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- An Equally Unconventional Presentation Party (Story)
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| An Equally Unconventional Presentation Party |
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The presentation party held in November 1981 also was decidedly unconventional, in keeping with the City’s character. The stage was set in the high-rise district of the “super city” Shinjuku, known as the other center of Tokyo. All board members, including President Kiyoshi Kawashima, wore jackets over casual outfits in place of rigid business suits. Laser beams and new music were used to create a showy, glitzy presentation. Catalogues were distributed in bags arranged to look like bags of cement. Honda developed a mass media approach that incorporated other media in addition to TV and radio advertising. The new attempts would include issuing the special magazine, City Press, running special programs on the radio and hanging enormous posters at train stations. In addition, a variety of City novelty goods went on sale. Honda even took to the road with a 12-ton truck called the Moving Studio, which was packed with City and Moto-Compo display products to support the dealerships” motor shows. The City had a unique style dubbed “Tall Boy,” which had a number of very creative features. The newly developed Combax engine offered excellent dynamic performance and low gas consumption. It also was sold with Moto-compo, a matching 50-cc motorcycle that went on sale with the City. This was truly a unique package, providing an endless source of news and discussion. Just as powerful and unconventional as the product itself were the sales-promotion activities. From the moment it was introduced, the powerful combination of product and image won enormous support for the City, especially among the young. Nearly 150,000 City cars were sold in the two years after its November 1981 launch, with monthly sales hitting a peak of 16,000 units. The City continued making news when the later high-mileage E, Hyper Turbo, Body Sonic, and High Roof models were introduced. The City indeed made quite an impact on the public in the first half of the 1980s, garnering numerous industry awards and mass media honors. The sales-promotion specialists were also acknowledged for their work in design, and caused a sensation throughout the advertising industry. The introduction of a shorter, second-generation City in October 1986 signaled the completion of the first-generation City’s mission. However, the City’s Tall Boy concept can still be found in Honda’s mainstream products. Moreover, the sales-promotions activities that grew out of the City continued to create fresh, new public sensations, as seen in the Bolero campaign for the second-generation Prelude, and Wonderful World for the Wonder Civic. |
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