Background
MPA Creative managed the PR around Honda UK’s motorsport activation between 2014 and 2018, focusing heavily on the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and unique standalone opportunities.
A former client of MPA Fingal, Honda UK re-joined the MPA Creative portfolio at the beginning of 2014. Working closely with Honda UK’s communications team, we provided specialist motorsport PR support, with a particular focus on the manufacturer’s ongoing participation in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC).
MPA Creative extensively promoted Honda’s presence as a major competitor in the high-profile BTCC, producing dedicated press releases, liaising regularly with team personnel and drivers as well as hosting key motoring, motorsport, lifestyle and regional media at each race meeting.
MPA was instrumental in ensuring Honda maximised promotional publicity for the race-ready BTCC variants of its latest models, including 2014’s Honda Civic Tourer and the new generation Honda Civic Type-R (FK8) in 2018.
Our team also worked on Honda’s extra-curricular BTCC activities, orchestrating photoshoots and distributing exciting and original content to various media channels. Examples include the hugely popular Honda Yuasa Racing caravan – which gained column inches and filled photo spreads in a diverse range of publications – and the Silverstone Grid Boys appearance.
In addition to PR services, MPA Creative managed hospitality fulfilment for Honda’s BTCC programme. This included sale and expedition of all hospitality tickets, guest programme services and on-event front-of-house management and supervision of the hospitality area.
As well as the BTCC programme, 2014 saw MPA Creative announce and support Honda’s official partnership of CarFest and leverage our skills and contacts to maximise coverage for the manufacturer pre, on and post-event.
CASE STUDY
When an opportunity was identified to do something a little ‘different’ regarding Honda’s entry for its Civic Tourer model in the BTCC, MPA Creative supported a fun and light-hearted campaign focused around the Honda Yuasa Racing caravan to show off the car’s practical capabilities.
Working closely with caravan manufacturer Bailey, we sourced a caravan for the project and organised a private photoshoot at Silverstone with a Civic Tourer replica race car and BTCC drivers Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden, following which several cryptic ‘sneak preview’ shots were released via Honda’s social media channels.
The caravan was officially launched on race day at Snetterton in mid-summer, with MPA Creative subsequently arranging loans to various lifestyle and specialist publications, including an appearance at CarFest South. This achieved widespread coverage across a diverse range of media, with leading website MSN including it in a feature entitled ‘World’s Coolest Caravans’.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE