Toyota: No Plan To Undercut U.S. Ad Agencies

Toyota: No Plan To Undercut U.S. Ad Agencies

By Michelle Krebs August 7, 2009

An Internet blog was entirely off-base when it suggested this week Toyota Motor Corp.'s restructuring of its marketing organization in Japan will adversely impact the company's relationship with its U.S. advertising agencies, a senior Toyota source tells AutoObserver .

Toyota announced it was forming two new internal marketing units, one in Japan to "primarily handle marketing within Japan," and an internationally focused unit "to carry out and assist global marketing as well as coordinate and assist the marketing activities of TMC affiliates."

One media-watching blog took the information from Toyota's press release and ran, surmising the new marketing units were going to wrest the company's creative assignments from its contracted advertising agencies, including those in the U.S.

But a senior Toyota U.S. communications representative says nothing could be further from the truth.

"There was likely the assumption that [the newly formed] 'marketing company' meant 'advertising agency'," the executive says. "But this is not the case. The reality is that this new marketing company is not a big deal, it is simply a reorganization of the existing global marketing division."

In addition, the Toyota representative provided a statement to further clarify the situation:

"The main purpose of the two marketing companies is to enhance Toyota marketing efforts mainly in Japan -- it is not intended to bring advertising efforts in-house. Toyota does not plan to cut existing business-ties with advertising agencies," the statement said.

"The new domestic marketing company handles activities within Japan," the statement continued, "and the new marketing assistance and coordination company will provide any marketing assistance for overseas affiliates such as sharing best practices and marketing materials, especially for smaller markets that may not have extensive marketing resources. This does not mean controlling global marketing activities, but just supporting them."

So rest easy, Toyota advertising agencies across the globe. And once again, media commentators: please understand there are rather distinct and unique differences between marketing and advertising. Or at least that's what the advertising and marketing people are always telling us. -- Bill Visnic

 

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.