Candidate Numbers: 1500946
1507074
1503867
1508588
Toyota
“It is in Toyota’s DNA that mistakes made once will not be repeated” – Akio Toyoda
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 1
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 3 Brand Health ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
BRAND INVENTORY ............................................................................................................................................... 5
Global Logo’s: ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 Trademarks ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Localization ......................................................................................................................................................... 8
BRANDING STRATEGY & POSITION ...................................................................................................................... 9
Country of Origin .............................................................................................................................................. 11 Pricing ............................................................................................................................................................... 12 Products ............................................................................................................................................................ 12 Distribution ....................................................................................................................................................... 13
COMMUNICATION ........................................................................................................................... 14 MEDIA CAMPAIGN .............................................................................................................................................. 14
SOCIAL MEDIA ..................................................................................................................................................... 14
SWOT ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................................. 16
BRAND UNIQUENESS ........................................................................................................................ 17 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 17
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: ........................................................................................................................ 17
COMPETITORS ...................................................................................................................................................... 17
BRAND ATTRIBUTES ............................................................................................................................................. 18
BRAND EXPLORATORY ..................................................................................................................... 20 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 20
CONSUMER BASED BRAND EQUITY .................................................................................................................... 22
Brand Salience .................................................................................................................................................. 23 Brand Performance ........................................................................................................................................... 25 Imaginery Element ............................................................................................................................................ 27 Judgment .......................................................................................................................................................... 28
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 2
Feelings ............................................................................................................................................................. 29 Resonance ......................................................................................................................................................... 30
EMPLOYEE BASED EQUITY ................................................................................................................................... 32
MENTAL MAP ................................................................................................................................... 33
RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 34
COMMUNICATION PLAN .................................................................................................................. 36 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 36
OBJECTIVES .......................................................................................................................................................... 36
TARGET AUDIENCE ............................................................................................................................................. 37
COMMUNICATION TOOLS ................................................................................................................................... 37
TV ADVERTISEMENT ........................................................................................................................................... 38
MY TOYOTA -‐‑ GLOBAL MOBILE APPLICATION ................................................................................................. 41
REFERENCE ....................................................................................................................................... 50
APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................................ 63
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 3
Introduction
Toyota has been named 8th best global brand in 2014 by
Interbrand and is ranked No. 1 in the automobile sector ahead of
brands like Mercedes-‐Benz, BMW and Honda, moving from 10th to
8th position from 2012 to 2013 with a 20% increase considering
previous year. (Interbrand, 2014). Toyota is the first automobile
manufacturer to produce 8.3 million vehicles per year (OICA, 2014).
Part of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) which was founded in
1937 the brand has the following global vision.
“Toyota will lead the way to the future of mobility, enriching lives
around the world with the safest and most responsible way of
moving people.
Through our commitment quality, constant innovation and respect
for the plant, we aim to exceed expectations and be rewarded with
a smile.
We will meet our challenging goals by engaging the talent and
passion of people, who believe there is always a better way”
(Toyota-‐Global,2014)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 4
Toyota brand promise: (Toyota, 2014)
1. Quality
2. Durability
3. Reliability
Brand Health
David Jobber (2003) points out effective brand building can obtain benefits in premium prices,
achieving distribution more readily and sustaining high stable sales and profits though brand loyalty.
Interbrand valued the total brand equity of Toyota at $42,392m in 2014 it also showed the brand
managed to capture 20% of the total automotive sector (Figure 1) (Interbrand Ranking,2014).
Interbrand states growth in markets like US, Europe and China has led to a contribution in brand value,
Toyota’s main focus has been on efficiencies and they have developed a reputation as being a solid and
trustworthy brand known for its high quality products but new campaigns are looking to bring about
the brand’s personality. (Interbrand,2014)
Figure 2 shows how the brand has been able to maintain steady brand value growth increasing value
each year even though the brand was fined USD $1.2 billion by the U.S. Justice Department in March
2014 and recalled nearly 6.4 million vehicles the brand still managed to keep its 77year-‐old reputation
in tact (Interbrand, 2014).
The company has seen increase in net revenues over the last few years (Figure 3) but as shown in
Figure 4 the sales by region in 2014 are considerably different dependent on region and Europe only
accounts for 9.3%. (Toyota, 2014)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 5
The first 6 months of 2014 shows car sales in Europe according to ACEA in units (Figure 5). Toyota has a
lot of competition from other brands even though the brand holds the most brand value it is ranked at
position 12.
David Leggett (2014) suggests the problems in Europe can be traced to the recession which caused
major profitability issues and the recall issues along with the 2011 natural disaster in Japan damaged
suppliers and impacted the high yen he also states Toyota in Europe would endure another 5 years of
losses.
Brand Inventory
Global Logo’s:
There are three ovals in the logo that are combined in a horizontally symmetrical configuration. The
two perpendicular ovals inside the larger oval represent the heart of the customer and the heart of the
company. They are overlapped to represent a mutually beneficial relationship and trust between each
other. (Toyota, 2014)
(Source: Toyota Global Website)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 6
The overlapping of the two perpendicular ovals inside the outer oval symbolize "T" for Toyota, as well
as a steering wheel, representing the vehicle itself. The outer oval symbolizes the world embracing
Toyota. The space in the background within the logo exhibits the "infinite values" which Toyota
conveys to its customers: superb quality, value beyond expectation, joy of driving, innovation, and
integrity in safety, the environment and social responsibility. (Toyota, 2014). The ellipses are made in
either red with a white background or seen as metallic. (Famous Logos, 2013)
(Source: Toyota Global Website)
The font of the Toyota logo is simple roman style saying ‘Toyota’ (Famous Logos, 2013) using Avenir 95
Black font. The official colors for Toyota are red, black and white. The Toyota symbol mark in its basic
form appears in Toyota red on white or black backgrounds. (Toyota Racing TRD, 2014).
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 7
(Source: Toyota Global Website)
The preferred display of the symbol mark is in combination with the Toyota corporate trade name logo
in either a horizontal or two-‐line vertical configuration. (Toyota Racing TRD, 2014)
Trademarks
In 1936 the Toyota name was formed after a selection meeting decided to change from Toyoda due to
3 reasons, Toyota was visually simpler, less cluttered and sounded more pleasant the second reason
was the eight stroke count in Japanese was associated with wealth and good fortune and thirdly the
Toyoda name also implied the company’s growth from a family business into a broader based social
entity.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 8
(Toyota, 2014) (Source: Toyota Global Website)
Localization
Toyota believes localization is necessary to achieve cost competitiveness so are maximizing local R&D
functions (Toyota, 2014). With a policy of "producing vehicles where the demand exists" Toyota tried
to localize their production bases. Kotler highlighted Toyota’s combination of manufacturing speed and
flexibility is behind its success, the plants are able to make up to 8 different models at the same time
which has shown an increase in productivity and market response. The company aims to customize
cars for local markets by integrating its assembly plants into one giant network (Kotler, pg397).
Figure 6 shows how the brand has localized its taglines in countries.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 9
(Figure 6)
Branding Strategy & Position
Schultz, Larsen et al (2002) states Toyota adopted a branding strategy using the corporate name
combined with individual brand names and modifiers as using the Toyota name allowed access to
global associations that consumers had towards the company, comprising of reliability, dependability,
and high quality and their sub brand like Corolla,RAV4 allowed Toyota to develop separate brand
images. Ritson (2010) has pointed out how Toyota’s sub brand architecture approach could be a major
weakness as cars linked to a single corporate brand could mean that problems with any vehicle at
Toyota affect’s sales across the whole range.
The brand is founded on its corporate philosophy “Customer first” and “Quality first” since the
introduction of statistical quality control (SQC) in 1949 it uses Total Quality Management (TQM) based
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 10
on its principals kaizen (continuous improvement) and ‘total improvement’. The brands delivers its
DNA “Quality, Durability and Reliability" in its products and uses various flow production system that is
based on customer demand with minimum downtime. Strategy like "just in time"
and “jidoka principal” has helped to lower the inventory and detect problem in the production and halt
the production. (Toyota, 2014)
In 1966 the Higashi-‐Fuji Technical Center was built to test high-‐speed durability, high-‐speed
maneuverability, braking performance, vibration, and noise. (Toyota, 2014). Toyota product leadership
campaign highlighted 6 key themes including
It also came second in the Interbrand’s 2014 Best Global Green Brands after Ford with the help of their
hybrid models. (Ranking the brands, 2014).
In order to operate in the global market, the company has formed seven specific guidelines and
principles shown in (Figure 7).
Toyota has outperformed competitors in quality, reliability, productivity, cost reduction, sales and
market share growth, and market capitalization. “The insight that Toyota applies underlying principles
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 11
rather than specific tools and processes explains why the company continues to outperform its
competitors” (Hbr,2014).
Toyota’s philosophy of “the right vehicle in the right place” has provided guidance for them to segment
and target markets (Toyota Global, 2014). Toyota adopted demographic and psychographic
segmentation, segmenting all countries over the world as its market (Bhandari, 2010). The brand
positioning and market segmentation are supported by variety of product attributes. Toyota’s product
range targets different age group and professionals i.e. the Land Cruiser targets entrepreneur’s and
outback adventure seekers and Prius hybrid targets eco-‐friendly individuals (Bhandari, 2010).
Toyota segmented and targeted its market based on the condition of market, purchasing capacity,
economy and consumer’s choices. The marketing strategy is designed at three levels – global level,
regional level and national level which is based on customer needs and choices. Toyota focuses its
brand in market with excitement, innovative, comfort and kindness. Toyota claims that its products fit
for a harmonized environment and feelings (Bhandari, 2010).
Country of Origin
Supanvanij, J, & Amine, L (2000) investigates country of origin and brand name of a product and find
there are extrinsic product signs that are distinct from inherent attribute and physical product
characteristic. Although, neither bears on product performance, they can affect the consumer’s
perception on quality, style, and price. Another research shows that Toyota owners, despite the recall,
believe that “Japanese automotive brands are superior to US brands when it comes to reliability and
safety” (Mittal et al., 2010).
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 12
Pricing
Bendixen et al. (2003) states higher brand equity allows companies to charge a price premium as it is
viewed as a source of competitive advantage. However, Taylor et al. (1998) argued that ‘depending on
the type of market, the brand’s positioning in the market and current market share, firms with high
market share may benefit from economies of scale, allowing them to price lower than competitors
with a smaller market share’. Charles.W.L.Hill et al. (2013) states Toyota’s taken advantage of its low
cost structure to produce a range of competitive priced vehicles tailored to a range of different car
market segments.
Toyota positioned itself as an economic brand in the Europe market and we found Toyota uses
competitive pricing to compete with brands for example Toyota priced compact car model Yaris Active
at £9,995 which is lower than its competitor Hyundai i20 Active 5 at £11,151 although both have
similar features (Hyundai UK , 2014). When comparing the price with premium brands Mercedes Benz
on hatchback A Class model, Mercedes Benz is setting a price higher than Toyota Yaris at £20,715
(Mercedes-‐Benz UK, 2014) this suggests that the pricing strategy of Toyota is consistent with its brand
positioning in Europe market.
Products
Toyota’s product portfolio captures 5 sectors including Cars , MPV’s/Vans, SUVs, commercial and
Hybrids, their products are designed with the help of local employees, to suit the tastes of the markets.
(Kotler, pg 681), Toyota has a variety of models introduced at different price levels. Toyota provides
services which offers consumers periodic maintenance contracts along with fleet management
solutions and a global Spare parts network. (Figure 8)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 13
Distribution
Toyota has 3 methods of distributing: (Toyota, 2014)
In Japan:
Toyota conducts business with 52 overseas manufacturing companies in 27 regions and countries and
vehicles are sold in more than 170 countries and regions (Toyota Global, 2014) (Figure 8.1) . At the end
of 2011, Toyota had global network of 172 overseas distributors. These distributors were responsible
for executing local sales strategies, this enabled Toyota to respond quickly to market changes and fill
demand. (Toyota, 2014).
Toyota
Vehicle Dealers: Sell and provide after-sales
servicing of vehicles
Parts Distributors: Distribute repair parts &
automotive parts and accessories.
Rent-a-Lease Dealers: Rent & Lease Toyota
vehicles
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 14
Communication
Toyota follows the Integrated Marketing communication strategy and uses many communication
channels including social media, advertisements on TV, newspapers, magazines and applications the
brand has also been associated with celebrity brand endorsers based on the region. (Toyota, 2014)
Media Campaign
Broadcast
Toyota has been broadcasting its media on TV through various channels in different languages based
on the region. Its Advert are very market focused based on its region. (Toyota Global, 2014)
Print and Digital
The print advertising depicts people celebrating the joy of Toyota. These digital campaigns have been
done with various features and different entertainment including DJ’s battle, Beat boxing and other
competition.
The globalization and localization approach seems to be present in most of the communication
approaches adopted by Toyota we see many campaigns that are localized to regions or countries. In
USA Toyota moved the brand to show a playful approach with campaigns like “Moving Forward” which
have been very successful. However some product orientated campaigns like “Style never goes out of
Style” were deemed very unsuccessful as Toyota had product recall issues. (Baskin, 2013)
Social Media
Toyota has failed to communicate with people on Social Media platform like Facebook; YouTube and
Google+ as Toyota-‐Global is dramatically lowers than its competitors as per the Figure 9 -‐11. When
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 15
Toyota partnered with music festival’s this has resulted in attaining 32 million views of advertisements
through media and PR events (Reachnash, 2104).
Advertising budgets were carefully monitored due to ongoing economic instability resulting in Europe’s
year-‐to-‐date decrease of 3.4% 2012.(Huffingtonpost, 2014). From Figure 12 we have seen how the
advertising spend falls in Europe while global advertising revenues increased.
Figure 13 shows in 2013 the automotive industry in Europe only accounted for 10.1% of the total
advertising expenditure. (MarketLine, 2014).
Toyota have been the official sponsor for Formula 1 since their team debuted in 2002 and have been
participating in events, displaying their vehicle and concepts in Tokyo Motor Show, Geneva motor
show and Mondial de l'Automobile the top known motor show in the world. (Toyota, 2014)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 16
SWOT Analysis
(Figure 14) (Armstrong et al, 2011) (Source: StrategicManagementInsight,2013)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 17
Brand Uniqueness
Introduction
“Positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in
the minds of the target market” (Keller et al, 2011, pg 275-‐276).
“Quality, Dependability and Reliability” is the main value that a customer receives in Toyota product,
service and spare part. This is linked to Toyota’s core strategy “Kaizen” which provides continues
improvement and investment in Research and Development. Kaizen is based on Plan => Implement =>
Evaluate => Assess, which is a continued cycle of improvement (Figure 14.1). Toyota had adopted the
Kaizen approach over Kaikaku (Figure 14.2) as this strategy reduces the time to perfect the concept and
process of the vehicle to the service, it is used in every job level at Toyota as it helps people to manage
their work efficiently. Kaizen enables each person to act as a manager and to give constructive ideas to
ensure the process is complete. (Greg, 2009)
Research and Development:
The company operates R&D operations around the world under Toyota Technical Center (Figure 15) for
product planning, design, evaluation and prototype, the company spend $9.76 Billion in financial year
2013 which equated to 3.65% of their total sales. (Market Line, 2014; 5)
Competitors
Interbrand 2014 brand position in the automotive sector shows Toyota’s top 5 competitors as
Mercedes-‐Benz, BMW, Honda, Volkswagen and Ford (Figure 16).
Toyota’s uniqueness has less to do with products and is more about consumer’s perception.
(Leaninsider, 2008). The unique features and designs have provided customers with safety,
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 18
convenience and economic value, with a wide range of cars & prices the consumers have more choices
linked to their affordability this along with after sales services has built up the USP of
Toyota.(Peopalove, 2009).
Toyota brand competitors like Mercedes Benz are presented as being the best or nothing, with
supreme combination of fascination, perfection and responsibility. The brands premium quality is
reflected in luxury, design, quality and style and is pioneered in the field of safety. Their safety concept
is based on Prevention, Response, Protection, Rescue (Daimler, 2014). BMW – one of the high profile
luxury brands in the world (Carsdirect, 2014). Volkswagen presents their cars as luxury and convenient
(freedom-‐volkswagen, 2014) believing their USP is the art of “German Engineering”.
(Thehimalayantimes, 2014)
Honda is considered as a brand which provides comfort, quality and safety (Peopalove, 2014). Honda
cars in comparison to Toyota had small back seat, higher prices and lower fuel economy. Honda beats
Toyota in terms of efficiency, technology and stability, whereas Toyota is more spacious and low priced
in comparison to Honda (Schlee, 2014) and more reliable as it runs an average of 210,705 miles
whereas Honda’s average is only 209,001 and Ford is only 198,409 miles. (Becker, 2014). Ford has been
considered as most eco-‐friendly brand in the world by the Best Global Green Brands (Campbell, 2014)
and it has the highest loyalty rate in new vehicle buyers compared to Toyota and Mercedes (Burke,
2014). Ford has become the UK’s top selling car brand with high reliability (Carbuyer, 2014).
Please refer to Figure 17 for a detailed analysis.
Brand attributes
• Innovation
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 19
• Quality
• Durability
• Reliability
• Safety
• Eco-‐Friendly
• Hybrid
• Social Responsibility
• Locally manufactured
• Distinctive
• Defensibility
• Competitive prices
• Wide range of variant and products to fulfill every segment
• Low maintenance cost
• Fuel efficiency
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 20
Brand Exploratory
Introduction
A 2014 car brand perception Survey conducted by Consumer Reports (2014) showed how the overall
brand perception of Toyota scored more than all other brands. (Figure 18)
The survey found that Quality and safety were key factor when purchasing a new car 2 years in a row
(Figure 19).
(Figure 19)
The survey showed how Toyota scored the highest in Quality (Figure 20), value (Figure 21) and fuel
economy (Figure 22)
0 20 40 60 80 100
90 88 83 82 81 70 68 90 88 83 83 81
65 65
Important factors in buying a new car
2014 (%) 2013 (%)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 21
23 21 19 19 19
2014 (%) BRAND -‐‑ QUALITY
Quality
25 20
16 21
18
TOYOTA FORD CHEVROLET HONDA KIA
2014 (%) BRAND -‐‑ VALUE
Value
44
26 33
22 20
2014 (%) BRAND -‐‑ FUEL ECONOMY
Fuel Economy
(Figure 20) (Figure 21)
(Figure 22)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 22
Consumer Based Brand Equity
We conducted a consumer online survey with a sample size of 51 females and 65 males all between
the ages of 18 to 60 where our biggest sample size was at 64% between the age of 26-‐ 45. The aim of
the survey was to investigate consumer knowledge of the Toyota brand, a customer-‐based brand
equity (CBBE) model has been formed based on the results of our primary and secondary research.
(Figure 23) Source: Keller (2001)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 23
Brand Salience
Being ranked number 1 of all automobile brands on Interbrand shows Toyota has high identifiable and
is a globally recognized brand. Our survey result shows 100% of respondents can recognize the Toyota
brand logo and have heard of Toyota.
(Figure 24)
68 people (59%) were also able to recall the brand promise of Quality, Durability and Reliability, we
believe this is due to the reason that Toyota has taken the localization approach hence why the global
brand promise has lower recognition than the logo.
23%
9%
68%
Toyota Brand Awareness
I have heard of them and have purchased their product
I have heard of them and plan to purchase their product
I have heard of them but never purchase their product
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 24
(Figure 25)
Our survey also showed how Toyota was perceived as an economy brand which is in line with the
Toyota brand positioning where it is competing with Ford and Honda.
(Figure 27)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Durability, Reliability and Quality
Luxury, Innovation and Reliability
Luxury, Invention and Performance
Technology, Design and Performance
Toyota Brand Promise
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Compact Economy Economy, Compact
Premium Premium, Economy
Toyota Position
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 25
Brand Performance
Research show that Toyota provides high quality, innovative and reliable vehicles (Aroq Limited, 2011
and Consumer Perception Report, 2014). Figure 28 shows Toyota ranked 4th in the UK in 2014 based on
reliability and durability.
Rank Make and Model Reliability Index Reliability Index
1 Daihatsu Very Good 37
2 Honda Very Good 41
3 Suzuki Very Good 48
4 Toyota Good 67
5 Chevrolet Good 80
6 Hyundai Good 85
7 Mazda Good 86
8 Ford Good 86
9 SKODA Good 90
10 Lexus Good 90
(Figure 28 )Source : Reliability Index, 2014
Consumer Report (2014) shows Toyota falls out of the top 10 automobile brand when people think of
‘Style’ and our sample showed only 14 people would associate Toyota as a stylish brand and more of
an affordable, reliable and family orientated brand (Figure 29).
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 26
(Figure 29)
According to Consumer Report (2014), Toyota is ranking at the top among the other automobile brand
where 25% of consumers think that Toyota is value for money (Figure 16). Our Survey showed how
people rated Toyota as excellent in performance, value for money and quality. (Figure 30).
79
4
60
8 13 14
38
55
1 3
Association
44
43
49
48
52
39
45
41
13
14
12
9
14
23
11
14
48
46
45
46
37
44
47
50
8
9
8
10
10
7
10
8
3
4
2
3
3
3
3
3
DURABILITY
PERFORMANCE
USER FRIENDLY
SAFETY
RELIABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
ECO-‐‑FRIENDLY
QUALITY
Toyota ATributes
Good Excellent Fair Poor Extremely Poor
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 27
(Figure 30)
Imaginery Element
In our survey 48% regarded Toyota as a family car and 13% as a business people car. Toyota also has a
long historical association with the era of family cars where the first corolla model was formed in 1966.
A milestone has been achieved by Toyota when they became the world’s first mass-‐producer in hybrid
cars (Blog Toyota UK, 2010).
(Figure 31)
Overall 24% of respondents are satisfied with all aspect of their experience with Toyota products.
Business people
Family people
Single people
Couple
Student
Pensioner
25
95
23
17
19
17
TOYOTA SEGMENTS
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 28
(Figure 32)
Judgment
Toyota is still perceived as a quality product beating other automobile brands even after the recall
issues (Consumer Report, 2014). The result from our survey shows that 47% of people think that the
quality of Toyota is above good (Figure 30). Its long history in the automobile industry and effective
service has created the likeability towards the brand which resulted in trustworthiness (Consumer
Report, 2014).
Our survey found people were able to recognize Toyota biggest competitor as Honda (83%) followed
by ford at 15% (Figure 32.1).
1% 22%
35%
24%
1%
17%
Toyota Satisfaction
Dissatisfied
Neutral
Not applicable
Satisfied
Very dissatisfied
Very satisfied
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 29
(Figure 32.1)
Our survey also found how Mercedes-‐Benz and BMW are regarded as the most valuable brands but
Toyota is seen as more valuable then Ford and Honda which are Toyota’s main competitors (Figure
32.2).
(Figure 32.2)
Feelings
Keller (2001) points out that there are six important types of feelings related to brand building. Based
on our survey, there is a feeling that the brand is represented as safe and protective (Figure 33).
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 30
(Figure 33)
Resonance
Research showed Toyota owners indicated a greater willingness to consider Toyota for purchase
compared to other brand as they found Toyota is one of the most reliable automobile brands (Mittal et
al., 2010). Research from Mittal et al. (2010) shows somehow the recall issues may have damaged the
brand image but Toyota owners are still showing loyalty to the brand however our survey showed only
16% would recommend Toyota to others (Figure 34).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Playful Protected Proud Safe Sexy
Brand Feeling
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 31
(Figure 34)
The survey also found how only 12 people would consider buying a Toyota for their next car whereas
luxury brands like Audi and BMW ranked a lot higher.
16%
16%
35%
29%
4%
Toyota Recommendation
Definitely will
Might or might not
None of the above
Probably will
Probably will not
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
TOYOTA AUDI BMW FORD
HONDA VOLKSWAGEN LAND ROVER
MERCEDES-‐‑BENZ PORSCHE HYUNDAI
CHEVROLET
Consumer Next Purchase
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 32
(Figure 35)
Employee based Equity
We interviewed Toyota employees to find out an internal view of how the brand has been perceived
and problems they would consider issues at Toyota. When asked what challenges the brand faces in
growing UK market share the responses highlighted issues like lack of brand awareness as well as lack
of knowledge about Toyota standards due to the recall history and history of issues with parts, they
felt consumers were unable to understand the brand and what it stood for. It was also highlighted how
Toyota employees found entering the UK market later than other competing brands from German and
American manufactures meant they were unable to promote and deliver the message of the Japanese
brand, they felt the brand loyalty of the UK consumers was more for high end brands like VW, BMW
and Mercedes-‐Benz so the only way for them to position themselves in the UK was to go for a more
environmental friendly approach which would give people concession on taxes.
As we have seen there is a strong localization and globalization approach adopted by Toyota, we found
from employees how this has benefited growth of Toyota. The employees found that being taught to
respect and understand values of the countries and sending out study teams to countries to study
culture and norms as well as relocated talent helped the brand understand and grow in markets more
quickly by becoming one of the biggest manufactures this has been linked to the reason behind the
brands success.
Being a Japanese brand we wanted to find out what association’s employees had with the brand and
what attracted them to join Toyota, the survey found how the country of origin actually attracted
many employees to work for the company as they found the culture very different. They also felt the
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 33
company offered them many opportunities to learn and grow which led to employee loyalty towards
the brand.
Mental map
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 34
Recommendations
From the Toyota brand audit, we found that Toyota has relatively high brand equity in the automobile
industry. However we think that if Toyota wants to remain as one of the market leader they should
affirm on delivering their brand promise to consumers as only 59% of people from our survey knew
what the brand stood for (Figure 25). We suggest that Toyota can take an emotional and interactive
marketing route as an opportunity to entice consumers and increase their market share in Europe.
Toyota Durability
Quality
Reliability
Japanese
Trust
Innovative
Fuel Efficie
nt
Economic
spare part
Family Built to last Easy
maintainanc
e Resale
Value Eco-
Friendly
Hybrid
Protective
Safe
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 35
According to Muhammad Abdullah et al. (2012) effective marketing with emotions and sometimes a
balance of rational logic can help an organization build a better brand equity in the long run and also
help to sustain in the position of market leader. We have proposed a communication plan with
emotional TV advertisement to create greater brand preferences and purchase intentions. A study
from Biehal et al.,( 1992., MacKenzie et al., 1986, cited in Muhammad Abdullah at al. 2012) revealed
that “emotional advertisement has strong impact on the consumers’ attitude towards advertisement,
their attitude towards brand, which thus in turn have a well-‐built consequence on consumers purchase
intentions as compare to the informative advertisements”.Kotler et al. (2013) pointed out that TV
advertising can achieve a huge geographically exposure at a low cost per viewer. It also enables Toyota
to repeat the brand promise to consumers which is Quality, reliability and safety.
We also suggest implementing a well-‐designed and user-‐friendly global mobile application to have an
interactive mobile marketing connection. Kotler et al. (2013) mentioned that there are 6 billion mobile
phone and device users in the world and mobile marketing provides a growing method of gaining
direct access to targeted consumers. Moreover, brands that employ mobile marketing are usually
perceived as innovative and high tech (Ferris, 2007, cited in Smutkupt et al., 2012), leading to customer
perceptions of unique brand associations as Toyota can interact with the consumers and deliver their
brand promise at the same time.
We also suggest that to tackle the recall issue in Europe and to regain customer trust that Toyota
should start a campaign to provide all 2015 cars with a 200,000 miles warranty as we have seen Toyota
runs at an average of 210,705 miles. Toyota should also increase their social media presence as their
competitors (Figure 9-‐11) shows competitors have a stronger online presence.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 36
Communication Plan
Introduction
Our objective is to deliver the brand promise of Toyota which is ‘Quality, Durability and Reliability’ and
to regain trust from consumers since there has been bad brand image due to Toyota’s recall issues. The
marketing communication activities are planned for the European market where we can see potential
growth opportunities in terms of increase in sales as Figure 4 shows Europe contributes to only 9.3% of
Toyota sales.
Objectives
• To increase the brand awareness and boost the consideration of Toyota as first choice instead
of other brand of vehicles.
• Deliver and reinforce the key messages of Toyota which is ‘Quality, Durability and Reliability to
consumers
• To change consumer’s perception on quality due to the recall crisis and build up customer
loyalty as it has dropped 11% points from 59.4 to 48.4 when Toyota first announced the recall
of car in 2010 (Well and Ammanath, 2010)
• To motivate consumers to find out more about Toyota by visiting the showroom, website, local
dealer, order brochures and order a test drive
• To provide more information and interaction with the brand
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 37
Target Audience
Target audience of this communication plan is middle class consumers as Toyota is positioned as an
economy brand and therefore we want to deliver the personality of the brand to middle class
consumer as they might already have knowledge or a connection with the brand.
Communication Tools
The communication tools that are chosen to reach the target audience are TV advertisement and
Mobile Application. TV advertisement is highly visible and able to create high impact brand awareness.
Pickton and Broderick (2005) point out that it has high creative appeals to sight, colour, movement and
sound. Furthermore it can generate an emotional and memorable advertisement which can faster
build a fan community (Reinartz and Saffert, 2013).
Presently Toyota has no global mobile application to support its customer pre-‐ sales and post-‐ sales,
they have four application, two gaming application (Social Network Racer and Hybrid Ninja) for
Facebook and two application for iPhone the (product 86 and ToyToyota) Toyota-‐ Global, 2014).
Therefore we have designed a mobile application to support the service and use it as a communication
tool to interact with consumers in different languages. Both TV advertisement and mobile applications
have the ability to demonstrate the product, create a strong image branding and generate high levels
of awareness (Pickton and Broderick, 2005).
A message of ‘Quality, Durability and Reliability’ is to be delivered to reflect Toyota’s global brand
position. We want to deliver a message that tells consumers the brand can produce high quality
products as the recall issue has damaged the brand image. Please see Figure 48 for detailed table.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 38
TV Advertisement
Our TV advertisement is designed on a story demonstrating a family who own a high quality, durable
and reliable Toyota car. We have chosen to pitch this advertisement idea via a story board with 5
shots. The strategy is to emphasize that the Toyota standards are still the best in the industry by
reflecting on their long history of high quality and to recover from the recall issue.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 41
The tone of voice for the TV advertisement is mellow and soft to create emotional connection. The car
model to be used for is Avensis and background song is an instrumental song known as ‘The journey’
which can accessed through YouTube (Youtube, 2009).
My Toyota -‐ Global Mobile Application
The Application “My Toyota” is designed to provide customers with pre-‐purchase and post-‐purchase
information on leading platform like App Store, Android and Amazon. The application is designed for
customers to interact with Toyota Globally.
Figure 36
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 42
The application as shown in Figure 36 uses color like red white and black for all if its features as these
colors represent Toyota. Its background is its company credo tree that Toyota “Business” is based on
and represents. The following options are listed:
My Toyota (Figure 37) It is the first icon on the Toyota application It represents the history, vision and
mission of Toyota alone with various media platform link (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Toyota-‐Global
website and Blog)
Figure 37
Product Catalogs (Figure 38) – Information about all Toyota product around the world with information
like Color, Options, Limited Edition and information about if the product is manufactured in Left hand
drive (LHD) or Right hand Drive (RHD) region wise.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 43
Figure 38
Service Center (Figure 39) – This tab is linked to all the service center of Toyota around the world with
information to make a booking.
Figure 39
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 44
Spare part Center (Figure 40) – It is also linked to all Spare part center around the world with vital
contact information and timings.
Figure 40
Call us (Figure 41) – It is an option where a customer can tap and connect to the toll free number based
on the continent.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 45
Figure 41
Contact us (Figure 42) – Is an option added to people that just want to contact Toyota via Email. (This
option is for customer that can wait for response within 24 hours)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 46
Figure 42
Global Campaign (Figure 43) – This option has been added for people to be updated with the Toyota
Campaign taking place around the world.
Figure 43
Facebook (Figure 44) – This is one of the fasted growing network and becoming a means of
communication, the idea is for people to talk about Toyota.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 47
Figure 44
Events (Figure 45) – The idea of adding events is for people to participate in our product launch, Road
show and Global events just with one click it will be added to the schedule.
Figure 45
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 48
Twitter (Figure 46) – This option is added for people to follow what people are twitting about #Toyota
or its product around the world.
Figure 46
Global News (Figure 47) – This option is added for customer to view what major Newspaper, Magazine
and News channels are talking about Toyota.
(Figure 47)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 49
This application is also designed to show customers that Toyota go beyond their DNA (Quality,
Durability and Reliability) to support customers.
We will maintain a simple message reflecting Toyota across the TV advertisement and mobile
application. The same logo of Toyota and colors of black, red and white will be maintained on both
communication tools.
The TV advertisement and mobile application is designed with a integrated marketing communication
to provide a consistent message over multiple platforms. Their current advertising strategies are more
focused on features and design of the product while our communication plan is more on developing an
emotional connection with consumers. Our designed global mobile application is a brand new
promotion technique for Toyota and we think that this is a very interactive promotion tool to increase
the brand awareness to consumers.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 50
Reference
ACEA (2014) 2014 (Half Year) Europe: Best-‐Selling Car Manufactures, Brands and Models. [Online]
available from: http://www.best-‐selling-‐cars.com/europe/2014-‐half-‐year-‐europe-‐best-‐selling-‐car-‐
manufactures-‐brands-‐models/ [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Anon, (2014). 1st ed. [ebook] Available at:
http://www.simitrigroup.com/Articles/BA_UnderstandingCompetition.pdf [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Armstrong,G Adam,S Denize,S Kotler,P. (2011). Creating and Capturing consumer value. In: Principles of
Marketing. 5th ed. AU: Pearson Higher Education. 61-‐64p.
Aroq Limited (2011), US: Toyota’s perceived quality score rises by more than 2%, Just – Auto Global
News, United Kingdom. ABI/Inform Global [Online]. Available: http://0-‐
search.proquest.com.catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/docview/902816176?accountid=14565
At ford (2014). Our Ford Motor Company Global Brand Promise is to Go Further. [online] Available at:
http://www.at.ford.com/news/cn/Pages/Our%20Ford%20Motor%20Company%20Global%20Brand%2
0Promise%20is%20to%20Go%20Further.aspx [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Baskin, J. (2013). Toyota's Ad Demonstrates How Not to Sell Cars.Available:
http://adage.com/article/cmo-‐strategy/toyota-‐s-‐ad-‐2014-‐corolla-‐shows-‐sell-‐cars/244201/. Last
accessed 25th Nov 2014.
Becker,S. (2014). 10 vehicle brand that are most reliable. Available:
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobiles/10-‐vehicle-‐brands-‐that-‐are-‐the-‐most-‐
reliable.html/?a=viewall. Last accessed 29th Nov 2014.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 51
Beloved-‐brands.com, (2014). Brand Promise | beloved brands. [online] Available at: http://beloved-‐
brands.com/tag/brand-‐promise/ [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
BelovedBrands, (2014) Beloved Brands [Online] http://beloved-‐brands.com/tag/brand-‐promise/
[Accessed 1 December 2014]
Bendixen, M., Bukasa, A. and Abratt, R. (2003) 'Brand equity in the business-‐to-‐business
market', Industrial Marketing Management , Vol. 33 , pp. 371-‐380.
Bhandari, S. (2010). An Analysis of Toyota’s Marketing Strategy. Rochester: Social Science Research
Network. ABI/INFORM Global [Online]. Available at: http://0-‐
search.proquest.com.catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/docview/1095316347?accountid=14565 [Accessed: 20
November 2014]
Blog Toyota UK (2010). THe 7 Guiding Principles of Toyota [Online]. Available at:
http://blog.toyota.co.uk/the-‐7-‐guiding-‐principles-‐of-‐toyota#.VHzMyTGUcQk [Accessed: 21 November
2014]
BMW. (2014). BMW.com : BMW Design : Design features. [online] Bmw.com. Available at:
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/bmw_design/features.html [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Brandchannel.com, (2014). Automotive Branding | Brand Attributes | brandchannel.com. [online]
Available at: http://www.brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=154 [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014].
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 52
Branding (2010) Toyota’s 20 year claim [Online] available from:
http://www.brandng.com/marketing/2010/02/toyotas-‐20-‐year-‐claim.html [Accessed: 24th November
2014]
Burke, K. (2014). Ford, Mercedes, Toyota tops in brand loyalty in 1st quarter, IHS says. [online]
Automotive News. Available at:
http://www.autonews.com/article/20140627/RETAIL/140629877/ford-‐mercedes-‐toyota-‐tops-‐in-‐
brand-‐loyalty-‐in-‐1st-‐quarter-‐ihs-‐says [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014].
Campbell, M. (2014). Ford takes top spot from Toyota as world’s greenest brand – report | CarAdvice.
[online] CarAdvice.com.au. Available at: http://www.caradvice.com.au/292874/ford-‐takes-‐top-‐spot-‐
from-‐toyota-‐as-‐worlds-‐greenest-‐brand-‐report/ [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014].
Carbuyer, (2014). Ford. [online] Available at: http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/ford [Accessed 1
Dec. 2014].
Carsdirect, (2014). Facts about BMW Cars. [Online] Available at: http://www.carsdirect.com/car-‐
buying/where-‐are-‐bmw-‐cars-‐built [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Chareles.W.L.Hill, Gareth R.Jones & Melissa A. Schilling (2013). Strategic Management Theory pp.198
Consumer Reports (2014) 2014 Car-‐Brand Perception Survey [Online] Available from:
(http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2014/02/2014-‐car-‐brand-‐perception-‐survey/index.htm)
[Accessed 29th November 2014]
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 53
Consumerreports.org, (2014). 2014 Car Brand Perception Survey | Best Car Brands -‐ Consumer Reports.
[online] Available at: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2014/02/2014-‐car-‐brand-‐perception-‐
survey/index.htm [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014].
Cultbranding, (2014). How to Create Strong Brand Positioning in Your Market. [online] Available at:
http://www.cultbranding.com/create-‐strong-‐brand-‐positioning-‐strategy/ [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Daimler, (2014). “Mercedes-‐Benz – The best or nothing”. [Online] Available at:
http://www.daimler.com/brands-‐and-‐products/our-‐brands/mercedes-‐benz-‐pass-‐cars [Accessed 25
Nov. 2014].
David jobbers (2003). Principles and practice of marketing 4th edition.
Dream Magazine by Honda, (2014). Cars Archives -‐ Dream Magazine by Honda. [online] Available at:
http://www.dreammagazine.co.uk/tag/cars/ [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Famous Logos (2013) Toyota Logo [Online] Available from: http://www.famouslogos.org/logos/toyota-‐
logo [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Fortune, (2014). World's Most Admired Companies: Toyota Motor ranks No. 29. [online] Available at:
http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/most-‐admired/2013/snapshots/6752.html [Accessed
26 Nov. 2014].
Foy, H. (2014). Toyota Europe pulls ahead of rivals. The Financial Times Ltd [Online] Available at:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f9f154e2a2f011e3ba2100144feab7de.
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 54
Freedom-‐volkswagen. (2014). Volkswagen: Positioning/unique selling point. [Online] Freedom-‐
volkswagen.blogspot.co.uk. Available at: http://freedom-‐volkswagen.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/product-‐
strategy-‐positioning.html [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Gain, B. (2013). Toyota overtakes BMW as most valuable global car brand. [online] Automotive News.
Available at: http://www.autonews.com/article/20130520/COPY01/305209902/toyota-‐overtakes-‐
bmw-‐as-‐most-‐valuable-‐global-‐car-‐brand [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Greg (2009) Kaizen | Continuous Improvement [Online] Available at:
http://www.thetoyotasystem.com/lean_concepts/kaizen.php [Accessed: 1 December 2014]
Hbr (2014) Learning to Lead at Toyota [Online] Available from: ttps://hbr.org/2004/05/learning-‐to-‐
lead-‐at-‐toyota) [Accessed: 29th November 2014]
How-‐to-‐branding.com, (2014). Branding Examples: The Power of Branding. [online] Available at:
http://www.how-‐to-‐branding.com/Branding-‐Examples.html [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014].
Html (Accessed: 27 November 2014)
Huffingtonpost, (2014). UK Advertising Spend Falls, While Global Ad Revenues Increase By 4% [Online]
Available from: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/16/uk-‐advertising-‐spend-‐
falls_n_2484840.html [Accessed 29th November 2014]
Hyundai UK (2014). New Cars – Hyundai i20. [Online] Available at: http://www.hyundai.co.uk/new-‐
cars/i20 [Accessed: 24 November 2014]
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 55
Interbrand (2014) Toyota [Online] available from: http://www.bestglobalbrands.com/2014/toyota/
[Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Interbrand Ranking (2014) Rankings [Online] available from:
http://www.bestglobalbrands.com/2014/ranking/ [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Keller, K. (2009). Brand Planning. [online] Available at:
http://faculty.mu.edu.sa/public/uploads/1358437878.843brand10.pdf [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Keller, KL 2001, “Building Customer-‐Based Brand Equity. (cover story)’, Marketing Management, 10, 2,
pp. 14-‐19, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, [online]
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/bsi/detail/detail?sid=58900d06-‐330c-‐4ebb-‐8ac8-‐
84b681c42302%40sessionmgr4001&vid=3&hid=4201&bdata=JnNpdGU9YnNpLWxpdmU%3d#db=bth&
AN=4966486 [Accessed: 21 November 2014]
Kotler, P & Keller K.L. (2006). Marketing Management 12 Edition.
Kotler, P & Keller K.L. (2011). Marketing Management 14 Edition. New Jersey: Prentice hall
Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Harris, L.C., Piercy, N. (2013). Principles of Marketing. 6th Edition, Pearson
Education Limited, England. p431.
Leaninsider (2008) EWhat ,makes Toyota Different [Online] Available at:
http://leaninsider.productivitypress.com/2008/01/what-‐makes-‐toyota-‐different.html [Accessed: 1
December 2014]
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 56
Leaninsider.productivitypress.com, (2008). Lean Insider: What Makes Toyota Different. [online]
Available at: http://leaninsider.productivitypress.com/2008/01/what-‐makes-‐toyota-‐different.html
[Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Leggett, D. 2014. Belgium: “we won’t chase volumn”.pg6 Toyota (2014) Passion [Online] available
from: http://www.toyota-‐global.com/showroom/emblem/passion/[Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Livework, (2014). Volkswagen -‐ Livework. [online] Available at: http://liveworkstudio.com/client-‐
cases/volkswagen/ [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014].
Market Line (2014) Europe – Advertising [Online] Available from:
http://advantage.marketline.com/Product?pid=MLIP1221-‐0005&view=d0e123 [Accessed 29th
November 2014]
Market Line. (2014). Company Profile. Toyota Motor Corporation. 1 (1), p4-‐6.
Mechlloyd (2014). Ford Unique Selling Points. [online] Available at:
http://www.mechlloyd.com/index.php/showroom/ford/ford-‐usps [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014].
Mercedes-‐Benz UK (2014). Prices. [Online] Available at: http://www2.mercedes-‐
benz.co.uk/content/unitedkingdom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/passengercars
/home/new_cars/models/a-‐class/_w176/advice_sales/catalogue_prices.html [Accessed: 24 November
2014]
Mercedes-‐benz UK, (2014). Mercedes-‐Benz UK -‐ Categories -‐ Hybrid Cars. [online] Available at:
http://www2.mercedes-‐
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 57
benz.co.uk/content/unitedkingdom/mpc/mpc_unitedkingdom_website/en/home_mpc/passengercars
/home/passenger_cars_world/categories/hybrid-‐cars.html [Accessed 25 Nov. 2014].
Mittal, V., Sambandam, R, & Dholakia, U., 2010, ‘Toyota steers Clear of Reputation Damage’, Marketing
Research, 22, 2, pp.9-‐13. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost,
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/bsi/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=103422f3-‐1e17-‐415c-‐a331-‐
41a96345907b%40sessionmgr4002&vid=2&hid=4106 (Accessed: 22 November 2014)
Muhammad Abdullah, K.N., Ghani, U. and Aziz, S. (2012). The Emotionally Charged Advertisement and
Their Influence on Consumers’ Attitudes. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(1).
OICA (2014) WORLD MOTOR VEHICLE PRODUCTION [Online] available from: http://www.oica.net/wp-‐
content/uploads/2013/03/ranking-‐2012.pdf [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Peopalove, (2009). BrandTalk : Toyota. [Online] Available at:
http://www.peopalove.com/brandtalk/2007/sep/review.html [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014].
Peopalove, (2014). BrandTalk: Honda. [Online] Available at:
http://www.peopalove.com/brandtalk/2005/dec/chat.html [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014].
Ranking the brands (2014) Brand Rankings [Online] Available from:
http://www.rankingthebrands.com/The-‐Brand-‐Rankings.aspx?rankingID=210&nav=category
[Accessed: 29th November 2014)
Reachnash (2014). Toyota Music Festivals [Online] Available from: http://www.reachnash.com/toyota-‐
case-‐studies/ [Accessed: 29th November 2014]
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 58
Reinartz, W. and Saffert, P. (2013). Creativity in Advertising When It Works and When It Doesn’t.
Harvard Business Review. p107-‐p112.
Reliability Index, 2014, United Kingdom. [Online] Available at:
http://www.reliabilityindex.com/manufacturer [Accessed: 22 November 2014]
Ritson, M 2010, 'Toyota's structural flaw', Marketing (00253650), p. 18, Business Source Complete,
EBSCOhost, viewed 20 November 2014.
Schlee, M. (2014). 2014 Honda Civic vs 2014 Toyota Corolla : Car Reviews. [online] AutoGuide.com
News. Available at: http://www.autoguide.com/car-‐comparisons/2014-‐honda-‐civic-‐vs-‐2014-‐toyota-‐
corolla-‐3920.html [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014].
Schreiber, E. (2010). Brands and Reputation: A Once Great Brand is Suffering a Death by a Thousand
Cuts. [online] Brandsandreputation.blogspot.co.uk. Available at:
http://brandsandreputation.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/once-‐great-‐brand-‐is-‐suffering-‐death-‐by.html
[Accessed 26 Nov. 2014].
Schultz, M, Hatch, M, Larsen, M, & Keller, K 2002, 'CHAPTER 8: Building and Managing Corporate Brand
Equity',Expressive Organization, pp. 113-‐137, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 24
November 2014.
Smutkupt, P., Krairit, D. and Khang, D.B., (2012). Mobile marketing and consumer perceptions of brand
equity. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 24(3), pp.539-‐560
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 59
Strategic Management Insight (2013) SWOT analysis of Toyota [Online] Available from:
http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-‐analyses/toyota-‐swot-‐analysis.html [Accessed
29th November 2014]
Supanvanij, J, & Amine, L 2000, 'Consumer Perception of Country-‐of-‐Origin Effect and Brand
Effect', Latin American Business Review, 1, 4, p. 47, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 24
November 2014.
Taylor, R., Ulrich, K. and Reinstein, D., (1998). Brand Equity and Vertical Product Line Extent. Marketing
Science (1986-‐1998), 17(4), pp. 356.
Thehimalayantimes.com, (2014). Welcome to the Perspective:The himalayantimes.com. [online]
Available at:
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/perspectives/fullnews.php?headline=It%27s+what+the+people+
want+&newsid=MzA5 [Accessed 26 Nov. 2014].
Toyota (2014) Annual Report 2012 available from: (http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/investors/ir_library/annual/pdf/2012/feature/) [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Toyota (2014) Changes and Innovations [Online] available from: http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/company_information/management_and_finan
ces/management/tqm/change.html [Accessed: 29th November 2014]
Toyota (2014) List of Dealerships in Japan [Online] Available from: http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/automotive_business/sales/dealerships/overse
as/index.html [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 60
Toyota (2014) List of Overseas Distributors [Online] Available from: http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/automotive_business/sales/dealerships/overse
as/index.html [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Toyota (2014) Motor Show [Online] Available at http://www.toyota-‐global.com/events/motor_show/
[Accessed: 1 December 2014]
Toyota (2014) Vehicle Gallery [Online] Available from: http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/showroom/vehicle_gallery/ [Accessed: 29th November 2014]
Toyota (GB) PLC. (2014). [Online] Available from: http://www.toyota.co.uk [Accessed: 21st November
2014].
Toyota (USA) PLC. (2014). [Online] Available from: http://www.toyota.com [Accessed: 21st November
2014].
Toyota Germany (2014) [Online] available from: (http://www.toyota.de/) [Accessed: 24th November
2014]
Toyota Global (2014) Worldwide Operations [Online] Available at: http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/company/profile/facilities/worldwide_operations.html [Accessed: 1 December 2014]
Toyota Global (2014). Global Development Actively Exporting to Overseas Countries. [Online]. Available
at: http://www.toyota-‐global.com/showroom/vehicle_heritage/corolla/origin/global.html. [Accessed:
20 November 2014]
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 61
TOYOTA GLOBAL. (2014). Advertising and Publicity. Available: http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/automotive_business/sales/activity/japan/adve
rtising/h8.html. Last accessed 21nd Nov 2014.
Toyota Motor Corporation (2012), General Status of Plants in Japan. [Online] Available at:
http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/automotive_business/production/production/ja
pan/general_status/honsha.html [Accessed: 21 November 2014]
Toyota News (2009) Toyota Launches New Product Leadership Campaign. [Online] Available at:
http://toyotanews.pressroom.toyota.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=1746 [Accessed: 27
November 2014]
Toyota Racing TRD (2014) Brand standard [Online] Available from:
http://www.toyotaracing.com/trd/pdf/Toyota-‐TRD-‐Logo-‐Usage-‐Guide.pdf [Accessed: 1 December
2014]
Toyota-‐Global (2014) Toyota Global Vision [Online] available from: http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/company/vision_philosophy/toyota_global_vision_2020.html [Accessed: 24th November
2014]
Toyota. (2014) Data: Changes in Toyota Trademarks and Emblems [Online] available from:
http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/automotive_business/products_technology/veh
icle_lineage_chart/trademarks_and_emblems/index.html [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 62
Toyota. (2014) Financial Highlights. [Online] available from: http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/investors/financial_data/high-‐light.html [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Toyota. (2014) Guiding Principles at Toyota [Online] available from: http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/company/vision_philosophy/guiding_principles.html [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Toyota. (2014) Item 7. Establishment of the Toyota Technical Center [Online] available from:
http://www.toyota-‐
global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/taking_on_the_automotive_business/chapter2/
section9/item7_b.html [Accessed: 24th November 2014]
Well, M. and Ammanath, D. (2010). How Did the Toyota Recalls Affect Customer Loyalty? R. L. Polk &
Co. Pickton, D. and Broderick, A. (2005). Integrated Marketing Communications. Second Edition.
Pearson Education Limited, England. p113.
Youtube (2009). The Journey -‐ inspirational song. Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP7koXW5V_Q (Accessed: 27 November 2014)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 63
Appendix
(Figure 1) (Source: Interbrand)
Toyota 20%
Mercedes-‐‑Benz 16%
BMW 16%
Honda 10%
Volkswagen 7%
Ford 5%
Hyundai 5%
Audi 5%
Nissan 4%
Porsche 3%
Kia 3% Chevrolet
2% Harley-‐‑Davidson
2% Land Rover
2%
2014 Brand Value $m
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
INCREASE IN BRAND VALUE OVER 5 YEARS IN $M
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 64
(Figure 2) (Source: Interbrand)
(Figure 3) (Source: Toyota Global)
(Figure 4) (Source: Toyota Global)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 65
(Source: ACEA)
(Figure 7) (Toyota, 2014)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 66
(Figure 8) (Toyota, 2014)
Toyota
Service Sparepart
Product
Sedan
Luxury
Avalon Crown
Sport
86
Economy
Aurion Avanza
Avensis Camry
Corolla Etios (4/5 Door)
Vion Zelas
Compact
Auris Aygo
Yaris
SUV
Jeep
Land Cruiser Highlander
Venza Rav 4
Fj Cruiser 4 Runner
Tacoma Urban Cruiser
Pick up
Hilux Tundra
MPVs / Minivan Commercial
Coaster Dyna
Hiace
Hybrid
Prius Prius C
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 67
(Figure 8.1) (Source: Toyota Global, 2014)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 68
Toyota -‐ Global 954,283 likes
Ford 2,949,398 likes
Honda 3,629,189 likes
Mercedes-‐Benz 17,156,123 likes
BMW 19,184,604 likes
Figure 9 Source: (Facebook, 2014)
YouTube
Toyota -‐ Global 11,601 Subscriber
Ford 186,345 Subscriber
Honda 54,363 Subscriber
Mercedes-‐Benz 169,472 Subscriber
BMW 415,138 Subscriber
Figure 10 Source: (YouTube, 2014)
Google +
Toyota -‐ Global 254 Followers
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 69
Ford 3,522,875 followers
Honda 174,932 Followers
Mercedes-‐Benz 4,207,546 Followers
BMW 4,978,874 Followers
Figure 11 Source: (Google Plus, 2014)
(Figure 12) (Huffingtonpost, 2014)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 70
(Figure 13) (Source: Market Line, 2014)
(Figure 14.1) Kaizen (Source: Greg, 2009)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 71
Kaizen Graph (Figure 14.2) (Source: Greg, 2009)
Production Facility Region Production Facility
Japan 5
USA 3
Europe 3
Asia Pacific 2
China 2
(Figure 15) (Source: Market Line)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 72
(Figure 16) (Source: Interbrand)
Brand Points of Parity Points of Difference Brand Position
Mercedes-‐ Benz
Quality (Keller, 2009) Hybrid Technology (Mercedes-‐benz UK 2014)
Luxury ( BelovedBrands, 2014) Prestige (Keller, 2009)
Engineered like no other car in the world (Cultbranding, 2014)
BMW Quality Reliability
Design and Style (BMW, 2014) Luxury Performance (Kotler, 317)
The Ultimate Driving Machine Powerful and Distinctive (Gain, 2013)
Honda Hybrid Quality (Peopalove, 2014)
Fuel Efficiency Design Brake System Engine Performance Range of Colours
The Power of Dreams (Dream Magazine by Honda, 2014)
Volkswagen Reliability (Livework, 2014)
German Engineering Luxury and Convenience
Peoples Car
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 73
(Figure 17)
Overall brand perception
Best Worst
Brand Score Brand Score
Toyota 145 Land Rover 4
Ford 120 Maserati 8
Honda 109 Jaguar 9
Chevrolet 105 Rolls-‐Royce 11
Tesla Motors 88 Scion 17
Subaru 87 Ram 17
Ford
Quality Reliability Safety (Schreiber, 2010)
Safety Comfort Fuel Efficiency Interior comfort (Mechlloyd, 2014)
Go Further (At ford, 2014)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 74
Mercedes-‐Benz 82 Mini 21
Volvo 80 Mitsubishi 21
Cadillac 78 Infiniti 22
BMW 73 Jeep 23
(Figure 18)
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 78
1. Communication objectives
a) What? -‐ Deliver the brand promise (Q.D.R.) and regain
trust for the brand (recall issue) – Europe market b) Why? -‐ Sales is dramatically low in Europe (refer to Figure
4 – 9.3% in Europe) -‐ Strengthen the brand image & promise in Europe
market to capture more market share -‐ To increase the brand awareness -‐‑ consideration of
Toyota when purchasing a new vehicle -‐ Deliver the key message (Quality, Durability &
Reliability) to consumers -‐ Communication should motivate consumers to
find out more about Toyota -‐‑ visit the showroom, website, order brochures, visit a local dealer, order a test drive.
-‐ Toyota should be considered as first choice instead of other European vehicles
-‐ To change the customer’s perception on quality? Recall issues
-‐ Nov 2009 to Feb 2010 – Toyota customer loyalty dropped by 11% points (in USA) – to build up customer loyalty
-‐ Make people aware of brand promise (Q.D.R.). We found people are unaware what the brand stood for
-‐ Mobile apps : To provide more information and interaction of the brand
-‐ Ultimate goal : overall increase brand loyalty & brand awareness of Toyota in Europe
2. Target audience a) What target audience are you trying to reach?
-‐ Middle class people b) Why? -‐ Toyota is positioned as Economy/compact brand -‐ Wants to deliver emotion/personality of the brand
to middle class -‐ Wants to deliver Q. D. R. eg. > 20 years durability –
can pass the car to second generation
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 79
c) Where? Europe market
3. Communications Tools a) What? TV Advertisement
Mobile Apps for pre and post purchase
b) Why? -‐ Target audience is middle class as Toyota targets
Middle-‐‑class.-‐‑ TV TV (IMC text book page 113) -‐ Highly visible-‐‑ TV -‐ High impact-‐‑ TV -‐ More informative real time data via app-‐‑ APP -‐ Low cost per exposure-‐‑ rather than campaign
driven which would cost a lot more-‐‑ TV / APP -‐ High creative flexibility/appeals to multiple senses
– sight, sound, colour, movement-‐‑ TV -‐ Can generate emotional and memorial
advertisement’s-‐‑ TV -‐ allow consumer interaction via app-‐‑ APP -‐ Perceived as having high credibility/prestige
because they have the money to advertise on TV -‐ Ability to demonstrate product-‐‑ app and tv -‐ Can create strong image-‐‑branding-‐‑ tv and app -‐ Good for generating high levels of awareness-‐‑ tv
and app
4. Message a) What? Q.D.R-‐‑ Global brand position
b) Why?
Global position of Toyota is not well known (didn’t know Toyota stood for QDR)
We want to deliver a message that tells consumers the brand can deliver high quality products as the recall issue has damaged the brand image
-‐ Therefore emphasize on Q.D.R. c) Where? TV and via Global App d) How?
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 80
-‐ TV adds -‐‑ Linking the brand from a product focus to more personally/emotional view
5. How will that message be communicated
TV Ads Creative Advertising : Originality + Elaborations Story board :
1) A couple – having baby walking to Toyota care 2) Toddle with his father in the Toyota car 3) Son driving the Toyota car as a middle class adult 4) Shot of Toyota car being driven on the road. 5) Last show – mention Q.D.R and the quote “80% of
all Toyota sold in the last 20 years are still on the road today”
-‐ How is the tone of voice?? Mellow & soft -‐ Which car model to be used? Avensis -‐ Songs –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP7koXW5V_Q
Why?
-‐ Creating emotional connection
Mobile Apps
-‐ Global platform for interaction with the Brand. 6. Consistency of
message What?
-‐ Deliver simple message -‐‑ Q.D.R. (advertisement shows from baby > graduation > son driving )
-‐ Same logo -‐ Same colours eg. Black, Red & White
7. How will your Communication integrate with other elements of the marketing mix?
Integrate with PROMOTION Mobile apps -‐‑ Brand new promotion technique TV ads – current one is product orientated type – new one is emotional concept
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 81
Brand Consumer This survey is conducted for education purpose. It relies on the confidence of those involved that it is conducted honestly, objectively, without unwelcome intrusion and without harm to respondents. Its purpose is to collect and analyse information and not to create sales or to influence the opinions of anyone participating. The general public and other interested parties are be entitled to complete assurance that every research project is carried out in accordance with the MRS Code of Conduct and that their rights and privacy are respected. * Required 1. Gender *
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 82
Male Female 2. Age * 18 25 26 45 46 60 60 + 3. What is your annual total income? * a. Less than £15,000 b. £15,001 to £25,000 c. £25,001 to £35,000 d. £35,001 to £45,000 e. £45,001 and above
4. The above image represent which brand? * Lexus Hino Toyota Daihatsu Scion 5. Do you drive a vehicle? * Yes No 6. Are you familiar with Toyota? * I have never heard of them I have heard of them but never purchase their product I have heard of them and plan to purchase their product I have heard of them and have purchased their product 7. What does the brand "Toyota" stands for? Durability, Reliability and Quality Luxury, Innovation and Reliability Technology, Design and Performance Luxury, Invention and Performance 8. Which of the below individuals would you associate with Toyota? * Business people Single people Family people Couple Student
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 83
Pensioner Other: 9. Which of the following attributes do you associate with Toyota? * Affordable Overpriced Reliable Luxury Innovative Stylish Ecofriendly Family orientated None of the above Other: 10. Which automobile brand do you consider to be most valuable? * Toyota Honda Mercedes-Benz BMW Ford 11. Who is the biggest competition for Toyota? * Honda MercedesBenz BMW Ford 12. Toyota is_________________ vehicle? * Premium Economy Compact 13. If you have purchased a Toyota vehicle, would you recommend to others? * Definitely will not Probably will not Might or might not Probably will Definitely will None of the above 14. Which brand would be your next purchase? * Honda Volkswagen MercedesBenz Toyota BMW Ford Hyundai Audi Nissan Kia Chevrolet
Toyota • • •
BRAND AUDIT AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN � 84
Land Rover Porsche 15. Overall, how satisfied are you with all aspect of your experience with Toyota product? * Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very satisfied Not applicable 16. Please rate the following for Toyota from scale of Extremely Poor to Excellent *
Extremely Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent a. Durability b. Performance c. User friendly d. Safety e. Reliability f. Value for money g. Ecofriendly h. Quality 17. How does Toyota make you feel? Playful Protected Proud Safe Sexy