharme MILES DOP

The Campaign

The operation began with the selection of brand ambassadors among owners of the current models - those who know everything there is to know about what it’s like owning and driving a CR-V or an HR-V, and those best equipped to act as a spokesperson. Then we transformed their own garages into pop-up dealerships. After listing all these new dealerships, we launched a website to make future custmers choose where they wanted to have a test-drive. Then, the real Honda fan oversaw the test-drive, delivering his knowledge and enthusiasm for the brand directly to the interested prospects.

Execution

Ten brand ambassadors became designated dealers, and had their home garages converted into pop-up dealerships, right at the heart of French suburbia. To kick off the 3-week long #HondaNextDoor operation, we launched a press, web, social media and television campaign to invite customers to sign up online for test drives directly at the pop-up dealerships. A film, featuring the brand’s number one fan, Jean-Baptiste, hit air waves in late September and promotion continued on Honda’s social media networks throughout the operation with new content gathered from experiences at each of the suburban dealerships.

The campaign reached over 1 million people, generating thousands of leads, and over 3 weekends, over 1,000 people signed up to visit dealerships to learn more about what it means to be a Honda owner. Over the 3 weeks of campaign, we broadcasted lots of fans’ contents encouraging the community to share its passion for the brand. The concept of #HondaNextDoor was so successful that it will continue in other European countries, starting soon in Belgium.

The Situation

In France, Honda is not a big media investor, most of all if we compare to big competitors like Renault or Toyota. We knew paid media would not be enough to ensure consistent dealerships’ visits. Consequently, we crucially needed the support of PR and media relay to boost attention and interest on the campaign. Our PR strategy was based on our main asset again, the Honda Likers. We created content around Jean-Baptiste, our number one fan and then shed light on our other pop-up dealerships.

The Strategy

The strategy was simple : make noise around the new pop-up dealerships to boost visits and generate leads. The first step of fans’ sourcing was the occasion to dig into our community and to take the pulse of our fans. We were impressed by their involvement and passion for the brand. We knew their local support would be helpfull. The media plan, based on both offline and online contents, allowed us to shape an effective media mix. First raise attention using offline campaign on TV and then, effectively use the digital to transform and create leads. We wanted the new funnel to be as simple as possible so we teamed up locally with real dealership to support the test-drive and partner with the fans in order to manage the purchasing process.