Advocacy Marketing: Toyota’s secrets for partnering with …€¦ · lenges and smart solutions...

that focuses on building connections with con-sumers and turning customers into advocates.The 2006 launch of the FJ Cruiser is apowerful example of how to create, manageand measure these modern marketing initia-tives using focused objectives-based marketingmethods.

Keywords: advocacy marketing, objec-tives-based marketing, return on objec-tives, consumer engagement, metrics,measurement, community, strategy

INTRODUCTIONImagine looking around a campfire in aremote town in the Colorado mountains.Every person there has spent hours on-line, communicating and planning thistrip. Each has driven for hours or daysto gather and celebrate their new passion.Four owners dedicated 11 months toorganising the event — with no cor-porate involvement. Five hundred en-thusiastic fans, gathered together from33 states and four countries uniting tocelebrate one thing — a brand newproduct. How does such a powerfulspontaneous owner phenomenon cometo be? This is the story of how Toyotaworked — way behind the scenes — tomake this happen.

Marketers today must begin all newcampaigns by asking the question: ‘What

Jennifer Savary has been generating pas-sionate relationships between hard-to-reachconsumers and blue-chip brands for over adecade, most recently as the Senior Strategistat Toyota Motor Sales, USA. While at Toyota,Savary led multiple vehicle launch teams, one ofwhich created the avid fan base for the FJCruiser among hardcore off-roaders. An innova-tive thinker and proactive problem solver, Savaryauthored the ‘objective-based marketing (OBM)strategy’, and designed the ‘return on objec-tives’ measurement system that Toyota currentlyuses on over US$100m of marketing initiatives.Savary developed her addiction to big chal-lenges and smart solutions early in her career atPrice Waterhouse, with clients such as Marriott,JC Penny’s and Bell South. The excitement ofbringing proven results to other clients iswhat convinced her recently to found BrandDogs, her OBM strategic marketing consultancy.Savary earned her BA from Cornell Universityand an MBA from University of SouthernCalifornia. In her spare time she further indulgesher love of challenges by training for marathonsand iron-distance triathlons.

ABSTRACT

It is becoming increasingly difficult to make animpact with consumers. Brands of all sizes arestruggling as traditional marketing efforts be-come more expensive and less effective. ToyotaMotor Sales, USA has addressed this problemwith an innovative new marketing approach

Advocacy Marketing: Toyota’s secrets forpartnering with trendsetters to createpassionate brand advocates

Jennifer SavaryReceived (in revised form): 23rd January, 2008Brand Dogs, 14 Voyage Street, Suite 1, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292, USATel: �1 949 295 3606; E-mail: [email protected]

HENRY STEWART PUBLICATIONS 1754-1360 JOURNAL OF SPONSORSHIP VOL. 1. NO. 3. 211–224 APRIL 2008 211

Journal of Sponsorship Volume 1 Number 3

are we trying to achieve?’. What do wewant the consumer to feel, think or do asa result of this particular marketing initia-tive? In modern marketing communica-tions, this simple step is often a challengein itself. Many readers will simply state‘buy my product’ in answer to the abovequestion, and shake their heads at theauthor’s naivety, but even this self-evi-dent truth bears re-examination. Brandsthat shout ‘I exist’ and ‘Buy me now’before the consumer is receptive canactually work against themselves. Thispresumptive focus is similar to being inap-propriately propositioned by a very newacquaintance. A common reaction to sucha proposition is to ignore the extremelyforward suggestion and person, and avoidthem at all costs in the future. A classicexample of this was the introductionof New-Coke in the 1980s. Marketingpowerhouse Coca–Cola failed to respectthe relationship consumers had with theirbrand and the classic formulation, and theresult was a wholesale rejection of thenew product. This is often what happensto brands today when they focus ex-clusively on return on investment (ROI)marketing. Where is the dinner? Thedancing? The fine bottle of wine? Today’smarketing professionals have to be pre-pared to deliver the romance in order toclose the deal.

CHALLENGEThe modern marketing task has changed.Some years ago, marketing departmentswere primarily charged with generat-ing awareness. The theory ran that ifcompanies tell enough people about aproduct, some percentage of the popula-tion will make their way through thestages of the purchase funnel and buy thegoods. If a brand manager wanted toincrease sales, their primary tactic was tomessage louder, in order to increase the

raw number of consumers who wereaware of the product.

Today, the job is more complex. Cus-tomers are cynical, better educated andoften sceptical about what companies sayabout their brands. Product choice isproliferating in most categories and pur-chase motivations are evolving. Tradi-tional media channels (television, printand radio) are more expensive and lessable to deliver the audience. Many brandsare turning to the internet, but the cus-tomary ad unit model is not breakingthrough. Advertising messages are con-stant, and consumers are near-genius atblocking the ones they do not want toconsume.

These developments have forced today’smarketer into a world with new rules ofengagement. Brands must now forge anemotional connection with the consumer.Marketing messages must show how aproduct is relevant to a consumer. Cam-paigns need to evoke affinity and create a‘that brand is like me’ sentiment. Brandsneed to show future customers not justhow a product meets their needs, buthow the product integrates into their lifeand how the brand reflects their valuesand reinforces their self-image. Ultimately,this has to be done in such a way thatentices the target to ‘pull’ the message,acknowledging that this savvy group isable to avoid any message ‘pushed’ atthem, if they so choose.

Fortunately, the discipline of sponsor-ship and engagement marketing is ideallyand perhaps uniquely suited to thischallenge. Engagement marketing profes-sionals know that this discipline surpassesother forms of marketing in inspiringpassion and loyalty, creating a sense ofshared values and turning fans intobrand advocates. The challenge lies indemonstrating this intuitive knowledgeto the ‘C-level’ executives and brandmanagers.

212 HENRY STEWART PUBLICATIONS 1754-1360 JOURNAL OF SPONSORSHIP VOL. 1 NO. 3. 211–224 APRIL 2008

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The many possible replies to this questioncan overwhelm clients and agencies. Inaddition, if every response is different,brands will end up with a myriad ofdifferent objectives and still no clear wayto measure results and compare pro-grammes. Therefore, it is necessary toemploy an organising framework to bringclarity to the confusion.

ENGAGEMENT FRAMEWORKFor this purpose, Toyota uses the engage-ment framework (see Figure 1) to groupand classify the different business objec-tives it has established for vehicle market-ing. For some launches, the business goalis to create impressions (Level I: ‘See’).On the other hand, if a vehicle is later inits lifecycle, the marketing goal might beto obtain a large number of test drives(Level II: ‘Touch’). The framework alsoencourages and allows for programmesthat are less traditional, for example, acampaign to educate consumers (LevelIII: ‘Understand’), or a plan to buildonline advocates (Level V: ‘Do’). Market-ing campaigns should focus on one,two or, at most, three specific businessobjectives.

RETURN ON OBJECTIVESIn order to evaluate and compareprogrammes that have different goals,Toyota also needed to develop a newmeasurement system. Return on objec-tives (ROO) applies the OBM theory tothe measurement and reporting challenge.Each level is assigned a clear andrepeatable set of metrics. As a result, allToyota campaigns that are Level II:‘Touch’ use the same metrics, such as thepercentage of event attendees who visitthe Toyota booth, and are thereforecomparable to other ‘Touch’ programmes.Toyota ends up with approximately three

SOLUTIONIn the early part of 2003, Toyota launchedits Scion marque in the USA withenormous success to a young trendsettingaudience. The Scion launch was aclassic new-marketing approach: littlemass media, no upfront television, with afocus on community and pull messaging.From this experience, Toyota learned howto connect deeply with a target, find andspeak passionately to niche markets, andturn customers into advocates. Soon afterthe launch of Scion, Toyota began to tryand apply these lessons to the largerToyota brand. Because of the much largerscope and different business needs of theparent brand, it quickly became apparentthat Toyota needed a systematic approachto creating and measuring these cutting-edge new programmes. It was vital thatthe new framework supported and al-lowed for innovation and creativity,but also provided consistency to allowmanagement to understand the portfolioof new marketing programmes. Theresult is called ‘objectives-based market-ing’ (OBM), which Toyota now uses todevelop marketing goals for its vehiclesand measure programme results. Theremainder of this paper is an introductionto the concepts of OBM, followed by acomprehensive case study illustrating theiruse.

OBJECTIVES-BASED MARKETINGOBM states that the first step in develop-ing a campaign is for everyone to agreethe objective of that campaign. Once theobjective is determined, the strategy,channel selection and metrics are thencrafted to achieve that objective andmeasure success. While this approach maysound self-evident, shifts in the largermarketplace have made answering thequestion: ‘What are we trying to achieve?’far more complicated than ever before.


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to five metrics per objective level. Thesemetrics can then be used to communicatewith management, agency partners andsponsorship properties.

OTHER INDUSTRIESThe unique nature of Toyota’s businessand the automotive industry generally iswhat led Toyota to select these five objec-tive levels. It is important to note thatdifferent brands and product types mayrequire their own set of marketing objec-tives and therefore their own version ofthe engagement framework. For instance,a financial services company that spends alarge part of its budget targeting specifichigh net worth individuals might omit‘Touch’ and add a new level — ‘Entice’— to classify those initiatives.

OBM has created a vocabulary thatsenior management is comfortable with,

has saved agency fees and allowed Toyotato allocate its resources where they aremost needed. But the most importantillustration of the power of OBM is a trueto life example of how these constructsmade a major difference to Toyota’sbusiness.

CASE STUDY — FJ CRUISER TRAILTEAMSThe following case study details howToyota Motor Sales USA, Inc used OBMand the engagement framework to launchthe FJ Cruiser to hardcore off-roadingenthusiasts in 2006. The sceptical targetaudience needed to be convinced aboutFJ Cruiser’s capabilities and commitmentto the sport, but once Toyota had theirbuy-in, the tight-knit, highly-connected,off-roaders were ready and willing toevangelise.

Figure 1 Toyota’sengagementframework


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'See'

Level I

'Understand'

Level III

'Touch'

Level II

'Feel'

Level IV

'Do'

Level V

Level I

Level III

Level II

Level IV

Level V

Impressions

Educate/inform

Product feature education

Brand attribute exhibit

Capabilities demonstration

Interactive vehicle display

ImpressionsImpressions

Emotional connection

Create advocates

key � inspire to action

Not just feel � DO

Brand promoter

Shared values

This brand is like me

Sentimental/affinity

Trail drives

Onsite signage

Advertising inclusion � logo

PR/media coverage

Web/direct logo inclusion

Impressions

Interactions

w/Footprintw/Specific experiencesw/Static vehicle displaysMicro site hits/open rate

Shuttle drives

selected. When faced with a logic-oriented target with strong rational pur-chase motivations, or a sceptical targetwith product doubts, Toyota might utilisea Level III: ‘Understand’ strategy.

In order to select a launch strategy forthe FJ Cruiser, Toyota looked at threefactors. First, the business role of FJCruiser was to be a niche-market vehicle,highlighting Toyota’s off-road capabilitiesand heritage in the truck space. Inpreparation for the launch of the Tundra,Toyota needed to firmly re-establish itscredibility as a leader in the 4 � 4category. The second factor is a clearlydefined target audience. The launchteam selected true influencers within theoff-roading community: ‘wheelers’, forwhom off-roading is a sport of passionand the 4 � 4 is an essential pieceof equipment. With the off-roader’sknowledge of vehicle capabilities, they arethe most likely to be trusted by others asa credible word-of-mouth source aboutvehicle features. It was believed that ifthese true off-roaders became FJ believers,they would adopt the FJ as their own, andevangelise on behalf of Toyota for years tocome. The last factor in deciding objec-tives is honest evaluation of the productitself. In this case, early focus groupsshowed that there was concern about thestriking image of the truck. Toyotaneeded to proactively address the findingthat many customers thought the FJ wastoo pretty to get dirty, and that it would

The OBM process

• set objectives• decide tactics• establish relevant metrics to quantify

success• design a methodology to learn both

during and after the programme.

Figure 2 shows an OBM planningworksheet which can be used to facilitatethis OBM process. This case walksthrough each of the four steps in Toyota’sOBM process. While the FJ Cruiserlaunch is a Level IV/V programme, thesame steps would apply for programmeson any of the objective categories (seeAppendix).

Set objectivesWhen faced with a new marketing chal-lenge, Toyota starts by selecting betweenone to three objective levels. This deci-sion is based on three factors:

• business needs;• a clear understanding of the target;

and• the attributes of the product itself.

For example, a launch programme for anundifferentiated product with low aware-ness would start as Level I: ‘See’. If avehicle has observable feature/benefitadvantages over its competitors, a simpleLevel II: ‘Touch’ programme could be

Figure 2 SampleOBM programmeplanning worksheet


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Sample objectives Sample tactics Sample metrics Methodology

Blogs authored

Inspire XXX blogs authored Influencer marketing Consumer content posted Blog trolling

XX owner events organized Amateur athlete teams sponsored Owner events created Observation

Contingency programmes LifestyleEditorial Press (MEV) MEV analysis

MySpace Friends Online Sentiment Research

Level V �act � advocate or buy� Vehicles bought RDR match

Affinity index

XX% of attendees show Lifestyle integration Value alignment scale Survey � on site

a increase of Y points Trail/authentic drives Net promoter index Pre/post or test/control

on Affinity Index Supporting causes imput to target Collect surveys onsite

Illustrating values shared by target Loyalty measures Collect e-mails, survey follow up

Sharing in powerful moments Hand out incentives to revisit

Level IV 'desire/covet' � intent Methodology: Survey

Toyota Engagement Framework: Objective Setting & Performance Tracking

'Do'

'Feel'

Create advocates

'Evangelise'

Key � inspire to action

Brand promoter/owns the brand

Emotional Connection

Shared values

This brand is like me

Sentiment

Trail rides

hit the market and fade out in 18 monthsas a ‘fad’.

Based on this analysis, the launch team’soverall goal was established: ‘to ignite thelove affair with FJ Cruiser and ToyotaTrucks’. In order to do that, the teamneeded to inspire passion within theinfluencer community and generate acapability and authentic heritage imagefor the brand. The team selected thefollowing two objectives: ‘Do’ — inspireoff-roaders to share their passion aroundFJ Cruiser and unite in person or via asocial network; and ‘Feel’ — allowinfluential off-roaders to prove to them-selves that Toyota and FJ ‘share my values’and ‘fit my lifestyle’. See Figure 3 for theobjectives mapped to the engagementframework.

Once agreed upon, clear objectivesserved an even greater purpose. Thisapproach enabled an upfront dialoguewith management, setting clear expecta-tions and sign-off milestones. In addition,the clear objective framework facilitatedconversations with agency partners, par-ticularly in the unbundled world ofsponsorship, where a client may be tryingto manage multiple channel partners andactivation agencies towards the samecommunications goals.

Determine tacticsThe second step in the OBM process is tobuild an execution strategy. After identify-

ing the launch goal and objectives, Toyotaand its partner agencies built an in-tegrated launch plan to reinforce thecapabilities message across media channelsand marketing disciplines. Tactics wereevaluated based on their ability to deliverthe emotional resonance and advocacyneeded to achieve the Level IV/Vprogramme goals. As a result of thisfocused conversation, sponsorship andengagement marketing activities wereselected as the centrepiece of the launchcampaign. Because the goal was advocacyand not large-scale awareness, no televi-sion and little general market print werein the plan — the fate of the launch trulyrested on engagement marketing.

The sceptical and long-time Jeep-loyaloff-roading community needed to seethe capabilities of the truck first-hand tobe convinced. Toyota’s activation agencyGeorge P. Johnson helped to develop theFJ Trail Teams: a grassroots sponsorshipand activation programme that would winover this hardened community, one trailat a time. Toyota also re-established itsactive sponsorship of the Toyota LandCruiser Association. It sponsored and par-ticipated in local grass-roots trail runsacross the country. Key events were iden-tified on nearly every major trail aroundthe country, and Toyota sponsored orsupported them all. Every aspect of theprogramme was crafted to reinforce thebelief that Toyota is an authentic partner

Figure 3 FJCruiser objectivesmapped toengagementframework


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Objective

�Do� Inspire off-roaders to share their passion around FJCruiser and unite in person or via a social network.

�Feel� Allow influential off-roaders to prove to themselves thatToyota and FJ �share my values� and �fit my lifestyle�.

Create advocates

�Do�Level V


�Feel�Level IV

agreed and easily understood frameworkof objectives cuts through much of thatfrustration, and provides an unemotionalbasis for good creative decisions. Forexample, while building Trail Teams,there was a consistent charge by theclient to focus on reaching the trueinfluencer in the wheeling community.At one point, the agency partners raisedthe understandable concern that thereach of the proposed programme mightbe too limited, with a relatively smallnumber of impressions. Using the en-gagement framework, the team wasempowered to examine the explicitprogramme objectives. They determinedthat touching fewer, but highly pas-sionate, influential consumers wouldbetter meet the stated objectives, ratherthan crafting a programme that wouldreach a wider, but far less passionate andemotionally involved audience. Becauseall parties had agreed upfront on

in the off-road world; from the high-end,multi-tool premiums that were distributedto the technical trail-riding videos postedon the internet. Even the staffing processwas reversed; rather than hiring tradi-tional mobile marketing staff and trainingthem in off-roading, The Trail Teamsstaff was recruited from existing off-roadcommunities — and trained in mobilemarketing. Throughout the programme,FJ Trail Teams shared campgrounds withthe community, giving away BBQ foodand putting on free movie nights — allactivations that were hyper-relevant tothis target audience.

Throughout the development of thesetactics, the engagement framework wasa powerful catalyst for communicationbetween client and agency. It is easy towaste considerable time and moneycaught in frustrating back and forthconversations when creating these typesof marketing actions. Having a mutually

Figure 4 Photos ofFJ Cruiser TrailTeam Activation2007


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programme objectives, it was easy toconverse about the goals of the launchand make the difficult trade-off decisions.As a result, there was a consistent, fastand open dialogue between agency andclient about specific tactics, withoutconfusion or expensive and wastefulreworking of the plan.

Once it reached the marketplace, FJTrail Teams was everything new sponsor-ship marketing should strive for: credibleword-of-mouth messages were flowing,authentic viral content was being gener-ated, communities were being created . . .yet, even with all this success, the pro-gramme could have been on the chop-ping block. The traditional, but outdated,metrics of cost per drive and impressionsgenerated were not meeting the legacybenchmarks. In order to justify the in-vestment and measure the Trail Team’ssuccess, Toyota needed to evolve its tradi-tional approach to metrics and measure-ment.

Metrics and measurement — Return onObjectives (ROO)Once all parties have acknowledgedshared objectives, established relevantplatforms and activation programmes,there is a third step in the OBM process:measuring and reporting the effectiveness

of these new programmes. As discussedabove, crafting a programme whichsacrifices the number of impressionsin order to achieve a deep emo-tional connection was a difficult decisionfor both the client and agency. Theteam needed to focus on accuratelycapturing and reporting success againstthe stated objectives, and intentionallyevolve beyond the traditional ‘impres-sions’ measurements that have long beenthe staple of sponsorship discussion.

This was the genesis of Toyota’s ROOmeasurement system. ROO measureshow effective a given campaign has beenin achieving that programme’s statedmarketing objectives. ROO acknow-ledges that, for some programmes, thenumber of logo impressions might be thecorrect metric — for example, if thatprogramme is a Level I ‘See’, it should befocused on generating logo awareness.But, if the campaign is focused oncreating emotional connections with aspecific niche target, then the appropriatemetric for that campaign is a measure ofthe target’s change in emotional connec-tion. Metrics need to be built as the resultof a clear understanding of the pro-gramme objectives. ROO also serves as analternative to the traditional ROI metric,which tries to attribute a set number of

Figure 5 Newmetrics developedusing engagementframework


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Objective New metrics

�Do� Inspire off-roaders toshare their passionaround FJ Cruiser andunite in person or via asocial network.

Advocacy index

Owner clubs established andowner events held

�Feel� Allow influential off-roaders to prove tothemselves that Toyotaand FJ �share my values�and �fit my lifestyle�.

Affinity index

Trail drives

Create advocates

�Do�Level V


�Feel�Level IV

and sponsorship work — often better thantraditional media channels. The only lin-gering question is how best to gather andreport the powerful ROO information.

Return on objectives methodologyEveryone agrees on the objectives.Management and partners are onboard.There is a fantastic programme ready tolaunch. For the first time, everyoneknows and agrees what success will looklike and how it should be measured. Thefinal step is to design a methodology thatwill allow accurate measurement of theprogramme’s ROO.

One of the core ideas underlying ROOis the concept of measuring change. Thepremise in OBM is that a group whichhas been exposed to the given campaignwill think, feel or act in a measurablydifferent manner than a group which hasnot been exposed to that campaign. Inorder to test how a particular marketingaction is impacting a group, it is helpful tohave data on both the group that has beenimpacted (test), and a group which wasnot exposed (control). After collectingthis information it is a relatively simpleprocess to compute the difference in theresponses. If the sample selection is donewell, researchers should be able to at-tribute the delta between the two group’sopinions to the marketing message. This

units sold to a given marketing pro-gramme. Instead of forcing marketers tofocus on immediate sales as a measure ofsuccess, ROO allows marketers to courtconsumers at each step of the purchaseprocess. Coupled with a clear engagementframework, ROO empowers marketersand agencies to justify the importance andsuccess of campaigns which are vital tothe brand and the consumer relationship,but which may have longer paybackhorizons than the 60 or 90 days.

As previously mentioned, two primaryobjectives were established for the FJCruiser during pre-launch brainstorming.As seen in Figure 5, two new metricswere then designed to capture theprogress and success of the programme foreach objective.

This new approach provides the oppor-tunity to understand and report the directimpact of the sponsorship discipline onthe consumer. In addition, because eachlevel of the organising framework has amaximum of five metrics, the overallnumber of metrics is limited to a feweasily understood and repeatable key in-dicators. Once management knows andunderstands that limited set of measures,the challenge of constantly proving returnis over. Engagement marketing profes-sionals are finally able to demonstrateconsistently that engagement marketing

Figure 6 SampleOBM progressreport


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EMOTIONAL CONNECTION

�FEEL�Level IV

CREATE ADVOCATES/EVANGELIZE

�DO�Level V

Realise a 30% increase in the affinity index at Trail Team attended events vs. similar unattended control ev ents.

Gate 1 (4-wheel events) � 63% increase to date.

Encourage 5,760 (13%) attendees to share in the trail run experience with the FJ Trail Teams.

Trail Teams have conducted 3,740 trail runs to date.

Realise a 30% increase in the advocacy index at Trail Team attended events vs. similar unattended control events.

Gate 1 (4- wheel events) � 48% increase to date.

Inspire FJ owners to host 4 owner events within a 12 month time period.

To date, 26 owner events have been identified.

Gate I Focus: Generate Advocates, Influence and Act


�FEEL�Level IV

Create advocates/evangelise

�DO�Level V

● 30% increase in the affinity index ents.

Gate 1 (4-wheel events) �

Encourage 5,760 (13%) attendees to share in the trail run experience with the FJ Trail Teams.

Trail Teams have conducted 3,740 trail runs to date.

30% increase in the advocacy index at Trail Team attended events vs. similar unattended control events.

�

Gate I Focus: Generate advocates, influence and act

FJTT progress report as of 9/11/07

●

●

●

●

●

●●

can be done in many ways: test andcontrol groups, pre- and post-, even self-reported shifts. Ultimately, marketing suc-cess occurs when a change in beliefs,knowledge, affinity or advocacy can bedirectly correlated with exposure to aspecific campaign.

There are many ways in which tocapture data. Properties self-report atten-dance and interaction figures. Activationpartners track traffic in the createdfootprint. Clever programmes includephoto opportunities and data captureelements. There are third-party audits andresearch partners as well. Each of thesecan have a role in measuring ROO, ofcourse, depending on which category theprogramme’s objectives fall into. FJ TrailTeams, as a Level IV/V programme,utilised two distinct methodologies: on-site research and the activation agency’sself-reported results.

FJ Trail Teams utilised a test and controlmodel. The research partner chose threepairs of events, which were similar indemographics, region and event type.Trail Teams activated at three of theevents and did not activate at their pairedcounterpart. At all six events, participantswere surveyed about their feelings for

Toyota and FJ Cruiser, their affinityand likelihood to advocate. The resultsshowed an astonishing impact on theconsumer and a clear return for Toyota.

Figure 6 illustrates a standardisedprogress report showing these powerfulresults. Easy to understand reporting isanother benefit of clearly definedobjectives and metrics.

Level IV — Emotional connectionWhen FJ Trail Teams sponsored and ac-tivated an event, off-roaders reported anearly 63 per cent lift in the affinityindex, when compared with attendeesat similar unsponsored and unactivatedevents. Affinity index questions focus onmeasuring if the target believes this brandis relevant to them and shares their values(see Table 1). The second Level IV newmetric — authentic trail drives — wasmeasured and reported by the on-siteactivation partner.

Level V — Create evangelistsThe change in advocacy index that resultedfrom an FJ Trail Teams activation wasan impressive 48 per cent lift based onthe questions shown in Table 2. Thisweighted index is geared towards self-


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Table 1: Questions and results for FJ affinity index

IV: Emotional connections Control events Test events % change

Auto manufacturers supportive of lifestyle as a . . . (unaided)Toyota in top three mentions 34 66 94Toyota not in top three mentions 66 34 –48

Statements about Toyota and FJ: agree/disagree (scale: 1–5)‘Toyota is a brand I trust’ 3.2 4.0 25‘Toyota supports my lifestyle as a . . .’ 2.7 3.8 41‘FJ Cruiser suits my rugged lifestyle’ 2.6 3.7 42‘FJ Cruiser is tough like me’ 2.4 3.5 46‘Toyota enhances experience at events important to me’ 2.3 3.7 61‘FJ Cruiser suits my personality’ 2.5 3.4 36

their social networks to create and organi-cally promote this owner event. Thisamazing display of advocacy yielded anowner event with 426 people represent-ing four countries, 33 states and twoprovinces in attendance — and 186 FJCruisers (see Figure 8). The organisersrecently announced the dates for an evenbigger and better Second Annual FJ Sum-mit (see Figure 9).

Toyota used these new metrics —change in affinity index, advocacy index,authentic trail drives delivered and ownerevents held — to accurately and satisfac-torily measure and report the power andsuccess of the FJ Cruiser Trail Teams.

CONCLUSIONToyota reached new heights with the FJTrail Teams campaign. Customers exposedto trail teams respond with ‘Toyota’ 75per cent more often when asked whatbrand they would consider as their nextvehicle purchase. Walking the floor at arecent off-road expo in Southern Califor-nia, it was clear that the aftermarketcommunity and off-roading consumersalike have embraced the FJ. There wereequally as many FJ Cruisers as Jeeps ondisplay at this hardcore consumer showless than two years after the productintroduction. Ultimately, sales are strongin all regions for a niche product that was

reported likelihood to act, rather than a shiftin perception or emotion (see Table 2).

Toyota was delighted with these lifts.These results clearly demonstrated that theprogramme was working and that it wasachieving both the stated FJ Cruiser ob-jectives and increasing consumers’ beliefin the credibility of the overall Toyotabrand — a nice ‘halo’ effect back to theparent nameplate.

The power of Level V new metricsgoes beyond these survey-based questions.Level V programmes are created in orderto inspire an individual actually to dosomething — blog, comment, start aconversation etc. As a result, Level Vmetrics are often independently observ-able. In this instance, the programmehad an important, directly recognisable,new metric: the number of people whoformed owner clubs and created new FJowner events within a 12-month timeperiod. Success was set at five new ownerclubs and four FJ owner events within ayear of the launch.

The team initially felt this was a tallorder, but has been astounded to learn ofover 25 FJ Cruiser owner events as at thetime of writing (October 2007). The mostinspirational of these was the First AnnualFJ Summit, held in Ouray, Colorado (seeFigure 7). Toyota watched with delight asan independent group of owners createda community, put up a website and used


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Table 2: Questions and results for FJ advocacy index

V:Advocacy Control events Test events % change

Likelihood to act (scale: 1–5)‘Recommend any Toyota 4�4 to friend or relative’ 2.9 3.8 31‘Recommend FJ to friend or relative’ 2.4 3.7 54‘Attend FJ Cruiser event’ 2.3 3.4 48‘Post positive news about FJ on forum or blog’ 1.9 3.3 74‘Start a conversation about FJ Cruiser’ 2.3 3.2 39‘Start my own FJ Cruiser group or event’ 1.5 2.1 40

Figure 7 Screencapture of FJSummit 2007(www.fjsummit.orghomepage)

Figure 8 Groupphoto of the FirstAnnual FJ Summit,July 2007, Ouray,Colorado


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finally, employing a standardised researchmethodology. When employed correctly,this framework empowers marketers tofocus on delivering creative and effectivesolutions to their marketing challenges.

The marketing task has changed.Potential customers must be engaged ina relationship long before they arein-market. They must be wooed gently,with relevant messages and carefullystructured opportunities to interact. If thecourtship is successful, the response ofmodern consumers is breathtakinglypowerful. They will go far beyondpurchasing a product — they will blog,post, vlog, connect, talk, campaign andeven market on the brand’s behalf. Yes,the challenge is harder, and the stakesare higher, but the rewards are alsogreater.

launched to a sceptical audience withno television or mass print support. Inthe autumn of 2007, Toyota produced aTrail Teams Special Edition in honour ofthis outstanding marketing effort. TheFJ launch team was successful in utilis-ing the emerging field of engagementmarketing in a central strategic role tobreak through the clutter and confusionof modern marketing messages.

Modern marketing necessitates theblend of art and science. FJ Trail Teamsillustrates how an innovative, powerful,consumer-facing programme must bebuilt on a structured framework of clear,repeatable processes and disciplinedmeasurement strategy. The OBM processbegins by first setting clear objectives,then developing resonate tactics, establish-ing clear performance metrics and,

Figure 9 Screencapture of FJSummit 2008(www.fjsummit.orghomepage)


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� Jennifer Savary, 2008.


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APPENDIX: ENGAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Name Level Title Example Colour key

Do Level V Create advocates Key — inspire to action‘evangelise’ Brand promoter/owns the brand

Feel Level IV Inspire emotional Shared valueconnection This brand is like me

SentimentTrail rides

Understand Level III Educate Product featuresBrand attributes/personalityCapabilities demonstrationsRide-n-drives

Touch Level III Interactions W/footprintW/specific experiencesW/static vehicle displaysShuttle type drives

See Level I Impressions On site/signageAdvertising/logo placementPR/mediaWeb/direct

Date post:	22-Jul-2020
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Advocacy Marketing: Toyota’s secrets for partnering with …€¦ · lenges and smart solutions...

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