We teamed up with our sister agency Spinifex to help Honda engage buyers in a whole new way at the Houston stop of the national IndyCar Race series, helping the brand make the most of an integrated sports sponsorship deal through immersive onsite activation.
Based on the insight that fans and customers want to be part of the action, not just watch it, our idea was to create an active, participatory brand experience – the “Power of Dreams” experience – a departure from the passive product display approach Honda used in past years.
The solution: we fused together two custom-built 25’ long trailers into one large structure and built it out as the ultimate fan experience zone; fans could play an original 3D IndyCar racing game we developed just for this program using open source code and ready-available consumer tech similar to game controllers (while wearing a fun oversized Indycar racing helmet). A leaderboard displayed scores for all to see and each of the players was teamed up with a virtual Honda race car driver, such as Dario Franchitti.
At the same time, another gallery-style space featured four POV media experiences such as flying in a HondaJet, riding on a dirt racetrack with a Honda motocross bike, driving in a race with a Honda Indycar and riding in a boat powered by a Honda motor. Players were given special cards that were scanned at the different interactive stations and tracked results (as well as lead capture data, of course).
Best of all, nearly 2,000 people interacted with the Power of Dreams installation at the Houston IndyCar activation, with tens of thousands of impressions resulting from a high-visibility presence at this massive sporting event. For Honda this meant more time with customers and brand fans and the ability to deepen the connection between high performance racing and the brand’s support of the sport.
