Honda searches YouTube to find Latino influencers for CR-V

American Honda treated YouTube like a massive buffet to find influencers for its latest Latino outreach campaign for the CR-V crossover.

Social media influencers typically earn acclaim by showcasing their talents and personalities with video and other online content. They are increasingly coveted by advertisers for their large niche audiences.

But Honda had two challenges. First, You-Tube has more than 1 billion users, and 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute. Sorting through the hordes of content creators and their audiences is difficult.

Second, Honda wanted family-oriented influencers who produced content in Spanish.

Honda solved the challenges with big-data search techniques. The search settled on two sisters in Tijuana, Mexico, who are largely unknown to mainstream U.S. audiences but have a combined loyal following of about 1 million.

"With some of these new tools that are out there, you can curate and find people that have great connections to your brand," said Gina Jorge, head of multicultural marketing for American Honda Motor Co. "Ten to 15 years ago, that would've been hard to find.

"Across all social media, there are influencers who have developed these wonderful, robust audiences. If that audience has a natural connection to your brand, that's an amazing opportunity for any marketer to connect with."

Honda hired ZEFR, a technology and data company, to sift through YouTube with its influencer management system. 

The Mexican sisters, Karla and Paola Celis, both have loyal fans on YouTube who follow their lifestyle-focused videos. Karla Celis is closing in on 1 million YouTube subscribers, while Paola -- who happens to be a CR-V owner -- has more than 127,000 subscribers. 

The sisters, who have bubbly personalities, tested the 2015 CR-V for a day in San Diego with their families in two videos that show off the crossover's spaciousness and comfort. The videos will amplify Honda's "Space for Dreams" campaign that began this year, Jorge said.

For the CR-V, Honda wants to capture young families with active lifestyles. Plus, Jorge said, the interior space gives children the space to dream -- the campaign's inspirational theme. Honda posted the first "Space for Dreams" video, which shows a young girl who aspires to become an astronaut, on YouTube in February. 

Research shows that Honda's emphasis on the CR-V's interior should hit home with Latino buyers. A 2014 report about minority car buyers found that seating capacity and interior storage were among the top five purchase reasons for Latino Americans, according to consultancy Strategic Vision. 

"Latinos as a group are becoming more financially strong, and they are becoming more interested in buying new vehicles," said analyst Jesse Toprak, founder of the Toprak Consulting Group. "You see that the share of Latino buyers, especially in certain pockets of the country like L.A., is extremely significant for automakers. That's why we're seeing a lot of efforts from the automakers' perspective to target directly and specifically to Latino markets with customized marketing efforts." 

The Celis sisters will post their videos on their YouTube channels. Honda will promote the videos on social media as well, including its Honda Latino Twitter account and Honda YouTube channel, which has a playlist for Latino content. 

Jorge says the authenticity of the sisters was a strong selling point. The latest outreach effort, Jorge says, is a continuation of the brand's long relationship with Latino consumers.

"Part of us doing this new, fresh campaign and trying something new by going to YouTube influencers is just our way to continuously look for innovative ways to connect and deepen that engagement," Jorge said.

The CR-V is the top-selling compact crossover in the United States. Sales last year were 335,019, up 10 percent from 2013. The sticker starts at $24,150, including shipping. 

When a content creator posts a YouTube video, around 60 percent of the views come from outside the creator's home country, according to a YouTube spokesperson.

The site's matchmaking opportunities can bring brands and influencers together so companies can tap into the unique voices of historically underrepresented minorities.

"In this case, the right people live in Tijuana, which says something about how technology in this community of YouTube has made us more global," said Dave Rosner, head of marketing at ZEFR.

Depending on a campaign's messaging, a celebrity may not always be the right fit. So Jorge said marketers are reaching out to everyday people that buyers can relate to.

Nowadays, the lack of a famous face doesn't mean a campaign loses impact.

A YouTube spokesperson said: "Some of the subscribers and the number of views that YouTube creators are getting definitely can go up against a lot of celebrities out there and a lot of content in traditional media."