Dive Brief:

• Honda is bringing back its yearly summer concert series with a new format to reach fans through live shows and content on social video app TikTok. The carmaker’s Honda Civic Tour features The Future X, a group that “American Idol” creator Simon Fuller formed this year, per details shared with Marketing Dive.

• The heavy presence on TikTok includes videos from each member of Future X, which consists of three singers and four dancers, as they tour the United States. Fans who visit a Future X microsite can register to receive an invite to the Honda Civic Tour, which is free to attend.

• At the premiere tour stop in Los Angeles on July 27, Future X will reveal a model of the 2023 Civic Type R that the group helped design, a strategy Honda has used before. The carmaker also will feature the 2023 HR-V throughout the tour, which ends Oct. 8.

Dive Insight:

Honda is seeking to expand the reach of its annual Honda Civic Tour with original content on TikTok, which is a favorite among younger U.S. consumers, overtaking digital video stalwarts such as YouTube in terms of time spent with media. Future X’s roots are in TikTok following last year’s hashtag challenge that generated 300 million views as performers auditioned to join the group, according to Honda. A bigger presence on TikTok can help Honda to build awareness for its brand among a newer generation of likely car buyers who have grown up on social media.

This year’s Honda Civic Tour also marks a hybrid between digital content and in-person events that are making a comeback after pandemic lock downs two years ago led to cancellations of music tours. More than half (55%) of U.S. consumers said they’re comfortable going to concerts, a record-high percentage in a tracking survey that researcher Morning Consult has conducted since the onset of the health crisis. As many people remain wary of large public gatherings, Honda’s TikTok efforts can help to engage consumers.

Honda in the past few years has ramped up its campaigns on digital platforms that are popular with younger generations. Amid growing marketer interest in the metaverse, the carmaker last month introduced Hondaverse as an immersive virtual world within the video game Fortnite on Twitch, the live streaming platform owned by Amazon. The activation challenges gamers to test their gaming abilities and knowledge of trivia as a way to keep people engaged with its content. Honda has worked to innovate on Twitch with efforts that include this year’s launch of a lifestyle channel called Honda DreamLab. With the expansion of content on TikTok for the Honda Civic Tour, the carmaker is demonstrating that the social video app has become a more important channel for reaching new and existing customers.