NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota will
again reinforce its commitment to the Latino community by
sponsoring the Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media (LATISM)
2013 Annual Conference, kicking off today in New York
City.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130919/NY83434)
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130723/NY52092LOGO-a)
The event, which runs through September
21 at the Waldorf Astoria New
York, brings together community, social media and technology
leaders to honor the influencers making the biggest impact and
explore new ideas and best practices in social media together.
As the exclusive automotive sponsor, Toyota will engage
participants with activities aimed to showcase key conservation,
education and safety missions aligning with LATISM priorities that
span more than 180,000 members.
Toyota will, once again, serve as lead sponsor of the LATISM
Awards Gala, taking place on Friday, Sept.
20. The LATISM Awards Gala will recognize the best
performers in social media across several categories, including
best bloggers in Parenting, Tech and Food, Best Multicultural
Campaign, Best Latin Vlogger and many more.
The @ToyotaLatino Twitter handle, launched to share, listen and
learn with the Latino community through social media at LATISM last
September, has since reached nearly 3,000 followers and published
more than 1,400 tweets. The channel has become a powerful platform
for Toyota to engage this growing community at live events and
online, as well as share more targeted vehicle information with
owners and enthusiasts.
Toyota has spent the past year boosting our connection to the
Hispanic community through social media, especially with our launch
of @ToyotaLatino and new partnerships with Latino social media
influencers like Jon Secada," said Javier
Moreno, manager of corporate communications at Toyota Motor
North America. "These initiatives have allowed us to reach even
deeper within the Hispanic community to demonstrate our core
values, including our commitment to safety and the
environment."
As Toyota has been marketing to and engaging the Latino
community for more than 20 years, the conference offers a unique
opportunity to reflect on and draw from that multi-decade
commitment.
Since 2004, Toyota has been the leading automotive brand among
the U.S. Hispanic community. According to data from automotive
research firm Polk, Toyota garners more than 16 percent of the U.S.
Latino car-buying market, with success driven largely by Toyota's
dedicated efforts to authentically engage with the community.
"We appreciate Toyota's commitment to our conference, and it's
this continued involvement that proves how dedicated the company is
to the Latino community within the social media sphere and beyond,"
said Ana Roca Castro, president and
founder of LATISM.
About Toyota
Toyota, the world's top
automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building
vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and
Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we've built more than
25 million cars and trucks in North
America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the
U.S.) and directly employ nearly 40,000 people (more than 37,000 in
the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more
than 2.3 million cars and trucks in 2012 – and about 80 percent of
all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the
road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the
country, with a focus on education, safety and the
environment. As part of this commitment, we share the
company's extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and
trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand
their ability to do good. (NYSE: TM) For more
information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
ABOUT LATISM
Founded in 2009, Latinos in
Tech Innovation & Social Media (LATISM) is a 501(c)4 nonprofit,
nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing the social, civic
and economic status of the Latino community. LATISM actively
engages in digital communities to ensure that online discourse more
accurately reflects the rich diversity of thought, heritage and
culture in our changing society. To learn more about the LATISM
organization, visit http://latism.org.
SOURCE Toyota