As initially reported in MarketingDaily on November 21, Honda is joining the year-end sales mix with “Happy Honda Days.” The effort, which has an oddly ’60's color-TV feel, features the odd parent or two, with an obstreperous mother saying the wrong things to her son at the wrong time, among other wackos. Each ad has someone thanking Honda for a great deal. The effort, ending Jan. 2, features six TV spots that feature the Honda product line plus rearview camera, Pandora Internet radio and Bluetooth HandsFreeLink. Sarah May Bates, Santa Monica-based RPA's assistant creative director on the account, concedes that this isn't exactly buying season, though it's critical for automakers for a couple of reasons: it pulls sales out of the hat to make year-end volume. Automakers in recent years have moved away from hard-sell to humor, and Honda's no different. Bates points out that the Honda Days effort "pulls consumers in with a brighter, more fun approach than the screaming ‘buy it or die’ messaging,” she said. “These are humorous and relatable stories filled with colorful characters—mischievous kids, moocher roommates and hard-to-read fathers-in-law—that will hopefully be more entertaining for car shoppers this holiday season.” Spots will air on appointment shows like “Modern Family,” “The Good Wife,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Office,” “X-Factor,” and on ESPN, TNT and TLC. The company says creative will also be integrated on display ads running on car-shopping sites and network radio. There are also two Spanish-language TV commercials (the company has used La Agencia de Orci' & Asociados for years to handle Hispanic market efforts.) Print will run in magazines like Entertainment Weekly, People, Sports Illustrated, Time, Us Weekly, USA Today and Wall Street Journal. The company says there will also be Tier III elements that give dealers and, presumably, regional dealer groups access to customizable TV, print, radio, banners and social media assets.
DW+H, a Santa Monica advertising agency, this week relaunched the brand of Santa Monica-based auto shopping site TrueCar. The campaign kicked off on November 19 and will continue to January. According to the release, the campaign is budgeted at $7.5 million. It is the first work DW+H has done for TrueCar since their partnership began. TrueCar allows consumers to study “the Curve,” a “bell curve of actual prices paid for a given car in a given geographic area,” according to the release. By studying “the Curve,” consumers will be more informed when it comes time to actually buy a car. The theme of the ads is, “Let’s Talk Truth.” A line in one of the commercials is, “If someone paid too much for their car, well, it won’t be you.” According to the release, media placement of the ads will be handled by Anaheim Hills-based Icon Media, and the ads are targeting likely purchasers between the ages of 24-54 with a household income of at least $75,000.
In time for the eco-centric Los Angeles Auto Show, market data firm Nielsen has come out with its finalists for best green marketers in the auto category. The firm says green advertising is actually moving the needle on purchase consideration, with consumers reporting 20% higher consideration levels versus 2011. In the lead for the top spot are Ford, Honda, Toyota, Chevrolet and Nissan, all finalists in the third annual ranking, the award for which will be presented at the Los Angeles show on Nov. 29. Auto manufacturers that ran any national TV ads with “green” themes between October 2011 and September 2012 were eligible for consideration, with the award based on how marketers raise awareness of their eco-friendly products and initiatives. Nielsen, whose study is based on a custom survey; response data from six million viewers of national television advertising; and social media “buzz, says green features in vehicles are having more appeal to consumers, with 76% of then saying high fuel efficiency is something a vehicle must have to be considered for purchase. Arguably those parameters have more to do with a buyer's pocketbook than his or her conscience. Toyota's Prius hybrid has traditionally led the segment, though it is part of a large Toyota recall. The brand has expanded over the past couple of years by adding a sub-compact variant, a plug-in, and a crossover version. Ford is preparing to roll out its own plug-in version of Fusion. General Motors, which says it is likely to sell 50,000 hybrids, plug-in electrics and eAssist mild hybrids this year just announced it will have up to 500,000 vehicles on the road with some form of electrification by 2017 with a focus on plug-in technology, including the Cadillac ELR and Chevrolet Spark EV, the latter debuting next week in Los Angeles. For its part, Ford says it has tripled to more than 200 the number of dealers certified to sell Ford plug-in electrified vehicles, the latest of which is the C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid (joining the C-Max hybrid). Ford says 900 of its dealers are now either certified or enrolled for certification. Initial plans were for about 350 certified dealers by early next year. The automaker reports that the number of new vehicle shoppers considering plug-in hybrids is at 25%. The automaker says that by early next year it will be the first automaker to sell three plug-in electrified vehicles. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, speaking at the Wall Street Journal CEO Forum this week in Washington, D.C., said a strategy for alternative vehicles must be part of future product planning, partly because of transportation's dependence on oil. This article initially appeared in MarketingDaily on November 16.
As initially reported in MediaDailyNews on November 16, DirecTV, whose CEO suggested the asking price was indicative of out-of-control carriage fees, has inked a deal to carry the Los Angeles Lakers-focused regional sports network, Time Warner Cable SportsNet. The deal also includes a Spanish-language version. DirecTV’s CEO Mike White was frustrated by the affiliate fees that network owner Time Warner Cable was seeking, calling out an “example of how broken the system is.” DirecTV, however, owns several regional sports networks under a Root Sports umbrella. TWC executive Melinda Witmer said recently: “Time Warner Cable pays a whole lot more for Root Sports than we’ve asked them to pay for the Lakers ... the system’s broken, and it’s a mess when it’s not their product.” The network is available in Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii. Fellow satellite operator Dish Network remains a holdout with TWC SportsNet. Cable operators Charter and Cox have signed on, as have Verizon and AT&T.There was some uproar among Lakers fans who have DirecTV and were deprived of team games, although the Lakers have been struggling. Dan York, chief content officer, stated that the company was "happy to have arrived at an outcome that benefits everyone involved.”
Santa Monica-based Total Beauty Media Group asked the question, “What do women watch?” After conducting a survey on 609 women across the nation, TBMG found some interesting answers. Some of the more intriguing results centered on the Millennials. According to the research, nearly 30 percent of Millennials consume more than 30 minutes of online video daily. Ethelbert Williams, head of marketing at TBMG, said, “What’s interesting is when you talk about this whole behavior of consumers sitting in front of a TV and doing things on their computers, Millennials are the most likely bunch to replace one screen to watch video on another.” About 9 percent of Millennials view their video in the morning. On the flip side, the slightly older crowd of “Young Boomers” view 28 percent of their video in the morning. “Primetime for these Young Boomers is in the morning,” said Williams. “That’s hugely surprising.”