This is the first part of a two-part series chronicling the steps Tier10 took to cover the 2013 Accord “Cash Car” event in Times Square in NYC on Saturday, October 6, 2012.
On October 1, Tier10 received word that Honda was promoting the all-new 2013 Accord with a giveaway event in the heart of New York City’s Times Square. With the company’s offices just a 50-minute flight away from New York City, Tier10 went to the event with a strategy to provide additional coverage – through different social media channels – of the first of the four-city Accord Cash Car series.
“An agency’s ability to create valuable content for its client base is very important,” said Scott Rodgers, partner and Creative Director at Tier10. “That’s why events like these set us apart from others, because we do everything in-house and are able to generate plenty of content on the fly.”
Tier10 used a similar approach to the strategy it used when covering events like the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit and the 2012 New York International Auto Show: generate effective and engaging content through various social media platforms, including video, Twitter and fast-growing Instagram.
However, unlike the Auto Shows, it was unclear as to whether consumers at the Cash Car event would have close access to any vehicles, so Tier10 was able to secure a 2013 Accord EX from Paragon Honda in Woodside, just across the bridge from Manhattan. The vehicle would be armed with brochures and be parked near Times Square in an area with heavy foot traffic.
Tier10 also did a social media audit of the event, seeing what actual coverage the event would have and what it would be lacking. It then developed a basic outline for the day of the event, with the intent of having engaging content to not only promote the event and interact with consumers at the event, but to also promote the 2013 Accord to consumers that weren’t physically in Times Square.
*Cash Car with Ben Bailey is an American Honda Event Produced by George P. Johnson
