Can Honda Build an Emotional Bond With Documentary Films?

During an economic malaise when buying new cars is the last thing on consumers' lists, Honda has concocted a trio of impressionistic short-form Web documentaries to extol its corporate values.

The company's umbrella theme, “Power of Dreams,” and each film's tagline, “Dream the Impossible,” convey the sensibility of the six- to eight-minute docs from director Derek Cianfrance featuring Honda engineers.

The proliferation of Web sites where Honda aims to seed the Webisodes seems to assure it some audience. But will Honda ultimately sell any cars?

That's beside the point, from Honda's perspective.

“The real objective behind the campaign is for Honda to build an emotional bond between the brand and the customers, to put a face behind the company — the passion behind Honda,” says Curt Johnson, vice president and creative director for RPA, the agency that conceived the Web docs for Honda.

Media analyst Gary Arlen of Arlen Communications thinks that planting the docs in a medium where its target audience typically researches vehicle purchases is a sound strategy — and so is the chosen format.

“The idea of showing engineers enables them to convey a deeper message to the serious buyer,” Arlen says.

He also notes that Honda's Web ploy represents a tactic that tops the traditional media approach.

“Because it's on the Web, it's on demand — and because it's not limited by length or time buys, it winds up being a very cost-effective media buy,” he says.

The Web docs reportedly cost approximately 70% of what a 30-second primetime TV spot would run, which means the overall production cost falls in the range of $200,000 to $300,000.

But David Hallerman, senior analyst for eMarketer, points out that production costs are relative to a campaign's impact, and he thinks Honda is treading a “tricky line” with its approach.

“You're asking people to watch a lot of marketing material,” he says. “People who are buying a car want specific information about that vehicle.”

He points out that many consumers view any corporate entity as being big and egotistical.

1: Failure: The secret to Success

“In the end, they're forms of promotional video marketing,” he says.

Honda will be gauging impact on the brand profile with a media measurement partner, according to Jenny Howell, Honda manager of interactive marketing. But she emphasizes that the objective was not simply to fashion as cost-effective the set of videos.

“We really challenged the agency to do something different from a series of TV ads,” Howell says. “It's basically about building the brand affinity and seeing what makes the company tick.”

Todd Carey, RPA associate creative director, says that at a time when Web surfers are willing to view longer videos, the format expanded the creative options Honda is able to explore.

2: Mobility 2088

“Honda has all these stories to tell with these breakthrough technologies they're working on, so we really needed to tell them in a longer form,” he says.

The themes of the three docs currently posted on a Honda microsite are failure as a prelude to success, setting seemingly impossible goals to score engineering breakthroughs, and a futuristic vision of transportation in 2088. An image of light bulbs — evoking Thomas Edison's wearying trial-and-error process — is recurrent in the first film, while a burning ladder, a metaphor for pulling engineers out of their comfort zone, recurs through the second one.