Three participants in the TriHonda Dealers? Selfie for a Civic Sweepstakes campaign who post the photo to Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #SelfieForACivic as well as the dealership?s hashtag will win tickets to a Brooklyn Nets game at the Barclays Center, where one will be chosen for the grand prize of a 2015 Honda Civic LX Sedan. The campaign is an example of how auto retailers are leveraging mobile and social to drive engagement among younger buyers who resist traditional marketing campaigns.

?Our intention was to create a positive, fun and potentially very rewarding in-dealership experience for each consumer that appeals to their aspirations and then rewards those aspirations with a chance to win a brand new Honda Civic,? said Christopher Berger, vice president and integrated production director with New York-based Publicis Kaplan Thaler. 

?By joining the already ongoing conversation about new cars, this touches a chord with consumers in a way that closes the loop between how consumers capture their lives on their phones and the real-world interactions they have from moment to moment, to organically instill a more holistic, memorable TriHonda experience.?

Anyone who walks into a showroom is invited to take a selfie with a Civic. As a Facebook promotion for the sweepstakes says: ?We don?t care how you take it: on the car, in the car, tongue out, eyes closed ? the more creative the better!?

And the participant does not have to be interested in buying a Civic. Just taking a picture with a 2015 Civic gives one the chance to win.

After a selfie has been snapped, it has to be uploaded to Instagram and/or Twitter. The photo must be hashtagged #SelfieForACivic #Sweeps and include the dealership hashtag.

Three finalists will randomly be selected and invited to the Brooklyn Nets game on April 15 where the winner will be announced live.

As an additional incentive, two selfie submissions will be selected weekly and the faces behind the photos will each win a pair of tickets to an upcoming Brooklyn Nets game.

The dealerships? move continues Honda?s effort to build brand awareness and loyalty with the Gen Y generation, who are less interested in vehicles and in consuming traditional media than their baby-boomer parents.

In June, American Honda Motor Co. said it would promote its 2015 subcompact Fit car in advertisements on mobile gaming and sports sites, including a tie-in with video fighting game Ultra Street Fighter IV.

Produced with agencies RPA of Santa Monica, CA and MediaVest, a New York-based unit of Starcom MediaVest Group, the campaign anchored the Honda Stage YouTube channel the North American arm of Japan?s Honda Motor Co. announced during the summer.

YouTube is at the core of the Honda Stage project. The videos will be taken from about 200 live performances at festivals, concert halls and other venues from around the country. 

Other automakers are embracing social to capture younger buyers? attention.

Nissan garnered audience support for its 2015 Leaf vehicle with a participation-driven social media campaign on Twitter and Instagram and a series of online videos on YouTube.

The online videos showcased the self-cleaning nano-paint technology on a zero-emissions LEAF car. The car brand hoped to engage consumers by allowing them to vote on materials used in the final set of videos, designed to display the vehicle?s ability to clean itself from a variety of liquids.

Marketers that develop new channels to reach mobile shoppers will be the winners in the automotive space this year as brands boost budgets to establish their identity with on-the-go buyers and hard-to-reach millennials.

With United States retail vehicle sales poised to reach their highest level in years, the auto ad market in the months to come will increasingly reflect mobile?s role not just as a direct response channel, but as a branding platform. 

?Younger prospective car buyers are savvy and connected by definition,? Mr. Berger said. ?Their mobile phones are quite literally and figuratively extensions of their lives. 

?They use their mobile devices, and the mobile and social ecosystems to enhance the way they experience every aspect of life. Tapping the potential of people?s mobile connected lives gives the brand permission to weave a little piece of our story into that of each and every consumer?s story,? he said.  

The sweepstakes so far has received hundreds of submissions, which can be viewed at www.selfieforacivic.com.

?This is the first time that TriHonda Dealers have engaged in integrated activation of this magnitude,? Mr. Berger said. ?We?re hoping to set the bar for future, even more powerful integrated mobile campaigns.?