Toyota stands out from the crowd and shines

Key Points

• After the extremely successful relaunch of its Supra sports car, Toyota needed to drive awareness and sales after the launch hype had died down.
• Using brilliant creative and a multimedia plan that included a focus on the televised coverage of Goodwood Speedweek, Toyota managed to successfully engage sports car enthusiasts.
• Key awareness and consideration metrics jumped significantly, as well as YoY sales.

The Challenge

Having successfully relaunched and sold out their iconic Supra sports car in 2019, Toyota needed to boost sales the following year when hype turned into ‘business as usual’, when new news became old news and when sales were slower.

Five months into 2020, Supra had achieved a portion of its sales for the whole of the year and with a target that was already 32% higher than 2019 launch sales, there was some serious catching up to do.

In a declining category dominated by players like Porsche (718) and Audi (TT), who accounted for 61.2% of the Sports coupe sub-category at the beginning of 2020, the objectives were to:

• Shift model aided awareness above category average (82%) amongst Sports Car Owners and Enthusiasts
• Reverse the sales that were trending down and increase sales above 2019’s successful launch

The TV Solution

Toyota knew that they needed to get sports coupe buyers to want to feel what it’s like to drive the Supra. Research revealed that they were independent and non-conformist drivers who craved uniqueness. They wanted to stand out and avoid driving the same car as everyone else.

However, this desire for individuality conflicted with the reality of the sports car market dominated by models like the Porsche 718 and Audi TT. "You Don't Buy A Sports Car To Blend In" was born. This creative concept recognized that buying a sports car should affirm individuality while subtly challenging the competition.

Due to the GR Supra's recent return, there were few on the road. Toyota transformed this potential weakness into a strength, leveraging the car's distinctive design and performance to position it as the choice for non-conformists. Creative agency, The&Partnership, produced a beautiful 30” spot bringing the concept to life and this formed the backbone of the campaign.

The Plan

As a result of the lockdown restrictions in place due to the pandemic, July 2020’s Goodwood Festival of Speed – the annual motorsports festival that welcomes motoring enthusiasts from around the world - was postponed. The organisers replaced the event with the Goodwood Speedweek, a new, one-time-only interactive entertainment experience behind-closed-doors planned for October. The event was to be televised on ITV channels and m/Six leapt on this as the perfect environment in which to run the Supra ad, reaching sports car enthusiasts live on ITV and on catch-up on ITV Hub.

Following this successful burst, a second phase of activity was planned for the end of Q1 2021, using addressable TV alongside content-led buys in high-indexing F1 and sports content across broadcaster VOD.

Both bursts of TV were part of a wider, multi-media plan developed by m/Six spanning print, display, YouTube and social.

Results

• Aided awareness increased by 15pp from 79% pre-campaign to 94% post-campaign
• Consideration increased by 40pp from 36% to 76%
• First choice increased by 21pp from 7% to 28%
• Against a backdrop of a passenger car market down -29% (2021 vs 2019) and a declining segment down -51% (2021 vs ‘2019), 2020 sales of GR Supra were up 44% on 2019 and 2021 was up a further 12% up on 2020
• In System 1 quantitative research, the TV ad scored #2 in top 5 UK automotive adverts at that time, ordered by brand building potential, and #33 in the best adverts of all time

Databank

Sector: Motors & Travel

Brand: Toyota

Campaign objectives: Build awareness & drive sales

Target Audience: ABC1 Men

Budget: £500k

Campaign Dates: July 2020 – March 2021

TV Usage: 30” Spot

Creative Agency: The&Partnership

Media Agency: m/Six & Partners