Various Aspects of Marketing of Toyota Camry - Case Study Example

Introduction of Brand

In spite of the fact that there are certain famous brands in the automobile industry, they may not always be the most successful ones. Quite the opposite: it often happens that those companies that seem to lack a distinct image sell the biggest number of the cars. This is true for Toyota. Founded in the first half of the previous century as a spinoff from Toyota Industries, Toyota is currently one of the largest companies in the world and was able to surpass many other famous companies in terms of production of vehicles. In addition to that, it is famous for popularizing hybrid engines. This paper will analyze different aspects of marketing of Toyota Camry.

Literature Review

If one considers the segmentation of the market, one will have to point out that the brand in question mostly focuses on the segment that includes consumers with low to middle income. Thus, Douglas and Michaels (2005) point out that a typical consumer will be a middle aged person who belongs to the middle class. This person is pragmatic and pays attention to the value and wants to get the most of it out of a car one buys. That is why Toyota Camry is targeted at people who want to buy a car of a sufficient quality for a reasonable price. Therefore, the model in question is positioned that a car that is worth every dollar that is paid for it. In other words, it may be even regarded as a good investment.

Speaking of the competition in the market, Cogliandro (2007) insists that certain domestic rivals that Toyota Camry has to take care of. Thus, Ford, Chevrolet as well as some other Japanese companies like Honda or Nissan target the same segment of the market and produce products that are quite competitive. Each of the brands has its own competitive advantage. Thus, Ford and Chevrolet position themselves as truly American cars. Keeping this in mind the "country of origin" in the case of Toyota Camry will not be to its benefit. However, the competitive advantage of the brand in question lies in its unique combination of quality and price. In other words, the consumers feel that they did not spend too much. Given the popularity of hybrid cars, Toyota even made a hybrid version of Camry.

So, the product that should be analyzed in the model in question. It is a mid-size car which is extremely popular among people who place emphasis on safety and comfort while driving a car. As for the pricing, it is generally lower than its major competitors, making the car even more attractive to the potential consumers. There are numerous dealerships around the country and a person is able to choose any and a car for it. Moreover, Toyota takes distribution very seriously and is able to produce a customized car as fast as in five days after a person places an order (Simison 1999). All this is able to explain why Toyota is popular.

One should consider several trends that are happening in the industry. For example, there is a general idea that cars should reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that they produce (Anderson & Anderson 2005). Toyota was able to answer this call with the development as well as the further popularization of hybrid engines. Thus, Toyota Camry is available with a conventional combustion engine as well as with a hybrid one. This shows that the company is willing to capitalize on this particular trend allowing people to live up to their ideas and refrain from compromising the comfort, the quality or any other aspect of the driving experience. One would make no mistake suggesting that Toyota has been quite successful in achieving this objective. Another trend that should me mentioned in particular is customization of the product. Coffey (2006) insist that today it is extremely easy to buy a car which resulted in the situation that people tend to drive similar cars. As a result, the drivers do not want the one size fits all approach and would like to choose from a number of options. Speaking of Toyota Camry, it is obvious that a person is able to select addition options which will make one’s car unique. Another point that should be mentioned is that customization mostly focuses on making sure that the car that is bought by a person suits one’s needs perfectly. All this leads to the situation when the bigger number of options is, the higher is the chance of a purchase.

One should also consider the role that corporate social responsibility plays in the marketing of the product in question. Thus, Toyota acknowledges that it promises its customer safe and reliable driving experience. That is why if any problems occur with the vehicle, a person is able to turn it back to the company. Moreover, Bagley (2002) holds that the practice of recalls is not uncommon for Toyota if it discovers a problem with the product. Another aspect of corporate social responsibility focuses on the employees. Toyota has always been a company that scored high on different ratings and is largely considered to be a good company to work for. Therefore, the organization kept its promise. There are other components in Toyota corporate social responsibility strategy that can be identified such as business partners, global society, local community, and shareholders. It is quite obvious that the company in question make steps to succeed in every level mentioned above. For example, there is evidence that Toyota planted forests which help the local community to enjoy a greener environment and also made a contribution to the global effort to fight global warming ("Toyota's Social Contribution Activities" 2015). In addition to that, Toyota has always been honest and sincere with its business partners and shareholders. That is why they could know the accurate information about the ongoing state of affairs in the company and feel confident about their partnership. As a result, Toyota has been able to live up to the expectation in terms of all components of corporate social responsibility.

Promotion strategy

For the purposes of this paper, a single advertisement will be selected (see Appendix). It is obvious that this advertisement is an effective one since targets the chosen segment of the market and sends a powerful marketing message. Thus, one may see that other than the car, the picture features many hot air balloons that are flying above the car. This implies that there may be a festival of the hot balloon which is a popular site for the middle class. In addition to that, on the right one is able to see a couple holding hand. They look like a couple that fits the characteristics of the targeted segment. Finally, the car is dark red and the text above it focuses on inspiration: all this may be appealing to the middle-class representatives who want to inject some new blood into their stable life.

Speaking of the virtual presence of the company, one should point out that it has a web-site that is easily accessible and contains a considerable amount of the information that people are able to browse. One should also point out that in 2012 the new model of Toyota Camry was launched while engaging social media ("Toyota Announces Marketing Campaign for the Reinvented 2012 Camry" 2012). This the consumers could watch the event online and later the company set up a site called "The Camry Effect" that allowed people to express their opinion on the car that they possessed. They could choose different specifications and have a virtual representation of their car.

It would not be a mistake to suggest that the different communication channels that are used by the company are well integrated. Indeed, one can easily find links that lead to another platform if one accesses one of them. Moreover, the accounts in the most popular social media seem to be quite active. Finally, the web-site that the company set up exclusively for Toyota Camry often shows that it wants to give voice to the people and turn them into a group that provides a genuine review of the products and is able to acknowledge the outstanding quality as well as the experience of Toyota Camry.

Recommendations

In spite of the fact that Toyota, in general, is quite successful and one of its products, namely Camry model, is extremely popular, there are certain recommendations that can be made to improve the performance. First of all, they focus on segmentation, targeting, and positioning. For years, Camry has been a car that appeals to many different groups of people. However, today its popularity, as well as its universal character, seem to become a burden. As a result, it is quite logical to alter the manner in which the segment in question is targeted. This means that the product should become more tailors to suit the needs of a segment. Partially this can be witnessed in the newest models which emphasize the role of passion and inspiration.

As for the promotional strategy, one should point out that the company should carry on innovation in terms of reaching the consumers. Indeed, the experience of launching a new model with the help of the social media may not have been extremely successful; nevertheless, it shows that the company in question looks for the opportunity to attract the attention of the people. It is quite possible that if Toyota finds its own format, the release of a new model will be as popular and as expected as a release of new smartphones. It may be important to continue the idea of “The Camry Effect” and set sites that would connect people who own the same model, creating a new dimension of the social network.

It is quite understandable that these recommendations are likely to increase the probability of success in the future since they reinforce the good image as well as customer loyalty. It must be acknowledged that the success of the company in question rests on the popularity of its products and the ability to suit the tastes of the public. Therefore, it is essential to maintain a healthy dialog with the public and engage it, making sure that it is able to voice it concerns. In other words, the close cooperation with the consumers should become the fundamental element of the strategy of development of Toyota and ensure the success of it in the future.

If one considers the area of corporate social responsibility, one will have to point out that there are certain changes that can be made. Thus, as it has already been mentioned before, it may be beneficial to stress the concept of passion and inspiration while marketing Toyota Camry. Indeed, there is a widely spread stereotype that people who own this car do not have an exciting life. That is why it is possible that some people who may be willing to buy it are likely to refrain from this decision since they do not want to be associated with the lack of excitement. As a result, it is quite obvious that if the company is able to revitalize the Camry model and make it appealing once again, more people are likely to buy it.

Conclusion

Having examined all the points which were mentioned in the paragraphs above, one is able to come to the following conclusion: Toyota Camry is one of the most popular cars that are sold by the company in question. It focuses on the segment of the market that is comprised of the middle-aged people, belonging to the middle class and who value the pragmatism in their life. The product is priced slightly lower than similar products and a lot of emphasis is made on the distribution. The company also follows the recent trends of reduction of carbon footprint and customization. Toyota was able to implement successfully each of the components of its corporate social policy. The model in question is promoted with the help of various media.

Appendix

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