CASE 2-3 :

CAMRY GOES
INTERACTIVE TO
ATTRACT BLACK
WOMEN
 BUSINESS
SITUATION AND
CAMPAIGN
OBJECTIVES
Background and Business
Objectives
• Within the African-American consumer market (AACM), the
midsize passenger car segment is a fierce
battleground. This category includes the best-
selling Toyota Camry as well as two well- known
rivals – Nissan Altima and Honda Accord.
• The launch of the redesigned 2007 Camry was seen as
an opportunity to steal share from the competition
but the buyers Toyota hoped to steal did not see a
reason to test drive the new Camry. Before even
seeing it, African American buyers who were
interested in Altima and Accord had stereotyped
Camry as a “boring car for boring people”.
• The challenge was to convey that the new Camry was
the opposite of “boring”; to position Camry as just
as surprising and unexpected as the buyers
themselves.
MARKETING STRATEGY
• T h e m a rke tin g o b je ctive s w e re to :
G e n e ra te a w a re n e ss fo r th e
C a m ry ’ s stylin g a n d te ch n o lo g ica l
a d va n ce m e n ts.
• C h a n g e p e rce p tio n s o f C a m ry
a m o n g A frica n -A m e rica n s
in te n d in g to b u y co m p e titive
b ra n d s (“ co n q u e st in te n d e rs” ) b y
d e live rin g a su rp risin g exp e rie n ce
th a t w o u ld ca u se th e ta rg e t to
re co n sid e r C a m ry ( In cre a se
co n sid e ra tio n ).
BUDGET
• T h e to ta lb u d g e t fo r th e a ssig n m e n t
(“ IfLooks Could Kill ” campaign )
w a s a p p roxim a te ly $ 2 - 5 m illio n ,
sp re a d o u t o ve r m e d ia , p ro d u ctio n
a n d p ro m o tio n / P R .
Research Story

• In 2004, Toyota conducted a segmentation study of 2,207 African American vehicle intenders to better understand
consumer segments within the African American Automotive Market. The study was designed to identify and describe
naturally occurring segments and prioritize them based on attractiveness as targets for Toyota.
• A key segment were the “Flossers ” – a slang term for African Americans who “want to drive fast and be noticed”. They
were positively inclined towards both Toyota and Japanese vehicles. This information was combined with
registration data from RL Polk that showed that the African American car buying market skewed more female (57%)
and was largely single (54% for African Americans versus 29% for the General Market). Polk data also showed that
Toyota’s fiercest competition for the African American car buyer were Honda and Nissan.
• Burrell recommended a conquest strategy (stealing share) for the launch of the redesigned 2007 Toyota Camry. We
targeted African American single women- dubbed “Femme Flossers” - who were predisposed to buying Honda Accord and
Nissan Altima. Our hypothesis was that these women might find Camry too tame for their tastes, so we aimed to
develop research that would serve as a springboard for a specific creative challenge: “What could we do to make
the new Camry the opposite of ‘boring’?”
• To answer that question, we used qualitative testing and story telling techniques to understand how the Femme Flossers’
lifestyles, aspirations, purchase considerations and media habits differed from those of Toyota Camry “loyalists”.
We spoke with African American single women who described themselves as self-confident risk takers, representing
a range of professions from entrepreneurs to graphic designers. They were style-conscious, street savvy consumers
who would buy Nissan Altima for its performance and Honda Accord for its styling. The Femme Flosser’s passion
points were visceral entertainment, fashion, adventure/vacation travel, socializing with friends, and success –
“it’s all about me”.
• As expected, they considered Camry “a family car that does not fit my lifestyle .” In essence, Camry was seen as boring.
• So we utilized the qualitative research to get feedback on a campaign aimed at showing the Camry in a surprising and
unexpected way: “If Looks Could Kill” - a viral, predominantly unbranded approach aimed at appealing to the Femme
Flossers’ more adventurous nature while showing off the new Camry in ways that would “surprise and delight”.


Campaign Description

Target Audience


• African American Femme Flossers, 25-40 years of age with a household income of
$70K+, with emphasis on those giving higher purchase consideration to
Camry’s competition.

•
Campaign Idea


• Toyota approved the testing of an innovative unbranded marketing concept

called “If Looks Could Kill” (ILCK). ILCK was one of the first alternative
reality game designed especially for an African American female audience.
Burrell worked with a leader in the field, 42 Entertainment, to develop a
campaign comprised of six episodes that blended digital video with
interactive scenes to actively engage our audience with Bianca, our Femme
Flosser heroine and her Camry.
• The story had all the elements of blockbuster entertainment: exciting locales,
mystery, romance, high stakes, proven sensational plot lines, a stylish car
and a beautiful, take-no-prisoners femme fatale. Six episodes ran online at
www.iflookscouldkill.com over a six-week period, with a new installment
delivered online each week. The interactive story moved between traditional
and non-traditional media to bring Bianca and her Camry vividly into the
real world. When Bianca was really in trouble, she turned to the viewer for
help. Participating viewers received more clues, a chance to win glamorous
prizes, and opportunities to explore the new Camry while still immersed in
the game.
• Burrell worked with Toyota’s internet marketing agency, iCrossing, to set up a
marketing dashboard to track web traffic and gain learning for future
African American web marketing.
Media plan
• The support for the campaign ran from June 16th
through July 27th. It included print, radio,
online advertising, events and public
relations.
• High-impact units such as custom rovion ads and
video pre-roll had excellent performance due
to the more engaging nature of the unit.
Google targeted placements were also used to
seed If Looks Could Kill messaging in
contextually relevant target sites which
revolved around music and where Femme
Flossers could be found.
• Trade and consumer press events mixed fashion
and espionage via a New York City celebrity
launch party and boutique shopping parties in
Atlanta, DC, Chicago, Los Angeles and
Philadelphia.
Business Results

• The “ If Looks Could Kill ” campaign was

tested among people who visited the site
(web- intercept sample of 211 out of
194,000 unique visits), as well as among a
sample of 118 people who were sent to the
site (“push” sample) of Hall & Partners
respondents. The site immediately changed
competitive intenders image of Camry from
“ suburban family car to one that is
sleek and stylish .” There was high
resonance among both Camry loyalists and
competitive intenders with the hero of
the story, “ Bianca ”, a single African
American woman seen as daring, independent
and resilient
• . In the Hall & Partners study, the “If Looks Could
Kill” campaign was perceived as unique, distinctive
and offered a clever way to engage with consumers.
Those respondents who experienced the website found
it entertaining, imaginative and buzz worthy.
• Overall, ILCK generated positive opinion about the
Toyota brand and shifted Camry perception towards
“stylish”, “up-to-date”, and “innovative”. Perceptions
of innovation and design (a step ahead, cutting edge
design, technologically advanced, advanced
engineering) were successfully elevated. The
campaign was also effective at driving
consideration and generating awareness among
targeted African-American women after being exposed
to the site. Additionally, the media and PR results
far exceeded the campaign’s goals.
•
Results Summary
Our goal was to generate
awareness for Camry ’ s styling and
technology
 296 million in paid media
impressions achieved, exceeding goal by
257%
 Generated slightly over 1 billion
PR impressions, equivalent to
$10,336,370 in paid media
Our biggest challenge was changing perceptions of what is already
the best-selling car brand among African Americans:

 Po st exp o su re p e rce p tio n o f

C a m ry g re w b y 1 2 p e rce n ta g e p o in ts,
exce e d in g g o a lb y 1 4 0 %
 Po st exp o su re ch a n g e in p u rch a se
co n sid e ra tio n fo r C a m ry w a s 1 8
p e rce n ta g e p o in ts, exce e d in g g o a lb y
260%
 Po st exp o su re le ve ls o f vib ra n cy
( positive buzz ) for Camry grew by 33
p e rce n ta g e p o in ts, exce e d in g g o a lb y
560%
• Case Study
• Selected Answer Guide: CASE STUDY
CASE 2-3 CAMRY goes interactive to attract black women
Q1) There are three types of reference group influence – informational, normative, and identification.   Assuming
Bianca is a representative for the group consisting of successful, urban, professional African-American women,
which type(s) of group influence do you see operating in this campaign?
  Informational influence is a potential since a member of the target group is implicitly saying, “You are like
me and I like this car, so you will too”.
  Normative influence is not really being utilized in this campaign.   There is no threat of punishment or
promise of a reward by the group for compliance (buying the Camry).
  Identification influence is likely the strongest influence being utilized.   The goal here is to have the
target market identify and internalize group values and beliefs and then act on them.   The implicit belief is
that Camry is part of an active, adventurous,
• urban lifestyle.   Notice the strategy of showing a member of the target group using the automobile which is
consistent with an identification influence strategy.
Q3)   What values and aspirations does this campaign tap into relating to the sub-groups of professional women
and professional African-American women?
  This campaign taps into both professional women and African-American women – values and aspirations relating
to modern gender roles and upward mobility and status for women and Blacks and so on.
Q7) Why do you think Camry chose to try to change perceptions of their car rather than changing the car itself?
  Camry has been highly successful in reaching a mass audience and leading car sales in the US.   And while it
might at first seem odd that Camry tried to change perceptions rather than reality, it is worth noting that for
such a “mass-market” brand, major changes to the product and product position could hurt it in the mass market.  
After all, the Camry has been...

•
New Work
New
Environmen
t
New
Colleagues
Welcome
Today’s Overview
Learning Objectives
• Technology
• Procedure
• Policies
• Benefits
NEW
WORK
New Work
T h e te ch n o lo g y le a rn in g


cu rve
Who’s Who
Lead Contact information

Jim Jim@company.com

Dee Dee@gcompany.com

Mavis Mavis@company.com

Doug Doug@company.com
 Working Toward Mastery

Achieve Mastery
Projects Worked On

Get Experienced

Get Familiar

Time Spent
Doing Your Best Work

• Working from home

• Working offsite
• Technology
requirements
Case Study
• Je re m y
– H is first d a y
– M ista ke s m a d e
– S u cce sse s
a ch ie ve d
– T h e m o ra lo f
th e sto ry
Discussion
• W h a t w e ca n
le a rn fro m
Je re m y
• B e st p ra ctice s
• Ta ke -a w a ys
Summary
• D e fin e yo u r ch a lle n g e s
– Te ch n o lo g ica la s w e lla s p e rso n a l
• S e t re a listic exp e cta tio n
– M a ste ry is n o t a ch ie ve d o ve rn ig h t
• K e e p yo u r e ye o n th e g o a l
– M e n to rsh ip p ro g ra m s
Resources
• < Intranet site text here >
< hyperlink here >
•
• < Additional reading material text
h e re >
< hyperlink here >


• T h is slid e d e ck a n d re la te d
re so u rce s:
< hyperlink here >
QUESTIONS?
APPENDIX