Honda Canada
Honda Canada
Honda Canada
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In February 2014, Kate Lucek, manager of Customer Conquest Management at Honda Canada Inc.
(Honda Canada), was planning the relaunch of the Honda Fit, an entry-level car. The relaunch had been
scheduled for May 2014. Unveiled for the first time in Canada in 2008, the Honda Fit was being
relaunched by Honda Canada, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Ltd. (HMC) of Japan, in
accordance with the corporate practice at HMC of relaunching existing car models every six years.
Relaunches had two objectives—to ensure that HMC stayed its course in a market that was becoming
competitive and, of late, to stay relevant to consumers whose buying behaviours were morphing.
The 2008 launch had been aimed at the broad category of young adult males and females. The 2014
relaunch was being aimed at an up-and-coming demographic cohort within that category, known as
millennials. Occupying the age group of 18–34 years, millennials were the single largest buyer segment on
its way to prime working and spending years. They were a natural—and compelling—target for car
manufacturers.
Lucek had been with Honda Canada for over a decade in various roles in marketing. She was familiar
with the profiles of entry-level customers and what motivated their behaviour and preferences. The
interests of millennials were akin to those of earlier generations of customers in similar age groups. They
were all, for example, health conscious. They were all networkers. Where they differed was in the use of
technology. Millennials had access to new channels of communication (such as social media) and were
aligned with new concepts (such as sharing economy); together, these differences set them apart from
their predecessors to the point of being almost unrecognizable. Millennials were a daunting target for auto
marketers in particular because of their reluctance to buy and own a car. The conventional car sales pitch,
based on attributes such as durability, quality, and reliability did not appeal to them at all.
The Honda Fit had received critical acclaim at several quarters for its performance. It had been named
Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 1 In 2012, Car and Driver magazine had
chosen it as one of the 10 Best Cars of the year. 2 U.S. News & World Report tagged the Honda Fit as the
1
“2017 Honda Fit: Minicar,” IIHS HLDI: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute, 2017, accessed
January 2, 2017, www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/honda/fit-4-door-wagon.
2
“2012 10Best Cars,” Car and Driver, December 2011, accessed January 2, 2017, www.caranddriver.com/features/2012-
10best-cars-feature.
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best vehicle in its class.3 The car also won a Subcompact Shootout competition staged by USA Today and
MotorWeek. 4 However, cumulative sales for the six-year period since the 2008 launch were less than
50,000 units. Growth in retail sales was negative for five out of six years (see Exhibit 1). The purpose of
the relaunch was to provide momentum to sales growth.
As she prepared to relaunch the Honda Fit, Lucek had to make two important decisions: How should the
Honda Fit be connected with a demographic group that was not enthusiastic about buying a car; and what
medium of advertising and promotion should be used to address them?
The Canadian automotive industry accounted for about 15 per cent of North America’s annual vehicle
output. 5 In 2013, for example, the Canadian industry produced 2.37 million units out of the total North
American production of 16 million units. This industry was also the largest manufacturing sector in the
Canadian economy, contributing 12 per cent to manufacturing gross domestic product. 6 The sector had
450 companies with 1,250 assembly and production facilities. It provided direct employment to 117,000
workers and generated CA$84.7 billion7 in sales in 2013. 8
Canada had built up competencies in automobile manufacturing, giving it a competitive advantage over
other nations. It had expertise in research and development in materials, machinery, parts, and finished
vehicles. Canadian automobile companies were known for their ability to launch complex and state-of-
the-art manufacturing projects, and both their plants and labour were high level.
Canada had automotive clusters in four provinces—Ontario (focused on vehicle assembly; original
equipment parts; and auto-related machine, tool, and die industries); British Columbia (focused on fuel
cells); Manitoba (focused on buses); and Quebec (focused on heavy vehicles and electric vehicle
components). Each was an ecosystem that attracted potential investors, both domestic and international.
In a study of global business locations for auto parts manufacturing, consultancy firm KPMG found that,
among the Group of 7 countries, 9 Canada had the lowest business cost structure and the second-lowest
business tax burden. 10 Canadian auto makers had an 11.2 per cent advantage in labour costs over their
U.S. counterparts. The firm also found that Canada offered an overall cost advantage of 3 per cent over
the United States and 3.5 per cent over Japan in auto parts.
Canada was home to the operations of 14 foreign automakers—six from Japan (HMC, Toyota Motor
Corporation, Nissan Motor Company Ltd., Mazda Motor Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, and
Subaru Corporation); three from the United States (General Motors Company, the Ford Motor Company,
3
“Honda Fit,” U.S. News & World Report: Best Cars, 2017, accessed January 2, 2017, https://cars.usnews.com/cars-
trucks/honda/fit.
4
“2013 Honda Fit Review,” CarGurus, accessed January 2, 2017, https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/2013-Honda-Fit-
Overview-c23545.
5
“Invest in Canada [Automotive Sector],” Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, Winer 2014, accessed
November 5, 2016, www.international.gc.ca/investors-investisseurs/assets/pdfs/download/Automotive.pdf.
6
Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, “Role: FCA Canada Inc., Ford and General Motors are the Principal Drivers
of Canada’s Automotive Industry,” CVMA.ca, accessed October 25, 2016, www.cvma.ca/eng/industry/role.asp.
7
All currency amounts are in Canadian dollars unless specified otherwise.
8
“Canada’s Cost and Tax Advantages—Automotive,” Government of Canada [Invest in Canada], accessed November 5,
2016, http://international.gc.ca/investors-investisseurs/assets/pdfs/download/Factsheet-Automotive-2016.pdf.
9
The Group of 7, or G7, countries were Japan, the United States, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada.
10
“Canada’s Cost and Tax Advantages—Automotive,” op. cit.
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and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.); three from Europe (Volkswagen Group, BMW, and Mercedes-
Benz); and two from South Korea (the Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motor Corporation). Honda
Canada was the second-largest producer and seller among Japanese auto companies in Canada, next to
Toyota Canada.
MILLENNIALS
Millennials numbered 6.3 million in Canada and 68 million in the United States. 11 Millennials were not
ideal customers. They carried college debt that in the United States averaged US$26,600 upon
graduation. 12 The rate of unemployment among millennials, which was higher than in other demographic
segments, prevailed at 14.5 per cent in April 2013 in Canada.13 Youth unemployment in the United States
had risen from 14 per cent in 2007 to 21 per cent in 2013. 14 Having come of age in an era characterized
by the disruptive phenomena (such as 9/11, protracted wars, and the economic downturn) and anti-
establishment movements (such as Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring), millennials’ shopping and
consumption behaviours were influenced by the unique experiences of their time. Many of them preferred
to live with their parents, and they tended to postpone traditional life cycle events such as getting married
and having children. Millennials considered the ownership of goods and services to be a burden. A study
by finance company The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. found, for example, that even at the peak of their
home-buying years, millennials were reluctant to enter the housing market. 15
Millennials were value-conscious and were drawn to the dollar channel. A study by market research
company The NPD Group, Inc. showed, for example, that while the brick-and-mortar retail segment saw
a 4 per cent decline in store visits during the second quarter of 2014, the dollar store sub-segment saw a
14 per cent increase during the same period. The study attributed the attraction of millennials to dollar
stores to the stores’ low prices. 16
Among millennials’ priorities, possessing a car did not rank high—as it did for baby boomers. 17
Millennials did not mind depending on mass transit and seemed in no hurry to give up use of their
skateboards, bicycles, and feet. They would purchase a car out of necessity rather than as a rite of passage
for celebrating a life event such as graduating from college, getting a job, or buying a home.
However, as a demographic group, millennials were the most diverse, educated, socially conscious, and
tech-savvy. They were also projected to be the wealthiest ever. For example, their global buying power (at
US$3.4 trillion) exceeded the buying power of baby boomers (at US$2.8 trillion). Forty per cent of all new
vehicles were to be sold to millennials, who would be the customers for cars for the rest of the 21st century.
11
“Target: Millennials,” Ad Age: Content Strategy Studio, accessed April 28, 2014,
http://brandedcontent.adage.com/cableguide2013/article.php?id=355.
12
Chris Denhart, “How the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis is Crippling Students, Parents and the Economy,” Forbes,
August 7, 2013, accessed December 22, 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/specialfeatures/2013/08/07/how-the-college-debt-is-
crippling-students-parents-and-the-economy/#5338a7fd1a41; CA$1 = US$0.81 on February 1, 2014..
13
Josh Kolm, “Why Are so Many of Canada’s Young People out of Work?: Generation Y’s Sense of Entitlement is Partly the
Result of Empty Career Promises,” CBC News: Canada, June 21, 2013, accessed December 22, 2016,
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/why-are-so-many-of-canada-s-young-people-out-of-work-1.1370260.
14
“Are the Wheels Coming Off for Generation Y?,” TNS, November 22, 2013, accessed January 2, 2017,
www.tnsglobal.co.uk/sites/tns-uk/files/TNSUK_Auto2013Nov22.pdf.
15
“Millennials: Coming of Age,” Goldman Sachs: Our Thinking, accessed November 16, 2015, www.goldmansachs.com/our-
thinking/pages/millennials/index.html.
16
Ibid.
17
Baby boomers referred to people born between 1946 and 1964, when there was a spike in birth rates.
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A 2012 survey by The Boston Consulting Group’s Center for Consumer and Customer Insight on how
millennials were perceived by non-millennials and by millennials themselves showed that millennials had
a more positive perception of themselves than non-millennials had of millennials (see Exhibit 2). The
survey pointed out that such perceptions were likely preventing marketing professionals in the corporate
sector, generally non-millennials, from “understanding and fully addressing millennials’ needs—and
establishing strong brand relationships.” 18
Millennials were not impulse buyers and typically relied on several sources for their purchase decisions.
Referrals, for instance, played an important role; friends and family also influenced millennials’ purchase
decisions, largely through social media, blogs, and text messaging. The Internet was even more effective,
with third-party sites being the top source for 82 per cent of millennials’ online shopping.
As consumers of social media, millennials were open to disclosing personal information to retailers. But
they expected retailers, in turn, to customize their offerings. Millennials wanted to be catered to
individually. They were also more demanding. While baby boomers were fine with a radio, for instance,
millennials wanted full smartphone functionality in a car. While shopping for a car, the top five features
they desired were a navigation system, satellite radio, Bluetooth wireless technology, an MP3 player, and
mobile integration. Essentially, they wanted their car to be like a smartphone on wheels. 19 Millennials
viewed their car as an extension of themselves and their accomplishments.
HMC was established in September 1948 by Soichiro Honda, a Japanese engineer, with a capital of ¥1
million. 20 A native of Komyo village in Shizuoka province, Honda was known for his “inborn manual
dexterity and curiosity about machines” when he was young. 21 His goal was to produce motorcycles and
become, over time, the world’s top motorcycle maker. HMC, indeed, became the world’s largest
motorcycle manufacturer in 1959.22 It had also diversified into other categories such as cars, power
equipment, and financial services. The company was the eighth largest automaker in the world with over
4 million new cars and trucks sold in 2013.23 It had announced plans to increase sales to 6 million
vehicles by 2016, and nearly 40 per cent of the output was to be serviced by new production capacities in
China, Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand, India, and Mexico. 24 The company had 369 subsidiaries and 86
affiliates around the world. 25
18
Christine Barton, Jeff Fromm, and Chris Egan, “The Millennial Consumer: Debunking Stereotypes,” BCG: The Boston
Consulting Group, April 2012, accessed August 15, 2017, https://www.bcg.com/documents/file103894.pdf.
19
“The Next Generation Car Buyer Millennials: What You Need to Know,” AutoTrader.com, accessed December 2, 2016,
https://oemsolutions.agameautotrader.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Millennials-Next-Gen-Car-Buyer.pdf.
20
¥ = JPY = Japanese Yen; CA$1 = ¥91.694 on February 1, 2014.
21
“The ‘Joy of Manufacturing’ / 1936,” Honda: The Power of Dreams, accessed November 5, 2016,
http://world.honda.com/history/limitlessdreams/joyofmanufacturing/.
22
“Y-E-S Awards: About Us,” Honda: The Power of Dreams, accessed December 26, 2016, http://yes.honda.co.in/about-
us.aspx.
23
John Leblanc, “The Top 10 Largest Automakers in the World: The Auto Industry Enjoyed a Record Year in 2013, but
Toyota Continued to Hold off all Contenders for the Overall Sales Crown,” Driving, April 25, 2014, accessed December 26,
2016, http://driving.ca/toyota/corolla/auto-news/news/the-top-10-largest-automakers-in-the-world.
24
“Honda Trains its Way to Global Expansion,” Nikkei Asian Review, January 9, 2014, accessed December 16, 2016,
http://asia.nikkei.com/magazine/20140109-THE-ASCENT/Business/Training-workers-goes-hand-in-hand-with-Hondas-
expansion-into-emerging-countries.
25
Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Annual Report 2013, 2, March 31, 2013, accessed August 17, 2017,
http://world.honda.com/content/dam/site/world/investors/cq_img/library/annual_report/FY201303_annual_report_e.pdf.
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HMC had a consolidated revenue of US$100 billion (¥9.88 trillion) 26 and operating income of US$457.14
million (¥544.8 billion) for the year ending March 2013. It had 190,338 employees in 60 countries. The
United States was its largest market, with more than 1.5 million Honda and Acura brand models sold in
the country in 2013. Worldwide, the Honda CR-V compact crossover was the company’s bestseller.
The company was driven by a vision of providing personal mobility to individual consumers. The vision
was realized through a six-fold strategy: (1) introducing value-added products through innovative
research and development; (2) securing production efficiencies by enhancing flexible manufacturing
systems at global facilities; (3) achieving sales efficiencies by upgrading customer service; (4) improving
product quality in response to customer demand; (5) developing technologies to improve traffic safety in
motorized societies; and (6) creating a cleaner and better environment. 27
In its first few decades, HMC had geared its manufacturing strategy towards making products for the
developed markets of the United States and Western Europe. In later years, the strategy was centred on
modifying core production platforms to suit the specifications of regional markets. The core platforms
were designed to facilitate the sharing of common parts and components (numbering 30,000 on average in
a car, and accounting for 80 per cent of manufacturing costs) across global production centres. 28
The company was quick to respond to changes such as growth in international competition in the 1980s,
the emergence of Third World countries as new markets during the 1990s, and the arrival of the digital
age in the 2000s. In April 2013, HMC decided to refocus its manufacturing resources at the divisional
level. Embedding manufacturing within each of the four business divisions was meant to “enhance our
ability to cater to market trends and evolving customer preferences with greater speed and precision.” 29
HMC developed automobile products aimed at specific niches. Its motorcycles, for example, were
targeted at “commuter” types who sought basic transportation, as well as at “fun” types who rode them
for the joy and pleasure of riding. The features, prices, and messaging varied with each target group.
HONDA CANADA
HMC came to Canada in 1969, marketing imported motorcycles and power equipment. The company
built a plant in Alliston, Ontario, in 1986 to assemble Honda Accord cars from imported parts and
components. In 1988, it switched to producing the parts locally. It opened a second plant in 1998 to
produce minivans and a third plant in 2008 to manufacture aluminium engines for captive consumption—
all at the same facility. 30 By 2013, HMC had invested $2.6 billion in Canada.
Beginning as a local company with a global vision, Honda Canada gradually saw itself as a global company
with a local vision. It was a trend that was known internally within HMC as “glocalization,” wherein,
around the world, the company was building its products close to its customers. It enabled each local Honda
subsidiary to become part of the community around it so that it could stay tuned to local needs.
The Alliston facility had an annual capacity of 390,000 cars and trucks, and 200,000 engines. It employed
approximately 4,000 “associates,” as the company called them. The vehicles it produced were sold in
26
The exchange rate of ¥94 per US$1 is per page 61 of the company’s 2013 annual report.
27
Ibid.
28
“Honda Overhauls Platform Strategy,” Automotive Logistics, January 9, 2013, accessed December 26, 2016,
http://automotivelogistics.media/news/honda-overhauls-platform-strategy.
29
Honda Motor Co., Ltd., op. cit., 9.
30
“Honda in Canada: Proudly Canadian,” Honda, accessed October 30, 2016, www.honda.ca/honda-in-canada.
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Canada and exported largely to the United States and to Mexico and South America. Honda Canada
ranked second among Japanese automotive companies operating in Canada in terms of units sold.31
Honda Fit
32
The Honda Fit was a hatchback subcompact car originally launched in Japan in June 2001. The launch
was the result of a reclassification in early 2001 of the Honda Civic from subcompact to compact.
Subcompact cars were smaller and more fuel efficient, while compact cars were a little larger and less
fuel efficient, but provided greater safety. With the company having made the additions to the car’s
interior room and trunk space that car shoppers desired, the Civic had grown in size. It was also at a
higher price. The Fit was meant to occupy the space vacated by the Civic as the company’s entry-level
subcompact. Its production was undertaken on HMC’s global small car platform.
Although the Fit had been an instant hit in Japan, it was slow to expand as it made its way around the
world. It was introduced in Europe (in early 2002), Australia (late 2002), South America (early 2003),
South Africa and Southeast Asia (mid-2003), China (mid-2004), and Mexico (late 2005). It was
introduced in Canada on April 3, 2006, and in the United States on April 20, 2006. It was known as Jazz
in Europe, some parts of Asia, Australia, Oceania, the Middle East, and Africa; and as Fit in Japan, China,
Canada, and the United States.
The Fit was offered in two variants in the United States (Base and Sport), and three in Canada (DX, LX,
and Sport). The differences were limited primarily to cosmetics and standard equipment. The Base model
was priced at US$13,850 in the United States, while the DX model was priced at $14,980 in Canada.
Lucek faced three issues while launching the Honda Fit in Canada in April 2006. First, the Fit was to
attract the then new demographic category of “young male and female adults.” Second, it had to fill the
space vacated by the Civic in the market category of subcompacts. Third, it had to fill that space without
damaging sales of the Civic, which was the company’s main source of income.
Honda Canada had planned the take-off of the Honda Fit in two phases. The first phase was what the
company called a “pre-emptive strike,” starting July 2006. It consisted of generating awareness of the
impending launch of the Fit. The initiatives for this included securing dealer enthusiasm, building
customer leads, developing a database, and motivating potential customers to hold off on pursuing
competitive category offerings until the Fit arrived in the Canadian marketplace. The second phase
consisted of what the company called “shock and awe,” starting June 2007. Honda Canada blitzed the
market with a combination of interactive kiosks; brochures; push e-mails; on-line advertising; and
outdoor, newspaper, radio, cinema, and television publicity.
The Honda Fit had become the second-most successful brand launch in the history of Honda Canada,
having sold nearly 15,000 in the year of its launch, 2008. It was second only to the Honda Civic, which
launched the subcompact category in the early 1970s.
31
Carlos Gomes, “Global Auto Report,” Scotiabank: Global Economics, March 20, 2014, accessed December 2, 2016,
http://minfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/BNS-Global-Auto-Report-Mar-2014.pdf.
32
“The History of Honda Fit,” The History of Cars: Car Directory, accessed September 12, 2016, www.cars-
directory.net/history/honda/fit/.
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The major objective of the relaunch was to reverse the trend of declining sales. Honda Canada had set a
sales target of 14,000 units for the year 2014. Having identified millennials as an important customer
segment for the Honda Fit, Lucek had commissioned a qualitative research study in December 2013 to gain
an understanding of the mindset of millennials with a view to target them better. The findings of the
research were currently on her desk. They were to form the basis of the relaunch strategy for the Honda Fit.
The research brought out several areas of contrast between young adults, the target of the 2008 launch, and
millennials, the target of the 2014 relaunch. Young adults had been moving out of their parents’ homes,
while millennials were staying home; young adults were on a spending spree, using up credit card limits,
while millennials were averse to borrowing. Millennials were shopping at thrift stores, doing online price
comparisons, and generally waiting for things to wear out before replacing them with new things. Young
adults were destination-focused, with eyes on the future. For millennials, it was all travel and no arrivals.
They were in the moment, keen on enjoying life in the present, even as they moved on. Young adults were
leaving their youth behind, while millennials were holding on to it. Young adults had steady jobs with
steady incomes; millennials saw layoffs as inevitable and therefore did not see their incomes as stable.
Young adults sought physical things, while millennials sought experiences. Young adults wanted items,
while millennials sought places. The contrasts pointed to the fact that the targeting approaches of the past
would not work. Two other findings from the research added complexity to Lucek’s task.
First, the general perception of the Honda brand among millennials was that “it is a boring brand for old
people” and that “it is a car that my parents drive.” Countering this perception was the crucial first step in
getting millennials on the company’s side.
Second, a Honda car was not unique among the choices available in the car market for millennials. It was
known for safety, quality, reliability, and offering value for money—attributes that drew young adults.
But it was not “fun to drive,” an attribute that millennials valued. Research had shown that among other
factors that mattered to millennials were convenience, appearance, technology, versatility, fuel efficiency,
and affordability. Price was the first filter that the millennials applied in buying a car.
The need for vehicle ownership among millennials, as per the research, had two dimensions—rational and
emotional. The rational need was rooted in the convenience that car ownership provided. It revolved
around the freedom that the car offered from the “tyranny,” as they saw it, of public transit. It also
considered the erratic nature of the schedules of parents and friends. The emotional need was rooted in
“feeling like a grown up.” Car ownership held the promise of the new experiences that millennials valued.
Millennials could not afford travelling long distances by car. Evident among them in terms of their car
usage was a lot of local travel during holidays and weekends that allowed them to go on hikes, camp, or
visit cottages (of parents or neighbours).
The research also revealed a contrast between suburbanites and downtowners in their relationship with
cars. Suburbanite millennials were current car owners. They generally received their driver’s licence as
soon as they reached the legal age. Their primary motivation in getting the licence was to alleviate some
of their parents’ burden of having to drive them around. They also owned their first vehicle early on,
usually a hand-me-down when a parent purchased a new vehicle. Downtowners took their time to get
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their licence and did not currently own a car. They had a shorter personal relationship with both car
driving and car ownership.
A common factor among both suburbanite and downtowner millennials was their outlook on getting
around. Many among them liked to cycle, walk, and rollerblade when they could, particularly in summer
when they had the time to do so. They took public transit when travelling into or around the downtown
core (for reasons such as difficulty in parking and navigating through traffic congestion downtown) or
during inclement weather (which rendered driving unsafe). For commuting to work, millennials preferred
driving a car or using carpools—as the driver when they owned the car, and as a passenger when they did
not. None particularly enjoyed taking transit.
The research also showed some differences between male and female millennials. Females were engaged in
interests that resembled part of the “maker movement” with crafts, photography, sewing, knitting, and
baking topping the list of interests. Males liked to play and watch team sports such as hockey, football,
baseball, basketball, and soccer. Camaraderie, sense of community, and bonding were on the increase
among the males because it played into the psychology of feeling “safe” in an unsafe economic
environment.
Most millennials had a preference for financing (involving the repayment of loans) over leasing
(involving the payment of a rental). Their lack of preference for leasing was a contradiction, given that
they did not favour ownership. They also preferred a new car to a used car. Though millennials
understood the cost-benefit of buying a used car, they were concerned with safety and uneasy about the
possibility of being “duped” or deceived while buying a used car.
Notwithstanding that millennials enjoyed driving, per se, the car itself was not an object of glory for them.
Few millennials dreamt about bigger, fancier, more expensive, or more luxurious cars. They were
genuinely uninterested in the social badge that some car brands seemed to offer. Most had no concept of
the category classifications for cars. The segmentation that mattered to automakers in their pursuit of new
markets made little sense to millennials. Millennials looked at the subcompact category more for practical
reasons such as higher fuel efficiency and lower insurance rates than for other reasons.
Millennials’ concerns with the subcompact category centred on four factors, as per the research:
insufficient height, too light (negatively affecting both personal and vehicle safety in the event of a crash),
too small, and insufficient pick-up or acceleration.
Millennials’ perceptions of the Honda Fit itself were more positive than their perceptions of the category
the car belonged to. The features of the car they viewed favourably were its spaciousness, sight lines, and
acceleration. Millennials had neither a strong affinity nor dislike for any competitive brand. If they sought
out a brand, it was either because they were already aware of it, or because of word-of-mouth through
friends owning the brand. However, some millennials had particular perceptions of brands—Ford was
associated with reliability and the blue-collar workforce; Korean brands were perceived as up-and-
coming; German brands were associated with superior engineering, reliability, and an exciting driving
experience; and Japanese brands were seen as being strong, reliable, dependable, and ubiquitous.
Millennials also saw Honda cars as being more attractive than Toyota cars.
The research also showed that millennials found car advertisements appealing when they were fun,
humorous, and quirky; gave them something to talk about with friends; focused on how the car was made
(its design features, parts, and engineering); and displayed the car in an artistic or interesting way.
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Note: The font size of the words indicate the frequency of that response, with a larger font size indicating a greater
frequency.
Source: Christine Barton, Jeff Fromm, and Chris Egan, “The Millennial Consumer: Debunking Stereotypes,” BCG: The
Boston Consulting Group, April 2012, accessed August 15, 2017, www.bcg.com/documents/file103894.pdf. Used with
permission.
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