Are you set up to deliver reactive brand experience?

By Nadia Mkinsi, Planning Executive, RPM

This month saw the release of the latest instalment of Honda’s Start Something Special campaign, which seeks to inspire consumers vicariously with big, heart-warming experiences. The latest video depicted a soon-to-be-married couple of die-hard Honda drivers who had asked their local dealer to lend them three black CR-Vs for the bridal party. On their wedding day, eight CR-Vs delivered a series of thoughtful surprises: the band the couple heard on their first date, a troupe of Irish step dancers, and unexpected relatives flown in from Ireland.

The video itself is a saccharine and fairly generic piece of digital content designed to “go viral” and be circulated across social media platforms (it has racked up just shy of a million views); it is the highlight of the hondastories.com which collects consumer-submitted anecdotes. But it also serves to illustrate a rare case of ‘reactive’ brand experience.

Rapid response marketing has become increasingly popular in the past year or so. When something begins to trend online, brands have a narrow window to ride the trend and be relevant; prime examples of this are Lynx’s Prince Harry ad after his Vegas Scandal, and Oreo’s program of daily newsjacking. However, we rarely see this strategy employed in brand experience.

We can only speculate as to the actual process behind the Honda video – but it’s apparent that a local dealership spotted an opportunity in the couple’s (fairly mundane) request and forwarded it to the brand team, who then collaborated with agency RPA to create the experience as part of the brand’s wider campaign. What’s commendable, though, is that the internal culture at Honda actively encourages these initiatives, and that their people are ‘switched on’ enough to identify new and interesting opportunities, even outside of the usual channels and structures.

Although the process is bound to be more complex than, say – writing a clever tweet, or designing, approving, and buying last-minute media space for a press ad – the impact is also bound to be larger. Fostering a culture of collective commitment and optimising communication channels can help to create an environment that is conducive to delivering reactive brand experience, and reaping the rewards of ideas with real sociability.