HONDA MOBILIO Honda launched a YouTube Campaign for their new premium 7-seater, Mobilio in June 2014 For the first time Honda got a celebrity to endorse its car – well-loved comedian Kapil Sharma The Youtube campaign ran a series of short videos revolving around Kapil Sharma’s comic timing and the features of the car which became very popular The brand saw a steady rise in organic views on their Youtube videos and it pushed the campaign further using social media influencers on Twitter

Pros: The brand capitalised on the popularity of Kapil Sharma and in one, featured him with his on-screen wife Manju (Shumona), which grabbed eyeballs Relief from the conventional Bollywood stars The ads turned out to be funny with great puns, especially in the ‘Neta’ ad, where one finds a pun at every step. On “seats” of the car and elections, the “laal-batti”, passing the “bill” of the car and bills in the Parliament and so many more The ads are amusing yet describe the car features as a part of the story which ingrains in the viewer’s minds that it is a 7-seater It managed to get its message across subtly with comic timing, which made the ad very light and didn’t seem like the brand was pushing the car to the consumers

Cons: Honda Mobilio is a premium 7 seater which makes it an aspirational car. It forms a part of one’s desires and aspirations which clashes with Kapil Sharma’s popularity. He may be popular but not as admirable a celebrity as is needed for the car The campaign links aspiration and admiration with mass popularity which is terribly off balance The campaign should have utilized more digital channels of connecting with the masses rather than just the typical Youtube, Twitter and Facebook

If I were to execute the campaign and make it better, I’d make it more interactive. Like initiating a Honda Mobilio treasure hunt for test-drive applicants, say on the day of the launch. Invitations for the event could be sent out to Bloggers & Vloggers to get greater coverage on digital media. These Bloggers, Vloggers and test-drive applicants will then be divided into small groups who are sent on a treasure hunt. Hence they get to test drive the car and have a great time too. The team that wins receives goodies from Honda.

This gives the Mobilio more visibility in the digital world as Bloggers, Vloggers and Social Media Influencers have a dedicated set of fans and followers. Their reviews contain honest opinions and are hence considered to be more personal and believable than traditional advertisements. Bloggers will write positive experiences and share it with their communities Vloggers could make videos during the day out, in their quirky fashion and post for their followers to see Twitter Influencers could be asked to tweet about the event till the brand hashtag trends, to generate more curiosity about the car