PickupTruck.com
attended Toyota's press conference to kick off the most important and
biggest marketing campaign in the company's 50-year history - the launch
of the all new 2007
Tundra full size pickup.
Whisper numbers
suggest the campaign is costing Toyota in the neighborhood of $100 million,
which would run about $500 per truck if the Tundra can reach its sales
goal of 200,000 units this model year.
Jim Farley,
vice president of marketing for Toyota in the U.S., was up front with
the media about how much is riding on this investment.
"This
is a really big moment for (Toyota). It's the culmination of fourteen
years to get us here to this moment to tell you about this launch. In
1,200 dealers over 600 of them have brand new facilities just for this
truck. And for us at Toyota this is really an inflection point for our
company, to shift from an import, golfing company to a fresh water fishing,
NASCAR company."
And Farley
also warned current full size truck manufacturers to get ready for a fight.
"We are a challenger. We have a chip on our shoulder, and we're going
to come after this business."
Toyota knows
the only way to meets its sales goals is to prove to buyers that the Tundra's
specs are more than just marketing chatter but cold hard, real world fact.
To gain this opportunity Toyota is going to hold over 400 "Prove
It" test drive events at BASS Pro shops, state fairs, and agricultural
shows where shoppers can get behind the wheel of the Tundra for a hands
on demonstrations of its capabilities.
Also key
to the launch will be television ads broadcast at local and national levels,
with an entire set aimed at Hispanic consumers in Spanish. All of these
ads will feature the tagline, ""The truck that's changing it
all."
In an unconventional
turn, Toyota actually went out an enlisted the support of "True Truckers"
to become the "inspiration and filter for everything (Toyota has
done) with this launch, according to Kim McCullough, corporate manager
for marketing communications for Toyota in the U.S..
"We
let them know that we listened to them in how the truck was developed.
You'll see that in our marketing tone and language - that this is the
real deal. This is a truck that has all the capabilities that they want
and more", said McCullough.
McCullough
also added that , "We went out side of our core advertising partners
to find people in the heartland who lived and breathed the true trucker
lifestyle. They were the ones who helped guide the print efforts, the
outdoor efforts, and some brand guidelines that we put together to make
sure that the look, the feel, of what we said and how we said it was appropriate
for this audience."
The first
national advertising will hit the air during Super Bowl XLI, when two
30-second spots appear.
On Monday,
February 4 the truck will officially go on sale across the country. At
least four models will be available for buyers to compare, with at least
one high output iForce 5.7-liter engine in the mix of cabs, trims, and
drive options. Some regions, including Texas and other southeastern states,
will have at least two Tundras with the 5.7-liter.
Overall,
Toyota seems to be very well prepared to dig in and wage a full frontal
assault for the minds and pockets of full size truck owners. Ford and
GM execs are on record saying they don't intend to give an inch.
For the Tundra,
$100 million dollars is just the cost of entry into this game.
