Toyota Eying More Control Over Ads?
August 05, 2009
In a move that may signal significant implications for Toyota Motor Corp.'s relationship with its
U.S. advertising agencies, the company said it is establishing two new internal marketing organizations, "[one that] will primarily handle marketing within Japan and a company to carry out and assist global marketing as well as coordinate and assist the marketing activities of TMC affiliates."
Whether this means Toyota is pulling the rug out from under its U.S. advertising agencies and will bring some, or all, future creation of advertising in-house via the new marketing organization -- as one media-watching Web site surmised -- remains to be seen.
Toyota said in a release the new domestically-focused marketing unit will assist its Japan Sales Operations Group and the international unit "will be the matrix for providing assistance for the marketing efforts of TMC's Operation Planning & Support Group, which is tasked with marketing outside Japan."
The strategy apparently is a facet of the company-wide shakeup now under way, one driven by new president Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder. Toyota's global dominance has withered under the pressure of a sputtering global economy, and Toyoda is out to right the corporate ship that lost $819 million in the most recent quarter and is tracking to lose $4.7 billion when its current fiscal year ends next March.
Toyota's products are continually attacked as soulless; the new marketing organizations seemingly are tasked with helping to develop vehicles in line with consumer desires: Toyota's release said, "the aim is to carry out marketing activities that also bear in mind ways to contribute to TMC's product development and sales innovation by promptly and accurately gauging the needs of customers and then providing prompt feedback to TMC." -- Bill Visnic
Photo by Toyota
Toyota advertised its new Venza on the NFL Super Bowl.
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:53 AM under In the Media , Rumors , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
Instead of better ads, Toyota should try support to prospective customers. My wife was interested in a Venza and requested a catalog at a car show by filling out a form. Never came. I got on Toyota's web site to get her one, and filled out the on-line request. Never got that one either.
Posted by: johnyoung | August 06, 2009 at 9:06 AM
Very similar to my experience. This Toyota = Good and everyone = Bad is an outmoded view.
Ford have been excellent at sending information when requested.
Posted by: guy1974 | August 07, 2009 at 7:56 AM