Honda in ticket giveaway as it pushes its links with Formula 1

LONDON - Honda UK is launching a national promotional campaign with the offer of a first prize VIP trip to any Fromula 1 Grand Prix in the world.

The motor company is using its links with Formula 1 racing, with Jenson Button as number one driver for the BAR Honda team, in the hope of increasing dealer traffic from the start of the Grand Prix season on March 6.

Honda said it wanted to come up with something that would "stand out from the normal promotional campaigns from other manufacturers".

The promotional campaign, developed by direct marketing agency Hicklin Slade & Partners, is based around the screening of the first two Grand Prix events at Honda's 200 dealers throughout the country and involves a three-tier prize, with second prize giving one winner per dealership a pair of Grandstand tickets to the 2005 British Grand Prix.

The third prize offers a BAR Honda poster to anyone who visits a Honda dealer for the duration of the campaign.

The winners of the British Grand Prix tickets and the overall grand prize winner will be announced live at each dealership following the screening of the Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks later on March 20.

Ian Armstrong, Honda's manager for customer communications, said: "The campaign will benefit from the high-profile nature of the event and the connection with Formula 1 fits well with our target audience, which is male-biased ABC1s aged between 25-54."

The campaign will be supported by a national radio and local press campaign, created by Honda's above-the-line agency Wieden & Kennedy.

The field marketing teams in each territory responsible for driving prospects into the dealers will be managed by Hicklin Slade, which also designed a F1-dedicated area for each dealership.

Andy Hunt, Hicklin Slade group account director, said: "I can't believe that people won't jump at the opportunity to enter into the competition with such a high-value prize on offer. And of course if provides us with great data gathering opportunity as well."

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