The Campaign

Toyota's new compact hybrid car, the AQUA. The car is number one in the world for fuel efficiency, and targets young people in their 20's and 30's. However, young people were beginning to lose interest in cars. There is a rising interest in environmental activities among young people, especially after the March 11, 2011 earthquake. However, despite this, the number of young people actually participating in volunteer work, is quite low. We made it easier for young people to participate in volunteer work.We created the "AQUA SOCIAL FES!!" which is a platform that provides information for environmental activities all over Japan. In our first year (2012), 11,533 people participated in 131 activities. Their average age was 28.5 years old. This completely new type of car campaign was covered by several media, especially, local newspapers. Meanwhile, the AQUA sold very well, beating the PRIUS and became the number one selling car in Japan.

The Brief

Goal: To make the AQUA the number one selling car in Japan. Objective: To sell 12,000 cars in the first month. Target: Young people in their 20s and 30s. Survey results: The AQUA beat the PRIUS, which was the number one selling car in Japan, and became became number one. It sold 120,000 cars in the first month. It gained the support of young people in their 20s and 30s.

Results

Quantity: In our first year (2012), we conducted 131 activities all over Japan. We got 11,533 participants. Their average age was 28.5 years old. 87.9% were satisfied with the projects. Environemtnal groups were very pleased with the large number of (especially young) participants. This completely new type of car campaign was covered by several media. Among them, the PR in the newspaper was very noticiable. By solving local problems in the rural areas of Japan, the local newspapers from those areas were eager to cover the story. As a result, 47 newspapers covered our story 666 times. This lead to many people reading about the AQUA in the newspaper. Also, it was covered on TV 41 times, and 332 times on the web. Furthermore, the AQUA beat the PRIUS, and became the number one selling car in Japan.

Execution

The campaign began in March, 2013. We notified the public about the AQUA SOCIAL FES!! Mainly through PR. Events took place every week all over Japan, and by mid-December, 131 events had taken place. The liasons for the events were the car-dealerships. There were even cases where customers who came to the dealers to see the cars, would join the activities. The campaign unfolded the way we had planned.

The Situation

The situation regarding cars: Toyota wanted the AQUA to become a major car brand. However, according to surveys, young people were losing interest in cars. Studies showed that young people were interested in social work and environmental activities. The problem with environmental activities: it is very difficult for ordinary citizens to find out how to participate. Access to information is very limited. The opportunity: We realized that there was no connection between the young people who wanted to participate, and the environmental groups who organized activities. Therefore, we introduced young people to the AQUA by connecting them with the groups.

The Strategy

We created a platform, the "AQUA SOCIAL FESS!!" that provided information about environmental activities in 50 areas throughout Japan, and enabled people to participate in environmental activities. We took "enviromental activities," which could easily become a boring topic, and through our title, and expression, turned it into something that young people would find interesting.