Here's something that I think is cool and a good example of branding to a target market. Toyota's Scion Division is running a high-school marketing program in rural Midwest and Northwest regions. The effort, "High School Marketing Competition," has high school students from eight cities vying for $5,000 worth of school supplies by putting together a marketing campaign.
Competing teams have to create proposals outlining ideas they think will appeal to young customers in their local areas.
This seems like a great idea for Scion. It gets their name out and lets them explore new target markets and reach young buyers who are creative and have an entrepreneur streak. It's kind of like "The Apprentice" where they had contestants handle various tasks and create campaigns. Scion has mainly focused on urban areas, but this gives them a chance to evaluate marketing ideas in smaller markets. This is a great example of "consumer-generated content or media", as the teenagers will be supplying the thinking, ideas and messages. Scion won't use the entrants' work directly, but will use them to better understand the high school and smaller city lifestyles and influences in order to develop and execute from a more targeted point of view.
This is some new thinking on branding-building. What can you think of for your brand and company? What would be new or "out of the box?" If you need help with ideas, we, at Beltrame Leffler Advertising, can help.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Toyota Scion Invites High School Marketing Ideas
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3 comments:
This is an awesome idea. I came across a similar idea already being run by Evan's Toyota in Ft. Wayne, IN. They just finished a design scholarship contest for Indiana-Purdue Ft. Wayne students.IPFW Scion Scholarship Challenge
So I wonder if Scion is encouraging all dealers to get involved. Would be really impactful if they pushed a scholarship or supplies contest like this one Scion Scholarship throughout their organization to really create a nationwide buzz.
Yes, the Evans Toyota Scion dealership in Fort Wayne is doing a great job at reaching out to their target audience. In fact, they've got faculty buy-in, their next scholarship challenge is a grass roots marketing plan, and a professor has taken it on as a class project. Students will develop a campaign from start to finish. I've only heard about it so far, they haven't officially released the requirements yet. Check it out
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