That car turning heads as it cruises around southern Maine?

It is the Honda CR-Z sport hybrid coupe.

If you haven’t spotted it yet, just keep looking. Three undergraduates at the University of Southern Maine School of Business are trying their darnedest to show it off. Brian Andrews, Cody Seguin and Ashley Yerrick are promoting the car as part of the Honda CR-Z Media Challenge.

The challenge, launched by Honda, asks teams of three students at universities across the country to explain how they would use $150 to create a six-week public relations campaign promoting the new car.

The USM team learned about two weeks ago that they would be one of 10 finalists to receive a car and implement their campaign, which they have labeled “The Honda CRZ Love. Green. Fun. Challenge.”

“It’s important when you drive your car, you love your car. (The Honda CR-Z ) is something you can drive and it’s affordable,” Yerrick said. “It’s also important to have fun with the car.”

Seguin said their campaign tag line — “Love. Green. Fun.” — captures the essence of the sporty, environmentally friendly car. The promotion will run for the next four weeks.

The team is mainly using social media to “create buzz” about the vehicle, Seguin said. Through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, they can reach a wide audience without spending a dime.

They also have a plan that outlines when they will take the car out and how they should promote it. They have been bringing it to places where their target audience may hang out — the Old Port, the Deering Oaks Farmer’s Market, the university’s Gorham campus.

Jeanne Munger, associate professor of marketing, approached the three students with the challenge when she learned about it last month.

“They are highly motivated and really bright students,” she said. “They are rising to the occasion.”

At the end of the six-week campaign, Andrews, Seguin and Yerrick will have to return the Honda CR-Z along with comprehensive documentation of the work they did.

Honda will review the campaigns and select the top three teams, who will then be invited to Honda Headquarters to present their campaign and be offered virtual internships with Honda Public Relations. The first-place team will be awarded the opportunity to attend a major product launch in April 2011.

“This is an experiment on (Honda’s) part. Giving out 10 cars to use is a pretty big investment, but they’re learning about what’s going on (in social media), and they’re going to learn a lot from this,” Munger said.

 

Staff Writer Emma Bouthillette can be contacted at 791-6325 or at: ebouthillette@pressherald.com