HONDA MOTOR EUROPE APPOINTS NEW BELOW-THE-LINE AGENCY

Sassy+ to lead on marketing content creation in a multi-year partnership

Following a three-month long competitive pitch, Honda Motor Europe has appointed creative production agency Sassy+ to handle its automobile division below-the-line work on a retained basis.

Three agencies competed for the scope of work, going through one round of proposals. Over the next few years, the partnership will see the agency consolidate the below-the-line (BTL) content, spearheading a variety of integrated projects based around the product roll-out plans of the brand. This will include the delivery of over 70 assets per project involving a mix of photography, brochure design, films, and social-first content.

The account will be led by Client Development Director Marcus Pinder who brings 15+ years of experience from the automotive world, having previously collaborated with Porsche, Bentley, Renault, as well as working closely with the Honda Motor Europe Marketing team over the past five years and Executive Creative Director, Nikki Gillespie – whose previous work includes campaigns for Bentley, Renault, Audible and Longines.

Content production will be handled in-house with resources pulled from across the agency’s creative, design, production and post-production departments.

Fabrice Estève, Head of Marketing – Automobile Division, Honda Motor Europe, said:

“Honda Motor Europe has worked with Sassy Create for a number of years across the communications arena and we have been impressed by their approach and energy. When it came to our Automobile below-the-line content supplier pitch, we decided to combine our prelaunch ad content and brochure streams into one, wider creative request. We evaluated a number of agency submissions and following a thorough review are happy to proceed with Sassy+. We have a number of all-new product launches coming to Europe, as we augment our electrified line-up, and we look forward to working with the team to produce excellent customer communications and superior product-centric content.”

Marcus Pinder, Client Development Director at Sassy+, said:

“We are thrilled to be asked to consolidate the BTL creative work for Honda. Having worked with the team in Bracknell for the past 5 years, we’re absolutely delighted to now be tasked with the continued elevation of their below the line creative and production work, as Honda enters the next exciting phase of its development across Europe. We are extremely proud of the relationship we have built with the Honda teams and are very excited to be working together on a retained basis.”

Nikki Gillespie, Executive Creative Director at Sassy+, added:

“We’ve loved working with the Honda team over the last few years, collaborating to push the Pre-launch films and Photography creatively to include more lifestyle and storytelling, as well as crafting the ongoing development of the Product Demo films since the time of Covid and now permanently as part of the creative mix. We’re also really excited to have been able to share our design capability with the HME team and to take Honda’s Brochure assets forward to the next level.”

The next campaign will be the first one as a retained partner.

Headquartered in Bracknell, UK, Honda Motor Europe is represented in more than 30 countries across the continent.

On June 1st 2024, Sassy Create, Through The I and Radio News Hub merged to become Sassy+. With offices in London, Elstree and Leeds, the company employs more than 80 members of staff. Sassy+’ expansive partnership portfolio includes Audible, LinkedIn, ABB, Aston Martin, JLR, Disney, Universal, Paramount Pictures, TikTok, Boots and more.

Sassy+ is a creative production company that specialises in delivering a wide range of content and communication solutions for brands and businesses worldwide. Their expertise includes creative, design, branded content, live events, commercials, photography, podcasts, post- production and CGI. Sassy+ is part of the AfO Group, which operates from offices in London, Dubai, LA and New York.

Source: Sassy+

  Agency, Appointment, Honda Motor Europe, partnership, Sassy+