Nothing soft gets in
Issue 16 | September 2010
Agency
Saatchi & Saatchi,Sydney, Australia
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director: Steve Back; Creative Director: Dave Bowman; Copywriter: Steve Jackson; Art Director: Vince Lagana; Digital Creative: Simon Jarosz
Production Team
Agency Producer: Kate Whitfield; Director, Prodigy Films: Tim Bullock; Producer, Prodigy Films: Julianne Shelton ; Producer, Print: Jeremy de Villiers
Other Credits
Group Business Director: Ben Court; Business Director: Amy Turnbull; Planner: Simon Bird
Date
2010
Background
The task was to defend Toyota’s number 1 brand status in rural Australia and boost sales of the Toyota 4WD range by increasing traffic to local Toyota dealerships.
Idea
In a nutshell, Toyota set out to remind country-people in Australia only Toyotas are as tough as they are.
Country Australians think all city people and their possessions are ‘soft’. So to prevent city softness from polluting the outback, a ‘Country Australia Border Security’ task force was created to man control checkpoints and police the border with Toyota 4WDs.
The campaign led with targeted and unique direct communications in local areas, supported by local TV/press/poster and online to drive traffic to local dealerships to buy the same 4WDs driven by their local Border Security heroes.
Results
The response was overwhelming with sales results for new Toyota 4WDs surpassing all sales targets for the entire 4WD range despite the tough economic times.
The campaign helped Toyota achieve their best 4WD sales month ever. The Toyota Prado sold out entirely, with a 2-month waiting list. Best sales month for Toyota HiLux in years. Proof that new relationships were built and existing ones strengthened.
