by Matthew Jones

Kaizen.  It’s a Japanese term meaning a dedication to continuous improvement – to always doing something better than you had did before.  For Steve Jett, national car advertising and event marketing manager for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., kaizen means reaching more consumers, in more persuasive and effective ways.  This also means reaching potential customers from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

To understand Toyota’s drive to reach a diverse audience, one first has to understand the business environment in which the automotive giant operates.  The changing face of the global marketplace manifests itself in dramatic ways in the North American market.  Over the past five to ten years, marketers have scrambled to keep pace with America’s changing attitudes and expectations – as well as its spending habits.

Perhaps the most dramatic change for automotive manufacturers is the level of wealth maintained by emerging communities.  According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, the African-American and Hispanic populations have enjoyed significant economic growth over the past few years.  The Center cites African-American buying power at $646 billion in 2002, and predicts that that figure will rise to $853 billion by 2007.  Corresponding numbers for the Hispanic population are $581 billion and $926 billion, respectively.

As ethnic markets continue to grow and become more influential, so too, must the marketing strategies that are charged to reach them.

“Toyota’s (ethnic marketing) efforts have changed dramatically, especially as media has fragmented,” said Jett regarding the company’s fluid marketing style.  “It used to be, especially 10 years ago, that if a company aired a 30-second commercial during network broadcasts, it reached a wide swath of America.  That’s not so any longer, and over the past few years, we’ve really stepped up our ethnic efforts because we realize that people respond better to messages that are tailored to meet their needs.”

To help them identify and respond to these different needs, Toyota has partnered with three major ethnic marketing partners – Burrell Communications Group (African-American), Conill Advertising (Hispanic) and interTREND (Asian-American).  Each of these agencies is considered to be among the best ethnic-marketers in the world.  In addition, Toyota has very specific criteria when it comes to deciding what constitutes a legitimate ethnic marketing agency.  Contenders had to show that:

• 50 percent of their existing marketing efforts target ethnic communities,

• Minorities constitute at least 50 percent of the agency’s upper management, or

• The agency is at least 51 percent minority-owned.

“We’ve just scratched the surface of reaching out to diverse audiences,” said Jett.  “While we do a much better job than ever before, we have a great opportunity to enhance our efforts and see what works best for our customers.  I think you’ll see Toyota’s efforts growing and changing as we learn more.”

According to Toyota Motor Corporation, the parent company for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., the automaker has recently made a $150 million commitment over three years to its diversity marketing effort.  For 2004, Toyota spent $28.3 million with minority-owned media outlets, out of a total $82 million in diversity marketing expenditures – not a small commitment, even in an industry known for staggering advertising budgets.

Moving Forward Toward Diversity

Whether it’s a general market spot or a spot aimed toward a specific ethnicity, Toyota’s current marketing mantra is “Moving Forward.”  According to Jett, the new tagline “conveys the thought of Toyota helping people make the most of their lives.”

In keeping with the company’s drive to enhance their diversity efforts, much of the national creative work for the lead brand spots feature people from a broad spectrum of ethnic backgrounds.

Jett is pleased with the multi-level application of Toyota’s diversity ads and with the response those ads have received.  “The Camry is the best-selling car in America, and two ads that have received a good response feature a young, African-American man and his girlfriend, as well as her father,” said Jett.  Toyota runs the ethnically-flavored Camry ads during general market programming – apparently to much success.  “The ads are entertaining and effective, and have been well-received by many different audiences.”

Toyota’s efforts carry over to the Hispanic market, as well.  For instance, the official web site (http://www.toyota.com) also features a full, Spanish-language version (http://www.toyota.com/espanol/) so that people can choose which language they prefer.

Aside from its advertising efforts, Toyota has other programs and partnerships dedicated to creating inroads to different ethnic communities.  By working with leading civic and social organizations such as the Los Angeles (L.A.) Urban League, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), the American Indian College Fund and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Toyota seeks to develop a positive reputation in key local markets as well as nationally.

Toyota also helped establish the L.A. Urban League Automotive Training Center, an institution that helps unemployed and under-employed residents of Los Angeles obtain valuable automotive skills – skills that can help them find careers in the industry.  To date, Toyota has dedicated more than $9 million to the effort.

Visions and Accountability: Keys to Success

Most marketers understand that if you want to have any success in the marketplace, you have to live up to the promises you make.  This goes for advertising, as well as how the company conducts its business.  Consumers are paying attention to how corporations “talk the talk, and walk the walk.” 

At Toyota, walking the walk seems to be high on the company’s priority list.  Not content to create advertising with sparks of diversity, Toyota made a public promise in 2001 to enhance diversity at all levels of operation.

That promise came in the form of the Toyota 21^st Century Diversity Strategy – which created diversity targets for a broad range of business goals, including procurement, dealer representation, jobs training, community involvement and more.

One of the benefits that quickly followed the new diversity mandate was the creation of the Diversity Advisory Board – an impressive collection of outside leaders from business, law, labor and government charged with guiding Toyota towards achieving greater inclusion and opportunities for minorities and women.  Alexis Herman, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, leads the Board.

The recipe seems to be working.  According to Toyota Motor Corporation, employment of ethnic minorities has increased 26 percent since 2000, and minorities make up for 29 percent of their work force.  More importantly, representation of minorities in supervisory and management roles is up 23 percent, with minorities occupying 20.8 percent of the management force.  While there is still more to be done, few publicly held companies can boast those types of numbers.

It will be interesting to see where Toyota goes form here.  Given the company’s track record of improvement in their diversity efforts, one can only guess that they will keep Moving Forward, as their advertising promises us.  If that is Kaizen in action, then America’s diverse communities are all for it.

The End