October 24, 2002
Demographics: Men and women aged 20-30 are the ideal prospects for the Toyota Matrix campaign. 30-45 year olds are prospect buyers as well. Therefore, the campaign should speak to 20-30 year olds (the target) without jading 30-45 year olds.
Ideal Prospect: The ideal Toyota Matrix prospect is a 29-year-old -single male who works full time, is college educated and makes $62,000 per year. His seven-year-old daughter lives with her mother.
Psychographics: The ideal prospects for the Toyota Matrix campaign are creative, innovative, daring, and independent. They like to stand out in a crowd and openly pursue change. They take some risks, but performance, quality and dependability are a higher priority to them. They like to be the first one to purchase a new product, but should not be considered impulse buyers. They investigate new products and inspect them for quality, dependability and performance in order to make their own purchasing decisions.
Media Habits: The ideal prospect wakes up at 6:30 a.m., turns the television on to ESPN, and gets ready for work. He is not really paying attention to the program, but stops to listen whenever something catches his ear. On his way to work, he listens to the 8:30 a.m. news brief followed by talk radio. When arriving at work, he checks his phone and email messages. He uses the Internet to do research for about an hour. On his way to and from lunch with a client, he listens to the local rock station on the radio and sings along. When he gets back to work, he checks his phone and email messages again. He continues to use the computer and the Internet throughout the rest of his afternoon. He listens to talk radio on his way home from work, and does not bother changing the channel for commercials. When he gets home, he watches the six o’clock news on the local broadcast channel. He prepares his dinner and thumbs through a magazine while it is cooking. While eating dinner, he watches one of primetime network’s half hour shows or Comedy Central, depending on his mood. The television remains on CNN for the rest of the evening, but he hardly pays attention to it. At the end of his day, he watches the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, puts in a relaxation CD and goes to bed.
Internet: Jupiter Media Metrix2 research has proven that Internet users tend to be better educated, possess a higher income, and skew towards the younger college age bracket. The ideal prospect for Toyota Matrix is aged 20-30 (the typical age for college students nearing graduation and graduate students), and either possesses a higher income or most likely will do so in the near future.
Magazines: Though magazines are the least popular form of traditional media to the target, the target group is one of the most popular audiences of magazines. The majority of people that enjoy reading advertisements in magazines are women aged 18-34.
Television: The ideal prospects’ main source of entertainment is television. The majority of them rely on it to keep them informed. They do not see it as a source of relaxation. With the exception of daily news, television seems to be a low priority to them. In fact, most of them do not arrange their schedule around television programs and almost half of them do other things while they are watching it. Although 28% of the ideal prospects find television advertising interesting, 35% of them intentionally avoid television commercials (by changing the channel, muting the television, or leaving the television for the commercial break).
Newspapers: More than a quarter of women within the target think that supplemental ads make newspapers more interesting.
Radio: About a quarter of the ideal prospects rely on radio to stay informed and almost 30% use the radio for quick news updates. Very few people within the target use it as their main source of entertainment. Over half of the people in the target audience always listen to the radio while in the car.
Other: About half of the ideal prospects notice advertisements on trains and buses.
MEDIA EXPOSURE THAT WILL
BRING ABOUT A CHANGE
Overall, the ideal prospects are consumer savvy. They like to see things for themselves. They enjoy being the first to buy something and stand out from others, but they do not want anyone persuading them to make a purchase.
Internet: A website for Toyota Matrix with information on everything they could ever want to know about the car would help create an environment for change because they would not feel like the information is being thrown at them. The ideal prospects for Toyota Matrix use the Internet in their daily life, and could easily check the website while at work. Research has shown that this market in particular will use the Internet for pricing information and to compare vehicles.
Auto Shows: Another way to let the ideal prospect do their own research is through auto shows. 70% of the 20 million people that attend auto shows intend to purchase or lease a new vehicle.
Television: The ideal prospects are more likely to watch the early evening news on a broadcast channel than they are on CNN, the second most popular form of receiving news. However, the best way to reach ideal prospects through television is Fox and NBC Network Primetime. Situation comedy and general drama are the two most popular categories of network primetime among the ideal prospects and therefore would be the best environment for change. The most popular cable channels are ESPN, Lifetime, MTV, and TBS. The best way to reach the male ideal prospects is to advertise on ABC Monday Night Football and the CBS NFL Championships. The best way to reach the female ideal prospects is to advertise during NBC’s Primetime (7-11). Syndicated Monday through Friday Situation Comedies are a less expensive way to affectively reach ideal prospects in a setting that is familiar and comfortable to them.
Magazines: Most of the ideal
prospects are not concerned with magazines, but the few that are enjoy reading
magazine advertisements. The reach is
smaller if magazines are used, but the advertisements are more efficient. People, Cosmopolitan and Glamour are the
most popular magazines among the female ideal prospects. Time, People and Men’s Health are the most
popular magazines among the male ideal prospects. Any bridal magazine would create a good environment for change
because most brides are between the ages of 18 and 34 and will look to buy a
car soon. Investment magazines would
also be an affective way to reach the more successful segment of the target
group because they are reliable sources and may create the impression that the
Toyota Matrix is a good investment.