Fit for Fun: New Marketing Campaign Highlights High Tech and Sporty Character of 2018 Honda Fit

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- "Fit for Fun" campaign marks the most robust multicultural, mobile and social campaign in the Honda brand's history

- Honda targets highly-connected, socially-driven audience for the Fit; 70% of Fit buyers are new to Honda brand

- Campaign incorporates the fun and versatility of Fit through comedians and influencers including Nick Cannon, Renny, Lejuan James and Frankie Quiñones plus integrations with Snapchat, UPROXX, Pandora and mitú

News provided by

American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Sep 01, 2017, 14:34 ET

TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The redesigned 2018 Honda Fit is here – the sportiest and most fun-to-drive Fit yet – and to amplify the Fit's enhanced fun factor, Honda is debuting a new integrated marketing campaign, titled "Fit for Fun," focusing on the 'fun' attributes of the vehicle including: a new Sport trim, striking new colors and enhanced technology including Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™. Fit also now has available Honda Sensing® safety and driver assistive technologies on all trims. The "Fit for Fun" campaign is the brand's most robust multicultural, mobile and social-driven campaign to-date and rolls out with new TV creative and social content incorporating the fun and versatility of Fit, as communicated by comedians and influencers throughout.

Fit for Fun: New Marketing Campaign Highlights High Tech and Sporty Character of 2018 Honda Fit

"Honda has created a campaign for Fit specifically geared toward younger car buyers who lead busy lifestyles and are uber-connected," said Susie Rossick, Assistant Vice President of Honda Marketing at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "Millennials are the most diverse group of buyers out there, and the Honda brand has seen an increase of 12 percentage points in multicultural millennial buyers since 2010. We have created an engaging and comedy-driven campaign that speaks directly to these buyers where they spend the most time consuming media -- online."

2018 Honda Fit Gets Creative
Honda created a contextual marketing campaign for the 2018 Fit that uses elements native to each media platform to demonstrate the key benefit: that the Fit is small but roomy. The campaign leads off with a 30-second general market TV spot, "Fun Surprises," (https://youtu.be/xKR5rksTc_o) in which the entire commercial set is packed into the back of the Fit. Likewise, in the brand's 15-second ad on Hulu, buttons from the Hulu video player are packed into the back of the Fit. On Snapchat and Instagram Stories, emojis and other native elements, like finger-drawn type, get packed into the back. Also on Snapchat, Honda will be the first automaker to capitalize on the platform's Dynamic Filter Component to geo-target those celebrating the Labor Day weekend and returning college students with fun Fit-themed graphics launching in September. Even in the rich media online banners, the Fit Sport interacts with typical banner elements, like the Learn More button.

To extend the Fit campaign to multicultural audiences, Honda is launching a :30 Hispanic TV spot, "Secret Life of Fits" (https://youtu.be/VbSF-ILa_gE) and a series of "Fituation" spots geared toward reaching African American millennial car buyers (https://youtu.be/lrgFiddd7z4).

Fit for Everyone – Multicultural Campaign Elements
In a new :30 Hispanic spot, "Secret Life of Fits," Honda shows how the 2018 Fit is a vehicle built for fun -- adaptable, up for anything, quick and powerful; in fact, it can't stop having fun, even when it's not being driven. The spot targets a diverse group known for their appetite for adventure and excitement – but like to strike a balance between living in the moment while planning for tomorrow – and are looking for a vehicle with some personality. In addition, coming in late September, in partnership with Latino digital network, mitú, Honda will debut a new online series merging comedy with traffic, and will feature comedians including Lejuan James, Frankie Quinones, Jenny Lorenzo and Jesus Trejo.

In the new "Fituation" series of TV spots, co-written and directed by Chris Spencer, Honda is looking to appeal to an African American millennial audience with a focus on the fun aspects of the vehicle including the new Display Audio system, and highlighting the Fit's new Sport trim. Instagram comedian Renny will help deliver the brand's "Fituation" message with a humorous tone. Renny helps communicate the idea that with the Honda Fit, any ordinary situation can be turned into a "Fituation."

Additional Fit Campaign Elements
In support of the launch of the 2018 Honda Fit, Honda will partner with UPROXX to produce five episodes of the hit web series "Hang Time" -- a playful take on the celebrity interview with both guest and interviewer hanging from goal posts, that features the Fit throughout the episodes. Nose-to-nose and joke to joke, it's the most intimate interview in pop culture. Rolling out later this month across key UPROXX platforms and social handles, the episodes for Honda will include appearances by actor/comedian Nick Cannon, Chandler Parsons (Memphis Grizzlies), and chart-topping rapper KYLE (3x Platinum single "iSpy (feat. Lil Yachty)"), amongst others and of course, the 2018 Fit.

The general market "Fun Surprises" TV spot will make its on-air debut within the highly anticipated NFL and NCAA football games at the start of their seasons as well as within top-rated Late Night and Cable programming, including NBC's Saturday Night Live, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, AMC's Fear of the Walking Dead, and FX's The Strain. To target multicultural audiences, the "Fituation" series will extend reach within networks and programs including BET, TV One, NFL, and NCAAF. Likewise, the Hispanic "Secret Life of Fits" TV spot will air in Hispanic Primetime, Cable, and Sports programming. To reach Millennial viewers who are cord-cutters or cord-nevers, the campaign leverages premium online platforms and devices, including Hulu, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku.

About the Redesigned 2018 Honda Fit
The sporty and versatile 2018 Honda Fit has arrived with a stylish new look, updated technology, and available safety features. The newest Fit adds an extra dose of style and attitude with the addition of an aggressive aero-form front underbody spoiler and rear diffuser with orange pinstriping, side underbody spoilers, 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels with gloss black finish and chrome exhaust finisher. Inside, the Sport features a black interior with orange contrast stitching. And on the outside, the new Fit Sport comes in two striking new colors: Orange Fury and Helios Yellow. Major connectivity upgrades to Fit include a 7-inch Display Audio touch-screen featuring Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™, included on Fit Sport, EX and EX-L trims. The subcompact Fit also adds the Honda Sensing® suite of advanced safety and driver assistive features available on all 2018 Fit models (standard on EX and EX-L)

About Honda
Honda offers a full line of reliable, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicles with advanced safety technologies sold through over 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The Honda lineup includes the Fit, Civic, Accord and Clarity Series of passenger cars, along with the HR-V, CR-V and Pilot sport/utility vehicles, the Ridgeline pickup and the Odyssey minivan.

Honda has been producing automobiles in America for 34 years and currently operates 19 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2016, more than 95 percent of all Honda vehicles sold in the U.S. were made in North America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.

SOURCE American Honda Motor Co., Inc.