| This is another article, in a series of articles, breaking | | | | mileage and a little zip, that's my good old Civic. |
| down and critiquing, automotive manufacturers | | | | Honda went back to its roots in a three page spread |
| marketing brochures. Point of sale (POS) materials | | | | exclusively marketing the 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid. |
| account for millions of dollars a year in the automotive | | | | This is what I expect from Honda in regards to the |
| industry. We want to look deep inside these marketing | | | | Civic. The hybrid version of the 2008 Honda Civic |
| brochures and examine the sales and marketing | | | | makes perfect sense for this model. Ever the practical |
| angles for each particular model. | | | | choice for fuel savings, initial investment savings, and |
| In this article, we are going to take a closer look at the | | | | overall automotive cost, the Civic now extends into |
| 2008 Honda Civic. Honda has an 18-page color | | | | environmental "Green" savings with the Honda Civic |
| brochure dedicated to selling its ideas, attempting to | | | | Hybrid. They appeal to your intelligence, "Hybrid: A |
| readjust the way you look at today's Honda Civic. | | | | Smarter Way To Drive". And they appeal to your |
| When you think Honda Civic, what comes to mind? | | | | overall concern of the environment in the classic way |
| We think, great gas mileage, dependability, practicality, | | | | Honda always has. |
| simply a smart purchase. Those qualities and ideas are | | | | The Honda Civic Si Coupe is the portion of the |
| still part of the overall Honda Civic DNA, but Honda | | | | brochure that you would expect some content relating |
| wants to change the way you think about the Civic. | | | | to power and style and verve. "Obey Your Wilder |
| Honda is going after an entirely different market. | | | | Side" is a perfect lead in to this trim level of the Civic. |
| "Spontaneity, Intensity, and Fun"...these are not | | | | The Si has always had a following with the younger, |
| yesterdays advertising keywords associated with the | | | | "Generation X" demo, and Honda has done a great |
| Honda Civic. | | | | job of reinforcing this Civic model again to its |
| Immediately on page 3, Honda asks you to "Go | | | | segmented audience. Naming one of its color, |
| Ahead, Open It Up". Let's see what this baby will do. | | | | Habanero Red Pearl, was another nice touch. |
| "Killer Looks", "Next-Big-Thing-Technology", "Burn Up | | | | Safety only earned one page of the brochure and |
| The Pavement", just a few terms I'd not generally | | | | there is only one page describing the "DNA" of the |
| attach to the Civic. The folks at Honda are pushing this | | | | Honda Civic. |
| vehicles driving experience and persona in an attempt | | | | Honda is making a very conscience effort to expand |
| to lure in an entirely different demographic. | | | | its market for the Civic. This could be a bit of a risk for |
| There is no doubt, the Civic has grown up. The thought | | | | a model that has been more successful than anyone |
| of a navigation system in a model lines lower end cars | | | | at Honda could have ever imagined. I'm sure the likes |
| may seem a bit much, but Honda decided to devote | | | | of the Mazda3 and Nissan Sentra have the marketing |
| an entire page to their version of navigation. Leather | | | | department at Honda rethinking the whole Civic thing. |
| interior also earned a complete one page spread, in an | | | | But, a niche is a niche is a niche. They are stepping |
| attempt to further move away from the traditional | | | | outside the area that has worked so well for them in |
| Civic market and towards a more bold and aggressive | | | | the past. It will be interesting to see if they expand or |
| buyer. | | | | decrease their market share for the Civic with this |
| "Lots Of Thrust, Little Thirst"...This is a bit closer to the | | | | approach. |
| Civic marketing we've all become accustomed to. Gas | | | | |