TORRANCE, Calif., Dec. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Walk into any
dealership in the United States
today, and you will notice the vast diversity of customers shopping
for vehicles. In the changing marketplace, the multicultural
customer is the new mainstream. In fact, according to US Census
data, 88 percent of all future population growth will be from
multicultural consumers by 2030.
Over the last 20 years, Toyota has emerged as the number one
brand among Hispanic, African American and Asian American markets.
To make sure Toyota continues to address the needs of the new
marketplace, the manufacturer will adopt a more cohesive marketing
approach to paid, earned and owned media by placing previously
separate agencies into a total market model, called Total Toyota or
T2. While the agencies remain separate and
distinct business units, they will collaborate under the
T2 umbrella. To complement the agency approach, Toyota's
in-house multicultural marketing team will now be integrated across
all product marketing teams.
In line with Toyota's move towards greater North American
autonomy, the new marketing approach reflects the diversity of the
US population, unique among the regions in which Toyota
operates.
Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles
– which is owned by Publicis Groupe and has been Toyota's
advertising agency of record for more than 20 years – will lead the
new model. Joining Saatchi are four additional agencies with
decades-long Toyota partnerships. Three of the agencies have
Publicis ties, including Burrell Communications (African-American),
Conill Advertising (Hispanic), and Zenith (broadcast and
out-of-home media buying). InterTrend Communications, an
independently-owned and operated agency focused on the
Asian-American consumer, also joins the model.
The introduction of T2 allows Toyota to focus even
more clearly on its customers with communication and marketing that
best represents their sensibilities and shopping preferences. The
new model delivers on Toyota's "Let's Go Places" promise to serve
as a model for innovation, enriching lives and connecting with
customers in new ways.
T2 incorporates best practices from other global
industries and covers the spectrum of advertising and creative
communications. One of T2's main responsibilities will
be devising and implementing ideas that make sense in the
increasingly diverse total market. This allows Toyota to:
- Unify messaging
- Increase its media impact
- Leverage combined creativity and cultural sensibilities through
focused agency teams
- Connect with customers in the right way
Integration of agency marketing efforts has begun and will be
operational when Toyota begins its 2015 fiscal year, on
April 1, 2014.
"Toyota's new marketing model represents another step in our
efforts to meet the changing needs of the US marketplace," said
Jack Hollis, Vice President of
Marketing, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. "In the past, our multicultural
agencies have operated separately. Bringing the teams
together will help Toyota maintain brand leadership and connect
with consumers in ways most relevant to them."
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 and directly employ nearly 40,000 people. 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.
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SOURCE Toyota