For the motorcycle industry, a test ride is always a crucial factor that determines a person’s decision to purchase.
… but here’s the thing: While test rides have always been a part of the field, enduro riders were never satisfied with the experience.
[ Enduro
: A long-distance race, especially for motorcycles, over rough terrain. This is designed to test a vehicle’s endurance.]
Why?
It’s because these riders were never really given the opportunity to test ride on REAL enduro trails before!
That makes sense. After all, how would you know how good a motorcycle is if you’ll only test ride it on a plain, flat, and smooth surface?
Nah. That won’t do.
Because of this concern, one motorcycle brand decided to give enduro riders what they were asking for. We’re talking about…
Honda Motor Company
!
Honda is a multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and battery-powered equipment. Headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, the brand has been the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959.
In 2015, Honda was the 8th largest automobile manufacturer in the world.
“There’s No End of the Road”
In 2020, Honda launched its all-new CRF300
, a new enduro motorcycle packed with features that perform best on off-road trails, in Thailand.
The motorcycle is complete with a LED headlight and winker, Rally windshield, 286CC engine, slipper clutch, 12.8-liter fuel tank capacity, digital meter with gear position indicator, shroud and skid plate, compact muffler, and tail light.
With all these features, riders can experience a more relaxed and worry-free riding!
Now for the exciting part…
Many motorcycle brands offer such off-roading vehicles in different capacities. Given this challenge, how did Honda get its target market to TRULY understand the capability of its CRF300?
Wait a minute. The better question is:
“How did Honda get its target market to TRULY understand the capability of its CRF300 when all its showrooms are located in the city and test rides can only be done on flat concrete roads
?”
Enter the “Off Grid Showroom”
…
The “Off Grid Showroom” was where Honda was able to offer both a genuine test ride experience for enduro riders and a familiarity of a showroom visit in the city.
Partnering with advertising agency CJ WORX
, Honda turned a mountain in Thailand into a showroom only made for the CRF300.
What’s more?
The campaign team brought the whole experience of walking into an indoor showroom, being greeted by sales staff, checking out the motorcycles, and test riding them into the outdoor showroom.
The team made sure to bring every element of an ordinary showroom—office supplies, reception areas, restrooms, food and beverage bar, and merchandise shelves—to the mountain.
So… how did the test ride play out?
The campaign team conducted a live event and promoted the “Off Grid Showroom” along with its trail map on social media.
Afterwards, the MC of the live event test rode the CRF300 and made his way from the reception area to the sales department located on the other side of the mountain.
Showing the real, live test ride through a camera instead of listing technical information from a script in a set-up studio was totally different from all the previous launch events Honda did before.
Besides, the outdoor showroom gave the most genuine experience for enduro riders to test the CRF300 on real enduro trails—with dirt, running streams, and all the dust they love!
Was Honda’s “Off Grid Showroom” effective?
At the end of the live event, Honda’s outdoor showroom proved to be an experience that enduro riders were truly excited to engage with.
Below are the results of the marketing stunt:
- The “Off Grid Showroom” achieved more than Honda expected in terms of sales and PR values. In fact, 97% of riders who visited the showroom made a deal to buy the CRF300.
- Honda’s enduro motorcycles recorded a 73% increase in sales after the launch of the CRF300.
- Honda garnered around 13 million impressions on social media as enduro riders created buzz about the campaign by sharing their experiences at the showroom.
- The limited CRF300RALLY DIRT ADDICT Edition was sold out only 3 hours after its launch!
- The test ride activity was fully booked!
- Honda gained new interests for enduro motorcycles by having a wider range of target groups do a test ride with the brand’s vehicles.
Woah, these are amazing results!
Kudos to Honda and CJ WORX for such an exciting and unconventional stunt!
—
Clearly, this campaign shows the importance of having “off the grid” ideas and creativity in conducting marketing strategies that captivate customers.
By granting what enduro riders wished for, Honda was able to create good publicity for its brand and draw more riders into its showroom.
How about you—what’s your “off the grid” idea to showcase your brand’s offering?
If you don’t have one yet, take the time to think about it.
You’ll see… by exercising your “think outside of the box” skills, you’ll come up with campaigns that generate positive attention and interaction from your target market.
Have a great Thursday, everyone!
Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
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