Joe Baratelli's Presentation

Editor's Notes

1. NOTE: THiS IS THE SLIDE TO HOLD BEFORE PRESENTATION BEGINS
2. Good afternoon and welcome. I’m Joe Baratelli, Group Creative Director of RPA in Santa Monica. Let me start this presentation off in an unusual way, an apology. If anyone saw my mug and twitter address on the event page and started to follow me, this is what you were met with.
3. Not much, You see I’m not much of a twitter guy. (2008 drinking coffee WOO HOO!)
4. Not tweeting is a trait I share with John Mayer, who recently deleted his twitter account.
5. But, that’s about all I have in common with the pop crooner. My presentation won’t be laced with sexist, racist or similar such remarks.
6. And I will not pontificate whether Jessica Simpson is truly Sexual Napalm…
7. …as john seems to think. (I just don’t have a clear reference point. But I will talk about something far more exciting than this stuff. Something I have known, loved and lived for the past 25? Years.
8. Honda.
9. Honda is everywhere.
10. There are probably more than a few in the airport lot by your car.
11. You may have even left your own beloved Honda in that same parking lot…
12. or in your driveway while you sit here.
13. And if you had a lapse in judgment, you may have driven yours here today, only to find out tolls…
14. …and parking were almost as much as your monthly lease payment. Oops
15. Even Justin Bieber loves his Honda. (He was actually caught smooching in the back of a Honda Accord last week.)
16. And what’s not to love, Hondas are driven by some of pop culture’s favorite characters:[PLAY MOVIE, REEL COMPILATION OF FLIGHT OF CONCHORDS, TRUE BLOOD, SNOOP, SIMPSONS]
17. Honda has always been a brand built on connections.
18. There was even an ad campaign for Honda motorcycles back when “social networking” meant pouring two fingers of scotch and putting up the bridge table for your boss and his wife.
19. I doubt anyone’s ever said a guy in a Honda is trying to overcompensate for personal shortcomings, or is living out his midlife crisis in an Accord Sedan.
20. That’s why when Hollywood is looking to create an entertaining and loveable everyman, they give them a Honda to drive. They are a character trait. Filled with personality that truly makes an instant statement about the person.
21. Sookie would be a little different if she drove a jetta. Or took Jets with Snoop.
22. As would Murray. And many people don’t separate strong characters from “real people” since many of our friendships share that same dimension.
23. These days our contact is through a thumbnail and a status update or tweet.
24. And Michael Scott may be as relevant… as your old college roommate.
25. This is not the first time we have tapped into this collective consciousness. We have built the brand by showing the connection between Honda and their drivers. The Internet technology wasn’t always there, but the message was.(PLAY RHONDA SPOT)
26. (Play Rhonda from Fonda) By the way, that was a real Honda Customer…with real 80’s hair.
27. Now, sometimes, the connection between Honda and their drivers was more apparent than others. (PLAY FACES SPOT) That was from a campaign we did in 2004
28. The interactive component encouraged people to send in photos of themselves and their cars. Visitors voted and the top people got featured in a new version of the spot. Think Hot or Not, but for people who look like a CR-V.
29. And remember, this was 2004. Not everyone had a digital camera,
30. Friendster could be spoken without a snicker, and the closest thing we had to a tweet
31. was the lisping kid on your front porch on Halloween.
32. Here’s how the online spot turned out. (PLAY FACES SPOT FROM REAL PEOPLE)
33. From this universe of brand affinity, we continue to bring it to the “real” people that love their Honda. It’s sort of symbiotic relationship.
34. People don’t just love their Hondas because they are reliable. They love them because they are shown other people that love them. They are supposed to love them.Which leads me to this:
35. (Read Slide) That simple statement is a remarkable testament to the brand, and an honest reason to trust it.
36. It shows up in every focus group – somebody says they bought a Honda because they asked around and everybody loved theirs.  It’s like the famous six degrees of separation theory,
37. But in this case, if I know somebody who loves a Honda, and they know somebody…who knows somebody… who loves a Honda, maybe they will tell a friend, who will tell another friend
38. (Click to Play Slide) And so on, and so on and so on. This campaign is about showing this unique bond between people, Hondas, and other people in an iconic and very human way.  And it’s about getting people to remember the Honda lovers they know, and to think, hmmm, maybe I should be driving one too.
39. First we started in a place where 550 million connections live, work and play on a daily basis, Facebook. We wanted to see if the chain of Honda love could really connect us all.
40. So we built an application for honda lovers to connect to us and each other, in meaningful ways.
41. We drove traffic to Facebook from everywhere, including a micro site that acted as a HUB. It easily let people join in the experiment…
42. …or explore the reasons people love their hondas.
43. People even wrote songs, proclaiming their undying love.
44. Real Honda drivers who participated early enough in the experiment were cast in our TV spots.
45. Some even bragged about it.
46. Here’s one of the spots that broke the campaign, featuring real owners. (PLAY MOVIE)
47. Here’s a rundown on the many facets of the campaign: (PLAY MOVIE)
48. (Click to Play) In the center, lives the H badge. Around it it lies the individual models that help bring it to life. The environmental models like the fcx, Insight, civic gx and hybrid. The Fit and SI, which bring the sportiness and youth to the brand. And there are some that bring both sportiness and green, like the new CRZ. The Pilot and Ridgeline are all about utility. So you see where this is going. Each brings their own unique halo to the brand, and the brand lives as a part of each. The one thing that connects all these models? Anyone?
49. Honda love
50. For us, the strength of this campaign lies in the truth of the statement
51. ... And seeing firsthand the difference our product makes in the lives of people, and how much they love their Honda cars is a rush.
52. (Click to Play) Now overall, our approach has always been to make people feel connected. To speak to our fans different than we speak to intenders. To bring them behind the curtain a bit and to spark a conversation, not monopolize it. We’re the host of the party, and we try to get the conversation going in meaningful ways.
53. Fans love to talk about Honda.  Our most successful status posts are the ones that promote connection. Asking people if they name their cars…
54. …and getting odometer pics . The outpouring of love is tremendous, and we provide a place for fans to show their love.
55. They dazzle us with their culinary artistry.
56. Show us how they piss off their Homeowners association.
57. They take their Honda pink piggies to market
58. And carve their mark into the very essence of their lives.
59. And we recognize these efforts. We curate and share their posts and pictures with all our fans to enjoy.
60. This campaign has truly resonated. Our numbers keep growing, but for us it’s more than that. It’s a way to let our fans know were listening. We make note of what they like, and provide value in our status posts or through apps.
61. For instance, our Civic fans love hiking, so we can send them maps to some of the best local hiking trails. But that’s just the beginning. Fans appreciate when a company “gets them,” and that’s what we try to do.
62. What’s next? Well, we continue to evolve the experiment, with a leader board showing the top connections, interesting statistics…
63. There’s also a lifestyle connection component that lists favorite movies, books and things like that. We try to keep the conversation alive and fresh.
64. Our fans have shown Honda so much love we needed to love them back in real ways, beyond facebook.
65. So we’ve taken it to the street with Honda loves you back events
66. where we travel to places, give free car washes…
67. …or parking to Honda owners. It is unexpected and warmly welcomed.
68. And we also give out gifts. Who doesn’t need a heart shaped air freshener or travel mug for their hot cup of joe.
69. Here’s a video we made for the last Ducks game in Anaheim, which we ran on facebook.(Play Video)There you have it.
70. John Mayer may sing about it,
71. but Honda lovers know how to show it.
72. And they do it in a way that connects a chain of over 5 and a half million people all over the world.
73. From Bulgaria to America, Honda love is everywhere.
74. Keep loving Honda, and Honda will keep loving you back.
75. Thank you.