Honda UK has embraced digital media to boost the impact of its traditional advertising. Ian Armstrong, customer communications manager, explains:
How has Honda used digital exactly?
We have created microsites; we have an IPTV [internet protocol television] channel on the web that we use to show people "making of" footage of our TV ads; we've used mobile to develop a relationship with company car drivers, giving them info on where the nearest hotel or petrol station is. We've also used social networks, where we seeded stories about our campaigns, and have done downloadable videocasts for our ads. It's all about finding ways of keeping people engaged as well as telling stories about
the organisation, which is one of the principles of our strategy.
Why has Honda done this?
Digital helps to make the experience richer and give consumers more information about our business. We don't have the media budgets of other rival car manufacturers, but our digital work is driven by the consumer because it is rare for people to buy a car now without researching it online. So it would be foolish not to have a presence in that space. The challenge is to do something different that stands out.
How effective has the new media element of your advertising been?
There is no hard data, but we find that there is a huge surge of digital interest around the time of any traditional activity. For example, the live "Jump" ad on TV saw traffic to our website triple that evening. When we did "Cog", we had to redraw the scales on our website traffic reporting. It's not quite the same now, because there are lots more opportunities to see Honda content outside the Honda website.
Do you plan to continue to use a similar mix of traditional and new media?
Over the last five years there has been growth in digital, but there will always be a need for traditional media because people like good content. We are trying to improve the functionality and ease of use of some of the technologies. As time goes by and more people use digital, penetration will go up and use will go up more, but it is not an exclusive medium. It is unrealistic to suggest it will take over from traditional media.
Interview by Belinda Archer
