automotive

Honda To Sponsor NatGeo's 'Great Migrations' Series

Honda

Honda has signed on as the U.S. presenting sponsor for National Geographic Channel's "Great Migrations." The seven-hour National Geographic television-produced HD miniseries, (which National Geographic says took three years to make) follows animal migrations around the world.

Honda will activate its sponsorship at the corporate level under its "Power of Dreams" platform. The effort, extending the "Dream the Impossible" via Honda's creative agency, Santa Monica-based RPA, includes its own documentary about engineers who work in the automaker's vehicle development system.

It includes people like race driver Danica Patrick, film director Christopher Guest, Tony Hawk, film director Clive Barker and renowned leader in mind-body medicine Dr. Deepak Chopra. The latest short documentary installment will be shown during this autumn's debut of "Great Migrations."

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Honda says it will also get marketing space through National Geographic's brand extensions on the Web through mobile channels, video on demand, home video, licensed products, educational outreach, and consumer events.

Barbara Ponce, Honda's corporate advertising manager, tells Marketing Daily that Honda has produced six "Dream" videos, all of them at Dreams.Honda.com. "We are using the 'Great Migrations' program as a strategic platform to launch film number seven," she says, adding that the thematic content is going to be relevant to the content of "Great Migrations."

Per Ponce, the Honda-produced documentary will be less about migration than about themes that define both the Honda and National Geographic brands. "The brands are also aligned around environment, innovation and exploration."

Honda will also advertise during the broadcast of the "Great Migrations" series, per Ponce. "A big part of it is media placement, so we will run content including advertising content within the programming of the miniseries. That might include 30- or 120-second custom content around the corporate "Power of Dreams" theme."

Honda also has visibility as presenting sponsor in the marketing elements, per Ponce, who says it will run the gamut from Honda's presence as corporate sponsor to "sophisticated co-development of marketing tools, such as vignettes around 'Great Migration.'"

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