• by Tanya Gazdik , May 16, 2021

Honda believes it is the first automaker to debut branded stickers on a mobile payment app. 

The “Road Trip” stickers on Venmo are an extension of Honda’s ongoing light truck brand marketing campaign, featuring the Honda CR-V, HR-V, Passport, Pilot and the recently redesigned Ridgeline pickup. The automaker is promoting the stickers on its Instagram Story.

The branded stickers are a way for Honda to add some fun to the conversations among fans and users as they plan their adventures, says Allie Coulter, assistant manager, Honda social media marketing.

‘Knowing the insights about the platform, we felt it was an authentic fit to launch Honda’s branded stickers,” Coulter tells Marketing Daily. “The timing also felt natural for an extension of the Honda Rugged SUV campaign, capitalizing on spring break and other road trip activities taking place this time of year.”

The effort targets Gen Z and millennials, Coulter says.

Three-quarters of Gen Z consumers use peer-to-peer products every month, according to PYMNTS.com. Services such as Venmo and Zelle continue to grow and expand into new and value-added banking services.

The stickers appear on the payment feed as users type in keywords like  “gas,” “adventure: and “road trip” and allow users to personalize their payment descriptions. The stickers can be seen by a user’s friends scrolling through the public Venmo feed.

Honda worked with Holler, a messaging tech company dedicated to creating and delivering animated stickers and GIFs, to make communication between screens more expressive, to develop the “Road Trip” stickers.

The automaker is happy with the results and engagement thus far, she says. 

“Social will play a big role in the upcoming 2022 Honda Civic Launch campaign,” Coulter says. “Honda is exploring new and innovative tactics to expand awareness and social engagement for the all-new Civic that arrives in market this summer.”