Toyota's on-board multimedia system Entune runs a lot of
mobile apps. Viacom has a lot of networks. Put the two together and you get a
unique advertising campaign featuring 13 custom spots and talent from channels
including MTV, Nickelodeon and TV Land running on TV and online over 19 weeks.
Toyota introduced the voice-activated Entune system last year. It is now
integrated into the automaker's Camry and Prius v models.
"It's something that takes a little bit of explaining, and that's challenging
to do in just a 30-second spot or a tag at the end of a commercial," says Gwen
Conley, senior media director at Toyota's ad agency, Saatchi & Saatchi Los
Angeles.
"We reached out to Viacom because they have a very broad portfolio of networks,
and we leveraged our relationship with them to introduce a new technology to
consumers in the voice of each of the networks," Conley says. "We can highlight
the different apps that might be more appropriate to the consumers who watch
those networks."
Teams from each of the networks involved are helping to produce 30-second
vignettes as part of the campaign. The vignettes run in both commercial time
and promotional time on the networks.
"We're highlighting the different applications that are most appropriate for
our respective brands and our respective audiences," says Dario Spina,
executive vice president, integrated marketing, Viacom Media Networks Music and
Entertainment. "I know this sounds cliché, but it's sort of that good
combination of us providing scale and context."
First up is a vignette that started airing on CMT last month. The spot salutes
the emerging country artists shown on Listen Up by
following one young woman in Nashville traveling to a guitar shop and the venue
where she is performing, all while listening to music on the iHeartRadio app.
Next up is Comedy Central, beginning the week of May 14. One of its spots
features Jen Kirkman, a stand-up comedienne who appears on the channel, who
uses the OpenTable app to find a decent place to eat while on tour.
With MTV, Toyota is tying into the series Teen Wolf, which
is returning for its second season. Several Toyota vehicles are being
integrated into the series. The network is also creating two vignettes
featuring show stars Tyler Posey, Crystal Reed and Dylan O'Brien, who
demonstrate the advantages of using Entune to access the OpenTable,
MovieTickets and Pandora music apps in their cars.
Spina says the creative teams from the networks are very involved in the
project. "We had to work with the development team to make sure that we had
talent participation, and that they felt that the story line and the themes
that we were covering within the custom creative was in line with the actual
program," Spina says.
Having TV personalities in the spots was important to Toyota. "We wanted to
leverage talent at the networks wherever possible, because it makes it more
authentic to have the voice of the networks," Conley says.
Toyota is also working with one of Viacom's best-known stars for its tie-in
with Nickelodeon. The SpongeBob SquarePants
spot is scheduled to air the week of June 25.
Also being produced are two spots from Spike. One features a dad using the
MovieTickets app to take his kids to see a film. Another shows a dad using the
Bing app to get directions. A spot from VH1 features singer Grace Potter of
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals driving in a Camry and listening to her new
single on the iHeartRadio app. And a spot from TV Land highlights Toyota's
integration into the series Hot in Cleveland.
Executives from Viacom and Saatchi declined to say how much Toyota is spending
on the campaign, but it is a part of the automaker's larger advertising
relationship with Viacom and its networks.
Spina says Viacom also worked on the campaign with Toyota's media agency,
Zenith. Conley adds that in some cases Toyota's integration agency, Brand Arc,
was on set, making sure vehicles were displayed properly.
