I read in the paper tonight that Toyota are now number 2 in the US, breaking GM’s 75 year grip on the position. This is partly due to strong demand for the Prius Hybrid car.
The Prius has been an amazing success story for Toyota and a great example to other brands of the new “communication order”. After a slow start, sales of Prius have been built, not through heavy advertising campaigns, but through advocacy. Advocacy through celebrities, using the brand to make a statement
about their green credentials, advocacy by Government (in London you can escape the congestion charge with a Prius and other Governments offer similar incentives) and advocacy through brand purchasers (promoters) – Prius owners are rarely shy about telling you how great their cars are! Apparently Toyota encouraged this in the early days by giving purchasers packs of personalised cards (like business cards). These just happened to have the key talking points on Prius printed on the back!
Al Reiss’ book, The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, claims products are launched by PR and sustained by advertising. As Prius demonstrates, a hybrid approach throughout the brand lifecycle can also work!
People will still only buy what works for them. The Prius might work for some, but not functional for everyone. For instance, in my blog (http://henkc.livejournal.com/#asset-henkc-1185) I ask whether people will buy a green blowup doll? Tongue in cheek – yes. But the idea is that people will buy what is functional for their needs.
BTW, it was GM, not Ford that Toyota surpassed in sales. Do you have any additional information about the “business cards” Toyota gave its early buyers? Interesting. Would be even more interesting to see an example of a card.