AMA Flips!

Did AMA "Flip your Perception" over Honda New Model?

Sporty. Fast. Modern.

The American Marketing Association at Cal State Long Beach welcomed Honda's 2008 Accord EX-L V-6 Coupe model to campus on Monday, steering closer to the nationwide conclusion of Honda's marketing competition for universities, called Accord Coupe Marketing Challenge: New Car, New Generation.

Honda's new speedster was created with Generation Y in mind, explained one AMA participant. And defining the generation was only one major part of the mission in this marketing campaign.

Generation Y is an under-30s group that likes to spend, and it's a generation heavily influencing the following generations coming up, said the AMA marketing student.

And though college students (one of the more obvious sub-groups) seem to be almost always broke, the Accord Coupe will help with its moderate price (starting at about $21,000) and generous fuel-efficiency.

The 50-plus group of AMA hosted an array of activities, luring hundreds of CSULB students onto the USU North Lawn. The AMA ran an acceleration lounge, hosted a bungee jumper and invited professional salsa dancers and breakdancers to their 4-hour event. The goal being to heighten students' awareness of the coupe's special features, like the ones mentioned above and like its 268-hp engine and aggresive center of handling.

They underwent such an extensive preparation they ended up giving themselves a professional title, "The Agency." They included research, financing and publicity into the forming of their campaign, all while on a $2,500 budget. Presenting their campaign to the rest of the school was one thing; they will now develop a post-event analysis of their unique interactive campaign.

Results of the competition will be announced by Honda on Dec. 17.

Vroom! Vroom!

(Above: An AMA member dresses up for the fun occasion; Center: CSULB students fill in the blanks—why they find the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe so appealing; Below: The V-6 engine nicely lays out under the sun. Photo at very top: Jay Moon, an AMA rep, shows off glittery ads created for this special event. All photos by Barbara Navarro)

To read more on Honda's 2008 Accord Coupe:
NY Times Likes the Coupe
Honda's homepage:
2008 Honda Accord Coupe