Honda is stepping into the fashion arena with a new driving shoe that was inspired by the redesigned Civic.
But Honda isn’t trying to supplant Nike’s Air Jordan line. Instead, the automaker is using the HT3 shoe as a bridge to its buyer base.
When Honda examined what Civic consumers were into, style and fashion kept popping up, said Phil Hruska, Honda’s manager of media strategy.
The shoe emerged as Honda was brainstorming on how it could deliver a message centered on fashion and style. The automaker coordinated with The CoLab, an internal branded-content agency for lifestyle news site Thrillist, which conceived the idea. Thrillist often partners with Honda on branded content.