Marketing communication: principles and practice

The product
From the outset, the Yaris was targeted specifically at the European market, the first Toyota
to have been conceived this way:
•
the Yaris was designed by a European team led by the Greek designer Sotiris Kovos
based in the European design centre
•
the design concepts were continually tested with clinics of European customers to get
their reactions and input to the process
•
from 2001, the car will be primarily produced at the new factory at Valenciennes, near
Paris
As well as a European-specific styling and design process, the Yaris was designed to be
class leading in all the major functional areas:
•
The Yaris is powered by brand new 1.0 and 1.3 litre VVT-i (variable valve timing
intelligent) engines whose technology means that they produce more power than other
engines of the same size, but also deliver better fuel economy and lower emissions.

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•
New construction methods meant that lightweight steel could be used without
compromising safety, contributing to the outstanding fuel economy and good driving
performance.
•
In the sector, the Yaris is the smallest car but has the largest interior space.
•
The Yaris also has many innovative features including a 3-D centrally mounted speedometer
display and a sliding rear seat. The 3-D display is a design and safety feature, reducing
the amount of time necessary to look at the read-out and then refocus on the road again.
The rear seat slides backwards and forwards to maximize rear legroom or boot space as
required.
The brand: the Yaris and Toyota
This section will cover the steps in delivering the Yaris message to the market. These steps
involved:
•
identifying the target market – who are Yaris buyers?
•
internal communications – coordinating the message within Toyota
•
external communications:
– the Yaris communications task
– pre-launch activity
– launch activity
The target market
Concurrent to the research and design process to ensure the product was right, Toyota re-
examined its marketing approach to the small-car sector. The previous car, the Starlet, had
been a strong product from the traditional reliability aspect, but had failed to grip the
imagination of customers. It was essential that the Yaris was seen in a different light and
fulfilled the objective of starting to move the Toyota brand towards a more emotional and
aspirational ideal.
The key part of taking the car to the market was to understand the lifestyle of the Yaris
target audience. Figure 13.3 shows the general segmentation within the small-car sector.
Over 55s
Other
Female 25–50