ARCHIVES: This is legacy content from before Marketing Dive acquired Mobile Marketer in early 2017. Some information, such as publication dates, may not have migrated over. Check out the new Marketing Dive site for the latest marketing news.

Toyota exec: No magic formula to engage millennial car buyers

NEW YORK ? A Toyota executive at the Mobile Marketing Association?s SM2 Innovation Summit said there is no perfect way to market to millennials, a notoriously difficult group to reach who are vital to the industry?s future.

The Toyota executive?s session, ?Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Drives Brand Consideration with Mobile,? showcased some of the automaker?s favorite creative mobile advertising tactics and its efforts to leverage emerging technologies in voice and location, while highlighting the challenges automotive advertisers face in an ever-changing mobile landscape.

?I don?t think there is any silver bullet,? said Lisa Materazzo, corporate manager, media strategy, with Torrance, CA-based Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. ?You have to look at where they are and they are everywhere. You also have to look at what devices they?re on, and they?re on everything, primarily mobile.

?I think the jury?s still out on whether they share their parents? love of cars,? Ms. Materazzo said following her presentation. ?I know there was a lot written in the media in the last few years, saying that millennials are simply not buying cars. But I think we have to factor in the impact of the recession.?

Debt-riddled
Coming out of college riddled with debt and unable to find jobs, millennials are not in a position to buy new cars, she said.  

?You certainly have to reach them in a much different way than we marketed to their parents, the boomers,? she said. ?I think, honestly, the silver bullet, if there is one, is all about being relevant. They have a higher bar if we want to break through to them.?

In an effort to engage buyers, Toyota this past summer used a new mobile advertising unit to serve real-time offers to customers who were in a Toyota dealer?s region and in the market for a car.

Toyota's mobile-based view of the customer journey.

Co-created with Opera Mediaworks and Saatchi & Saatchi LA, the ad unit leveraged Opera Mediaworks? audience-management platform to determine that a user was an in-market auto shopper and GPS location data to deliver the appropriate offer, showing what interest rate a buyer in that location could pay to finance a purchase.

The leveraging of both geographic location and in-market behavior highlighted the significant strides that automakers are making in mobile to drive sales leads and foot traffic to dealerships.

The ad unit could be viewed by in-market auto shoppers who frequented any of Opera?s premium publishers and applications.

Brands, retailers and marketers are meeting through Wednesday to discuss mobile at MMA?s third annual SM2 conference, part of New York?s Advertising Week events.

Executives from Lincoln Motors, BBC America, Energizer and more will discuss mobile?s role within their organizations? marketing plans during the two-day event. 

A year ago, Toyota promoted its 2014 Corolla compact car line with voice-activated banner ads. When consumers clicked on a banner ad, the creative expanded to a full page and the ad began telling consumers about the features in the car. The ad then walked consumers through all the parts of the connected car experience.

The ad was also customized to users. For example, the voice-over in the ad prompted consumers to pick from three different options to learn more about the car. The ad then served up several different pieces of information.

Also last year, Toyota rolled out billboards and outdoor signs in major markets including Los Angeles and New York that were equipped with near-field communications.  Consumers with NFC-supported phones were able to tap their mobile device against the ad to unlock a virtual test drive.

Ms. Materazzo at SM2 Innovation Summit.

Mobile media supporting the campaign drove traffic to a link. A button on the site encouraged consumers to take the car for a spin through an experience that leveraged rich media to navigate a car down a street.  Consumers had to swipe their finger vertically across the screen to propel the car. As the car made its way down the street, users could tap to learn more about 10 different areas of the car. 

At the end of the test drive, consumers were taken to a landing page where they could customize a Corolla, book a test drive, find a dealership or request a quote. 

Toyota also ran an iAd campaign that the car brand claimed would keep consumers engaged and doled out free music downloads in exchange for exploring features of the car. 

The automaker also geared up its social and TV elements with mobile elements. The campaign included a 60-second TV spot that synced with the Shazam mobile application. Consumers who tagged the audio spot using the Shazam app could download the songs featured in the campaign and access the same virtual text drive feature that was on Toyota?s mobile site. 

Emphasizing social 
Toyota?s positioning of social at the corner of its marketing strategies, capturing the top ranking for social in a recent JD Power survey, is seen as sharpening its ability to connect with younger buyers.

Virtual test drive.

An increased emphasis on programmatic buying, more advanced targeting and predictive modeling also are seen helping Toyota?s strategies in the months and years ahead, Ms. Materazzo said, without providing details.

Ms. Materazzo is responsible for integrating and innovating Toyota?s paid, earned and owned media strategies.  She also oversees the development and implementation of Toyota?s digital marketing efforts, including Toyota.com, Toyota Owners Online and dealer and customer online experience tools.

?What we?re trying to do is use technology to better inform our strategies and create a better shopping and buying experience for our consumers,? Ms. Materazzo said. ?We?d like to think of it as a seamless journey or connecting folks in their living room to the showroom to the driver?s seat.

?If we?re using technology and it gets in the way of that seamless process, that?s a fail for us. We want it to be an enjoyable experience for consumers. That?s our measure of success.?

Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York.