THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CAR COMPANIES IN MIDDLE EAST AND EUROPE: LUCKY WINNER SCOOPS £30K OF GOODIES IN PRIZE DRAW

Unfortunately there is still a HUGE difference between living in Europe or the Middle East & North Africa region, when it comes to how the car companies treat their customers and offer them unique offers, exciting raffles and superb customer-binding incentives.

Even the car launch events and marketing activities differ significantly between the Middle East and North Africa on one hand and Europe and the USA on the other hand, as we were able to see in the difference between the recent all-new BMW 3 series launch in the USA and the all-new BMW 3 series launch in Egypt (click here to read the complete story about the BMW launch).

This week Honda UK was the company to catch our attention, as it was one of the biggest prize draws that Honda UK has ever staged, with the opportunity to take home one example of every product that the company sells in the UK. And the lucky winner, picked at random from almost 100,000 entries, is… Michael McGovern.

Pictured with his prizes – altogether worth a staggering ?£30,000 – the 38-year-old ship’s cook was stunned. “I’ve never filled in any online competitions before and I still don’t know why I did this one,â€? laughed Michael. “When I was told I’d won my first reaction was that it was a con. It took a bit of time for the reality to sink it. Somebody has to win and it might as well be me! To say I’m happy would be a bit of an understatement!â€?

The prize draw ran across all divisions of Honda (UK), including Cars, Motorcycles, Marine, All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) and Lawn & Garden. It means Michael’s haul consists of:

* A Honda Civic 1.8 SE
* A Honda CBR600F motorcycle
* A Honda TRX420FPM ATV
* A Honda HRX476QX lawn mower
* A Honda EU10i portable generator
* A Honda T271E inflatable boat
* A Honda BF5 outboard engine

Michael is from Oban, Argyll and works for ferry operator Caledonian Macbrayne on the Oban-to-Craignure route. After collecting his brand new Honda Civic from retailer Phoenix Honda in Paisley, he was impressed by every aspect of the hatchback. “The car is absolutely stunning, a dream to drive and like Doctor Who’s Tardis on the inside. I didn't think it was possible to have so much space in a car. I could not have won a better one.�

Rebecca Eatwell, CRM Executive at Honda (UK), said the competition had succeeded in creating awareness about the huge range of products that Honda manufactures and sells. “People could enter the prize draw at events where Honda had a presence or online via Honda UK’s website, and in total 98,959 did so. Congratulations to Michael and he can be assured of many years of high quality service from his new Honda products.�

So, let us hope that the car dealers and importers in the Middle East and Egypt will start learning from their counterparts in Europe and the USA how professional marketing & media activities as well as customer events and product launches should look like.

MS
01.07.2012
Cairo – Dubai - London