| Title | PRIUS! PARTS CHARACTERS |
| Brand | TOYOTA |
| Product / Service | PRIUS |
| Category | A03. Cars & Automotive Products & Services |
| Entrant | DENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Idea Creation | DENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Media | DENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN |
| PR | DENTSU INC. Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Production | DENTSU TEC Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Production 2 | TAIYO KIKAKU Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Production 3 | TAKI CORPORATION Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Yusuke Shimano | DENTSU INC. | Creative Director |
| Hiroshi Sasaki | Shingata | Creative Director |
| Akihiro Fukube | Catch | Creative Director |
| Akihiro Hamabe | Watch | Creative Director |
| Takuya Fujita | DENTSU INC. | Planner |
| Yusuke Koyanagi | DENTSU INC. | Art Director |
| Yoshiaki Sakashita | DENTSU INC. | Planner |
| Kenta Isobe | DENTSU INC. | Planner |
| Nanako Tani | DENTSU INC. | Planner |
| Rina Kitagawa | DENTSU INC. | Planner |
| Mizuki Kawano | Taiyo kikaku.ltd | Planner |
| Masanori Nakamura | DENTSU INC. | Account Executive |
| Yasuyuki Kanoko | DENTSU INC. | Account Executive |
| Ryo Nagasawa | Dentsu Tec Inc. | Producer |
| Masahiro Sugiyama | Dentsu Tec Inc. | Producer |
| Teppei Ohno | Taiyo kikaku.ltd | Producer |
| Yuriko Tanaka | Taki corporation | Designer |
| Chihiro Matsuyama | Taki corporation | Designer |
| Eriko Yamashita | Taki corporation | Designer |
| Junichiro Aizawa | Taki corporation | Producer |
| Yusuke Tani | Dentsu Tec Inc. | Producer |
| Seruzio Nishida | Twotone | Web Director |
| Takaki Wada | Shipoo | Producer |
| Daisuke Baba | Dentsu Tec Inc. | Producer |
| Takcom | Free | Film Director |
| Nobuaki Hongo | Free | Film Director |
| Wakana Mishima | Taiyo kikaku.ltd | Film Director |
Parts of the new Prius were drawn as anime characters, which are popular among young people. Famous illustrators designed the characters based on the functions and performance of the Prius. Getting to know the characters made it easy for young people to understand the features of the new Prius.
The promotion went on from January to March 2016. It was first announced in news releases and newspaper advertisements. Later, digital campaigns using SNS was implemented to further increase fans. As fans were publicizing their original illustrations and songs, promotion measures that utilize fan support were implemented, such as sharing the contributions to Twitter, etc.
Website of Prius was accessed by more than 6 million people. The campaign became Toyota's largest viral campaign in the world. Number of young people visiting Toyota dealers increased by 30% and test drive also increased by 20%. Sales of Prius was more than 8 times of the projection, achieving No.1 sales in Japan. This campaign successfully created the perception of “cars are fun!” among young people in Japan.
New Prius re-examined all its parts from zero and drastically evolved its functions. However, young people who are the target were not interested in cars and the various functions of Prius. What connected the two was “turning parts into characters”. By having famous illustrators in Japan turn functions and parts of Prius into game characters which young people like, many young people successfully became interested in Prius. In addition, fans were attracted through the game and anime. These characters became popular media of Prius. Young people were attracted to Toyota dealers through the characters.
Communication was implemented by turning Prius parts into game characters that young people like. The plan was to gain attraction among young people and to make them interested in the performance and functions of Prius as they got to know the characters more and more. Young people who are the target play games and watch anime on a regular basis, and it was aimed for such people who are not interested in cars to come in contact with the contents on their own accord.