Honda Offers to Pay for Your Gas and Help You Take Your Groceries to Your Car…Will Their "Personal Touch" Increase Sales?


Honda dealers in Los Angeles, have deployed blue-shirted crew members to pump gas for people at gas stations, help people carry their groceries to their cars, wash windshields and pass out popcorn at movie theaters. Will this new “Personal Touch” campaign actually win over potential customers?

For the last five months, Honda dealers have been dispatching crew members all over the greater LA area to spread the news that Honda cares about its customers.

One weekend on a crowded street in Pasadena, Honda covered all the meters with a hood that read “Helpful Honda…It’s on Us”.

This new engagement marketing is a new tactic that many automakers are taking in order to win over new customers. Scion is famous for this strategy with their seasonal concerts and Scion events.

“The strategy is to bring the campaign to life on a personal level with people,” said Dick Sittig, Secret Weapon’s creative director. “Maybe they’ll think, ‘What has my car company done for me lately?”

Who knows if this new tactic will work for Honda, but at one local gas station where Honda was washing the windshields and giving away free gas to Honda owners, one Volkswagen driver proclaimed ” I think I’m going to buy a Honda now!”

Full Story:
LA Times