3. 1
Executive Summary
The following report plans to inform and capture the attention of its readers to Vancouver’s firework celebration
and competition called Honda Celebration of Light. Beginning with a brief overview of the event this report will
tackle the marketing section of the Honda Celebration of Light. Within this report the corporate marketing
objectives including their target markets and brand strategies and also digital marketing. Along with exploring
the marketing plan elements such as the official App (Appendix A). In conjunction with both these elements this
report will also explore the effectiveness of corporate marketing objectives and the event marketing objectives
and provide a conclusion that will dictate what recommendations would be given to the Event Management
team running the Honda Celebration of Light.
Overview
The Honda Celebration of Light is an annual firework
spectacle that draws thousands of people to
downtown Vancouver. Going into its twenty sixth
year the annual celebration is considered to be one
of longest-running offshore fireworks competition
in the world. Over the selected days three
companies representing their country perform a 25
minute fireworks display set to accompanying music
and are judged by a panel on various technical
criteria.
This event is put on by three major stakeholders and
supported by many sponsors including titled
sponsor Honda (Appendix B). The Vancouver
Fireworks Festival Society is the not-for-profit
organization overseeing the Celebration of Light
Fireworks Festival. According to their website they
are made up of volunteer community and business
leaders whose primary aim is to bring the
community together for a free family fun event and
to ensure the long lasting sustainability of the event
in Vancouver. Also involved is the Brandlive
Management Group who are a leading event
production and creative agency, based in Vancouver,
Canada delivering award-winning work for a diverse
portfolio and offering many different event services.
The last major party involved is Sirius Pyrotechnics
who produces and competes globally at major
fireworks festivals while also designing new
fireworks.
While firework shows in general may be popular
there are very few that reach this level of skill and
grandness. However, the Vancouver Celebration of
lights does face fierce competition from a few select
competitors. On the Canadian level it challenges
L’International des Feux Loto-Québec, the Montreal
Fireworks Festival is the most prestigious and
largest fireworks competition in the world. It is an
annual international competition held in Montreal,
Quebec, Canada since 1985 (Appendix C). Another
Canadian competitor is GlobalFest, this competition
has been held in Calgary, Alberta every August
featuring cultural pavilions, a film festival and an
international fireworks festival (Appendix D).
Corporate Marketing Objectives
Honda is a proudly Canadian
company coming to Canada in
1969 beginning with motorcycles
and power equipment. Honda is
the first Japanese automobile
manufacturer to establish a production facility in
Canada. Honda considers themselves a successful
Canadian story. Canadian magazine awarded the
company top 40 Canadian Brands in 2013 (Appendix
E). Honda was ranked highly due to their
commitment to the environment, great place to
work, high-quality and innovative products
(Appendix F). Honda is partnered with many other
sponsorships including; CP24 Chum Christmas Wish,
Earth Rangers, Montreal Science Centre and Junior
Red Riders.
Honda’s objective as the title sponsor is to create
brand awareness surrounding their corporation. In
2015 Honda announced that they would be
renewing their partnership for three years as the
4. 2
title sponsor. By sponsoring the event there is a
mutual benefit for both the Honda Celebration for
Lights and Honda as a corporation. Many of the
benefits Honda is receiving from this partnership
include; media exposure, brand advertising
opportunities, strengths of shared goals, and
category exclusivity. With four large media sponsors
including; Global BC, The Vancouver Sun,
Vancouverisawesome.com, and Van City Buzz
Honda is gaining great exposure (Appendix G).
Category exclusivity is valuable as Honda is the only
car company that is a partner.
Target Markets / Audiences
Honda targets localized markets with regionally
focused advertising campaigns targeting specific
demographics. Honda offers a large variety of cars
also targeted at different demographics. For
example, the Civic Coup and Si Coupe are smaller
cars targeted at Generation Y. The Media Strategy
Manager commented “Individuality, mobility and
connection to the social universe. When we dug into
insights, music was a huge component.” Honda took
a unique approach by targeting consumers through
social platforms such as Spotify letting consumers
create music scrapbooks. The average consumer of
a Honda Civic is in their forties or fifties however the
younger demographic is now increasing. 21% of
buyers are under 35 and Honda is looking to change
that with their digital marketing strategies. At the
Honda Lights Festival, Honda is targeting 21+ year
old people living in Vancouver that have the
purchasing power to buy a car.
Brand Strategies
Honda’s brand strategies include localizing with
headquarters around the world operating
individually of one another. There vehicles are
localized to target the target demographic in the
region. Daily, non-scheduled meetings called
"waigaya" take place at Honda at all levels to
encourage employees to re-evaluate decisions and
seek better alternatives. As one Honda executive
put it: "Waigaya to me means perpetual
dissatisfaction. At our company, self-satisfaction is
the enemy." Honda does not replace employees
with robots unless the labour is dangerous because
they want to keep innovative alive and keep their
employees motivated. "Once you automate, you're
incapable of further improvement," said Sean
McAlinden, chief economist at the Center for
Automotive Research, paraphrasing Honda's
perspective. Since Honda’s founding each CEO has
been a prior engineer. Unlike other industries that
have CEO’s with a background marketing, sales, or
accounting. The CEO’s success is measured by
innovation and creativity not by quarterly results.
Marketing Strategies
Honda is currently focusing on web and digital
marketing.
Social Media
Facebook Page: 3,870, 002 likes.
The Facebook page encourages
users to “Share and celebrate the
stories that make driving a Honda
so special.” The Facebook page is
currently focusing on the Honda
Zomboni Machine Design Face-off submission. The
page also contains fan pictures of owners with their
Honda’s. Honda also posts Honda advertisement
photos and videos frequently.
Twitter Page: The Honda Twitter page has 696,000
followers and 38,100 tweets since joining in May
2009. The account is currently promoting a
#OpenTheCheer contest. Many followers are
retweeting using the twitter handle Open The Cheer
5. 3
and Honda is creating consumer engagement by
tweeting back at consumers.
Website
The Honda Canada website includes vital
information for consumers such as information
about airbag recalls. The website is also promoting
special offers for the holiday season including a
Honda Shift Into Red Event promoting motorcycles
as “the season to save on the ride of your life.” There
is also an additional tab promoting vehicles that are
eligible to a $1,000 holiday bonus.
Ad Campaign
In August 2015 Honda launched their newest brand
campaign aiming to mark 2015 as Honda’s year. The
ad highlights the diverse products Honda offers
from cars, motorcycles, to jets lined up in the shape
of a rocket (Appendix H). Marketing lead in Europe
comments “Thinking about our launches this year
we wanted to do something big. We felt it was only
right to liken our engineering achievements to the
biggest feat in mankind’s history – space
exploration.” The current brand strategy is “race to
be better” the brand is moving more towards a sport
and technologically advanced brand.
Event Objectives
From its initial run date in July 1990, to the
celebration of its silver anniversary in 2015, the
Honda Celebration of Light has become one of the
largest events in Canada. Ranked number eight on
BizBash’s Top 100 Events in Canada: 2015 edition
(Appendix I), it has morphed into the longest-
running offshore fireworks competition in the world.
The festival hosts close to 1.4 million attendees per
year, and has been providing these attendees with a
memorable guest experience. The Vancouver
Fireworks Festival Society, the non-for-profit society
who oversees the Celebration of Light event has
established that its primary aim of the event is to
bring the community together for a free family fun
event and to ensure the long lasting sustainability of
the event in Vancouver.
Target Audiences
The Honda Celebration
of Light has become an
event that continues to
grow in nature. Upon
the addition of new
elements including the
Sunset Beach Festival,
which includes the SHOREFEST concert series
(Appendix J), the event has embodied a new level of
life. The inclusion of the Stanley Park Food Bistro has
helped round the event out to feature activities for
all members of a family, and in 2014 featured a food
truck festival as a homage to Vancouver’s diverse
and mobile culinary community (Appendix K).
Moving away from targeting primarily firework
enthusiasts, the Honda Celebration of Light has
become an event modeled at families of all ages.
While still targeted at individuals who possess a
fascination for the fireworks, the event now
provides a multitude of activities that has expanded
their target audience.
Brand Strategy
The primary brand strategy for the Celebration of
Light has been dominated by their sponsorship deals
and relationships. Before Honda became the Title
Sponsor in 2012, the event was known as the HSBC
Celebration of Light. The event’s title changed after
HSBC ended their sponsorship deal with the festival,
only to interchange their title with their new
financial leader. LG 104.3 FM’s relationship with the
6. 4
festival has been ongoing, as their radio station is a
primary tie to the structure of the event.
The event has also used the City of Vancouver as a
brand strategy, marketing the event to be an
integral part of the city’s cultural makeup. Both the
Government of British Columbia and YVR Airport
being primary event sponsors, the Honda
Celebration of Light has become a part of the city’s
identity. For an event that costs over $2 million to
produce, the City of Vancouver plays a heavy hand
in its sponsoring, as they contribute over $700 000
of in-kind services, including policing, engineering,
and sanitation services. By continuing to produce an
event that provides substantial economic benefit,
the city has worked hard to accept the festival as
one of the entertainment jewels of the city.
Marketing Strategies
Social Media
The Honda Celebration of Light has two prime social
media campaigns that include a Facebook Page and
Twitter Handle and Page. Both of these official social
media pages are under the name Celebration of
Light.
Facebook Page: Celebration of Light has 12 257 Likes,
and features a variety of posts on the page including
re-posts from other Facebook users who have
promoted the event. It also features an About tab
highlighting an event description and website
information (Appendix L).
Twitter Page: @CelebOfLight follows 1 302 accounts
and has 5 195 followers, and features a variety of
posts on the page including promotional tweets
about the event (Appendix M), re-tweets from
individuals mentioning the event, and promotional
tweets by sponsors. It also features a link to the
event website and offers a brief description of the
event, and follows the hashtag #CelebOfLight
There are other unofficial social media pages that
are marketed under Honda Celebration of Light,
however they are not deemed official pages by the
Celebration of Light event team.
Website
The Honda Celebration of Light official website has
a variety of educational and promotional materials
for its viewer (Appendix N). It features all the
activities of the weekend long festival, including the
SHOREFEST concert series as part of the Sunset
Beach Festival. The website has a page for all event
sponsors, and provides links to their official
websites. The website features a link to purchase
tickets, and has links to both their official social
media marketing campaigns at the bottom of the
website. It is aesthetically pleasing and works as a
great marketing tool by providing potential
attendees all the required information that they
need to attend the event.
Mobile App
Working in correlation with their
social media and websites, the
Honda Celebration of Light has
developed a mobile app for all
types of smartphones that
works during the days of the
event (Appendix A). The app
shows attractions that happen before/after
fireworks, voting function to allow for Canadian
citizens countrywide to vote for their favourite
display, a musical soundtrack for the fireworks’
performance, and a corresponding schedule of
bands playing at SHOREFEST. The app is available for
both Apple and Android devices and can be
downloaded free of charge through their respective
app stores.
Evaluation of Effectiveness
Honda Celebration of Light is the longest running
offshore fireworks competition in the world and
BC’s largest public event. The fireworks are
synchronized to music which is broadcast over the
radio station LG104.3 FM, which adds to the
entertainment value during the event and also
partners with a well-known local radio station that
has a farther reach than just speakers. Because
people can hear the music on apps and a portable
radio, and watch from various locations, more
people are able to participate and engage with the
event.
7. 5
Part of their objectives in event marketing include
bringing 400,000 people to English Bay and Sunset
Beach each night the event runs.
Corporate Marketing Objectives
As a result of bringing a large amount of people to
the event, it contributes a substantial amount – $40
million in 2015 – to tourism and hospitality spending
each year. According to Score Marketing Inc. which
is in charge of garnering sponsorship for the
Celebration of Light 2015, “The Honda Celebration
of Light saw over 1.2 Million fans this past year
coming from communities across the Lower
Mainland and throughout BC.”
This marketing firm also aims to achieve other
corporate marketing objectives that include goals
such as, mass awareness through on site
promotions, media impressions, creating
opportunities to help other brands to be attached to
event features in the sports, entertainment, fashion,
and content sections, as well as create experiential
opportunities. They also aim to create multi-channel
digital engagement.
In 2012, Mayor Gregor Robertson of Vancouver
states that the event provides a huge boost to small
businesses and the vibrant local economy, so it does
appear that the Celebration of Light is achieving
some of their corporate marketing objectives.
Event Marketing Objectives
In line with their corporate marketing objectives,
the Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society aims to
showcase Vancouver and make it proud as hosts to
British Columbians, Canadians and visitors from
around the globe.
It also seeks to create an atmosphere for the
attendees to enjoy the competition, as well as the
food, drink, and music during the event days. Within
this objective is another objective – to create a
sense of community within the attendees. This was
achieved through the common viewing of the
fireworks, as well as the use of social media and app
technology to link a person quickly to information
and give them an active say to vote on who created
the best fireworks. In addition to this, the festival’s
partnership with various restaurants like The Keg
and the Stanley Park Brewing Bistro continue to
integrate the community through local businesses
(Appendix B). “The 25th Anniversary of the Honda
Celebration of Light is a testament to the lasting
relationship this festival has with the residents of
Metro Vancouver,” said the Chairman of the
Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society. Honda
Celebration of Light is the largest public event in
British Columbia and continues to reach out to
engage several generations of fireworks fans.
One such engaging activity is a scavenger hunt
where you can win cash, tickets, or backstage passes.
This interaction is a good marketing tool to draw
interest in the times outside of just the fireworks,
which helps the tourism business surrounding the
event.
Overall, the festival event continues to grow in
attendee size, and helps the city of Vancouver grow
in sales and tourism departments. It actively
engages clients in new and innovative ways,
including the transition into social media and app
technology to reach out to younger generations. It
is in this way that it appears to be a very effective
marketing strategy by creating the sense of
community and integrating engagement activities
each year.
8. 6
Conclusion / Recommendations
Although the Honda Celebration of Light is
successfully growing every year, it is crucial to
analyse the level of satisfaction for each year’s
participants in order to keep growing the event over
the long-term purpose. We recommend paying
attention to collecting participants’ feedbacks as a
primarily data and using it for improvements the
coming year. For returning participants, their royalty
and great feedback through word of mouth will
significantly impact the reputation of this type of
event. Even though this festival has been running for
25 years, always remember the reputation can go
down immediately. Satisfied participants will
correlate to satisfied sponsors as well.
Throughout our secondary data research, such as
social media and website feedback, we found
several issues in the 2015 event:
Waste management
Lack of washroom facilities
A few drones were interrupting the sight while
fireworks
The quality of firework is not as good as
competitors
The above data might not be as accurate as primarily
data; however, it can be helpful to help in preparing
for next year’s event.
As of today, Honda’s market share 8.8 percent is 5th
in Canada’s vehicle sales ranking (Appendix O). Their
annual sales have continued to increase since 2012,
which is when they started to title sponsored this
event (Appendix P). However, they are still below
than their main competitors, such as Toyota (ranked
no.2) and Hyundai (ranked no.4). Since they are the
main title sponsor, adding more aggressive
marketing throughout this event could benefit their
brand image and it can also improve positive brand
image to prospective buyers.
More than 64% of festival attendees said they felt
more positive about the place where the event was
held. By increasing the satisfaction of participants, it
will also correlate a positive feeling and this can be
an important factor in improving perceptions of
places and the event can better help to improve the
city’s economy and corporate business as well.
17. 15
References
About Us. (2015). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from http://hondacelebrationoflight.com
About. (2015). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from http://www.globalfest.ca
About. (2015). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from http://www.montreal-fireworks.com
Baker, R. (2015, August 2). Team Canada wins 2015 Celebration of Light in Vancouver - British Columbia - CBC
News. Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/team-
canada-wins-2015-celebration-of-light-in-vancouver-1.3177121
Bizbash. (2015). Top 100 Events in Canada 2015. Retrieved on December 2, 2015.
http://www.bizbash.com/celebration-light-vancouver-8-festival-parade-longest-running-
offshore/gallery/167402
Celebration of Light - Vancouver, BC. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from
http://www.yelp.ca/biz/celebration-of-light-vancouver
Connect With Us. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://hondacelebrationoflight.com/festival-
info/news/
Economic Impact & Research Studies. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from
http://www.festivalsandeventsontario.ca/resources/economic-impact-study
GOOD CAR BAD CAR. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2015/05/april-
2015-canada-auto-sales-results-by-brand.html
Honda Civic Campaign Reflects Media Strategy. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2015, from
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/217066/honda-civic-campaign-reflects-media-
strategy.html
Honda launches review of digital advertising, marketing work. (2014, January 7). Retrieved December 5, 2015,
from http://www.autonews.com/article/20140107/RETAIL03/140109906/honda-launches-review-of-
digital-advertising-marketing-work
Honda Celebration of Light. (2015). Connect with Us. Retrieved on December 1. 2015.
http://hondacelebrationoflight.com/festival-info/news/
Lee, Jeff. (2014). Celebration of Light: Vancouver’s love affair with things that go boom. Retrieved on
December 1, 2015.
http://www.vancouversun.com/Celebration+Light+Vancouver+love+affair+with+things+that+boom/97
97719/story.html?__lsa=987e-3207
Maughan, C., & Bianchini, F. (2004). THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF CULTURAL FESTIVALS. Retrieved
December 3, 2015, from
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/documents/publications/phpvY0hNv.pdf
18. 16
Proudly Canadian. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from https://www.honda.ca/honda-in-canada
Rothfeder, J. (2014, July 29). 5 Brilliant Strategies That Make Honda One Of The World's Most Innovative
Companies. Retrieved December 1, 2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com/strategies-that-make-
honda-innovative-2014-7
Score Marketing Inc. » Honda renews Title Partnership. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from
http://scoreinc.ca/honda-renews-title-partnership/
Score Marketing Inc. » Honda Celebration of Light. (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2015, from
http://scoreinc.ca/portfolio/honda-celebration-of-light/
Title Sponsor. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://hondacelebrationoflight.com/honda-renews-
title-sponsorship-of-celebration-of-light/
(n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2015, from https://www.marketingweek.com/2015/08/13/honda-shifts-brand-
image-from-whimiscal-to-daring-as-it-celebrates-biggest-every-year/
(2015). Celebration of Light. Retrieved on December 1, 2015. https://www.facebook.com/CelebrationOfLight
(2015). Celebration of Light. Retrieved on December 1, 2015. https://twitter.com/CelebOfLight
