Case Study:
Toyota’s campaign for its new Scion line was designed to both inform and persuade 20-something buyers that the car meets their needs. In catering to this target market, Scion chose to rely heavily on nontraditional media efforts, perhaps because buyers between 16 and 24 years of age purchase only around 850,000 new cars a year (6 percent of the total market). By the year 2010, however, 63 million people from this age group will be driving. Despite their obvious interest in this age demographic, car manufacturers have largely failed to design cars that appeal to these finicky buyers. Scion was keenly aware of Honda’s effort to attract the young market with the boxy Element, which, despite its flashy marketing campaign, attracted more 40-somethings than 20-somethings. So what do these young buyers want? The same thing they have always wanted: price and value. Scion decided to enter this market with a comprehensive strategy: a car that is a good value for the money but also one that speaks directly to young consumers, which meant Scion had to know what cars would mean to them. Scion researchers found that 16- to 24- year-olds like customization, so the Scion comes with options like illuminated cup holders, colored door-lock covers, and red and gray steering wheels,35 which allow Scion buyers to create “their” car. Now that Scion believes it has the vehicle this segment wants, it must face the challenge of communicating it to these buyers. Although the Camry is the top-selling U.S. brand, Scion sold only 106,000 of its 1.5 million new vehicles to drivers younger than 25 years. To reach them, Scion had to break away from its traditional IMC strategy.
It began by identifying promising geographic markets that might contain 20-something opinion leaders. Using “street teams,” Scion visited nightclubs, malls, and art galleries handing out free stuff—key chains, T-shirts, and so forth—featuring the Scion name and Web address. With this approach, consumers could feel as though they had “discovered the brand,” not that the brand had been pushed on them,36 and then they would ideally inform others about the Scion. In California, the agency also tried innovative methods such as skywriting, projecting images onto buildings, and building life-sized sand sculptures of the Scion. Less than 1 percent of the California promotional budget was spent on traditional advertising. In addition, Scion offered camera-equipped Scions for test drives so consumers could film themselves while driving and e-mail the clips to friends. Of the 4,000 people who filmed their test drives in California, 1,100 then asked to see a dealer.37 Nationally, the company also used feature films, including the 22-minute On the D.L., which Scion entered in the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. Featuring two 30-something musicians on their quest to obtain drivers’ licenses, the film was cut into five-minute clips and placed on different Web sites. Furthermore, Scion undertook PR activities, like sponsoring the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour and the Scion DJ Contest, to drive interest in the brand. Refusing to leave any stone unturned, Scion even hired several dozen young adults to wear temporary forehead tattoos for an event in Times Square. So will all these efforts work? It depends. One marketer worried that the campaign was too “underground” and buyers would have a difficult time locating the brand, but brand awareness has increased among the target market, and the Scion has experienced good sales in California. Even more, Scion hopes all its efforts to create value will translate into a long-term affinity for Toyota and strong brand loyalty when it comes time for these young owners to purchase
Q1. Did Scion make a wise decision to avoid traditional media channels during the Scion campaign? Why or why not?
Q2. The Scion was built specifically to generate brand loyalty among novice car buyers. Will this long-term strategy work for Scion? Why or why not?
Q3. In what ways did the Scion create value for the target market?
Your answer must be, typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one-inch margins on all sides, APA format and also include references.