Concept Café Wins Awards for Honda Accord Campaign That Hits Emotional Buttons in Target Miami Hispanic Market

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Miami, FL (PRWEB) September 24, 2008 -- Concept Café Advertising, an agency built on the notion that tangible business results follow when you create strong emotional connections between brand and consumer, parlayed this strength into three separate awards for a mold-breaking campaign in support of the launch of the all-new 2008 Honda Accord.

The integrated campaign from the creative team at Concept Café, which featured Honda's first 60-second television spot focused on the Hispanic market, successfully played on the common values associated with the Accord brand and its owners - such as traditions and reliability - and the power of the relationship among them. That success was reflected in increased vehicle sales in the target market, a record high for brand consideration and a year-over-year bump in ad awareness.

Advertising Age's Hispanic Creative Advertising Awards gave the Concept Café Accord "Venta" ad its Silver Award in the category of "Creative for Television." Calling the ad "touching," Advertising Age said, "It is all about values for both Honda cars and drivers."

Concept Café's Accord campaign also was recognized by the HispanicAd.com Account Planning Excelencia Awards (HAPE), with a Silver Award for best strategic thinking in the creative development for a product or service. And by the Festival Iberoamericano de la Publicidad (FIAP) of Buenos Aires, Argentina, which presented a Silver Award for acting direction in the television spot.

"These awards are a validation of our focus on highlighting the values and emotions that link consumers with a particular brand in an appealing way, while at the same time not losing sight of product benefits and features." said Salvador Veloso, Executive Creative Director and Founder of Concept Café.

A man and his car are not easily parted

In the 60-second television spot, a man selling his Accord lovingly describes the vehicle, which he nicknamed "Pochito," to the buyer, explaining how a small dent in the rear bumper was the result of nervousness on the day his son was born, while a tiny stain on the rear seat came a few years later when that same son's artwork got carried away. The spot focused not only on the Accord's brand strength as a reliable, well-designed car, but on the emotional attachment its owners feel. The Concept Café planning team spent more than 20 hours interviewing Accord owners to help them develop a picture of what the car meant to them in their daily lives.

Besides the 60- and 30-second television spots, the integrated Accord campaign also included 30-second radio spots as well as a custom-designed website, www.valoresaccord.com (Spanish for "Accord Values"), where visitors could hear real-life stories of Accord drivers and get deep down and personal with the new 2008 Accord.

"We set out to reinforce the Accord's place in the hearts and minds of Hispanic consumers in the South Florida market, by developing an integrated campaign designed to help the Accord stand out from the crowded competition, re-awakening the importance of values for the brand," said Marco Vega, Planning Director & Partner of Concept Café. "In order to accomplish this, we knew we had to go beyond the standard recitation of durability, reliability and quality to connect with consumers on a deeper level. Based on the results of the campaign, we believe we were successful in realizing those goals."

Between the launch of the campaign in October 2007 and June 08, sales of Accords in South Florida to non-Hispanics decreased, while sales to the Hispanic population increased by 5%, accounting for 68% of sales in this market, according to RS Polk Data. Also, brand consideration went up to 96%, its highest record ever, surpassing the Toyota Camry.

"The campaign created by Concept Café exceeded our expectations by telling the story of the new 2008 Accord in a way that hit all the right emotional buttons within the target Hispanic population, demonstrating the value and longstanding appeal of a car we are justifiably proud of," said Richard E. Colliver, Executive Vice President of American Honda Motor Co. Inc. "The results speak for themselves, as the Accord has been established once again as a leading auto brand among Hispanics in Miami."

Other awards from FIAP

FIAP also recognized Concept Café for its work across the Honda family, winning a Silver Award for editing on the Odyssey "Historias" ad, a Bronze Award for special effects on the Civic Si "Dopamina" ad, and a Bronze Award for computer animation for the CR-V "Que es un auto para ti" ad.

To view the Accord "Venta" spot with English subtitles, click here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSLuQPT94gw). To see it en Espanol, click aqui (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxcfJCoaU7g). Note: you may need to hit control + click to launch the spot.

About Concept Café

Founded in Miami, Fla. in 2001, Concept Café is a full-service advertising agency that is all about building and sustaining consumer loyalty through creative, targeted multi-media campaigns that demonstrate brand strength using strong emotional tie-ins. Concept Café believes that human beings are fueled by emotions, and that emotions are triggers, not outcomes, neither good nor bad. Clients include Honda, La Costeña Food Products, Diageo, HADD and Forte 1000. To find out more, visit www.conceptcafeadvertising.com.

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