TOYOTA'S MADE IN CANADA CAMPAIGN

     I don't know if you noticed but Toyota Canada came out with some big news the past few weeks.  Their Canadian November total car sales beat all brands for the first time in their history.  As well, they announced the addition of a second shift of production at their year old RAV4 plant in Woodstock which will require the hiring of 800 additional employees.  While Toyota's quality, reliability, pricing and overall fuel economy are obviously key drivers of  their success I've really noticed how they've been emphasizing in a big way the Made in Canada origin of much of their product  over the past 12-18 months.  Take a look at their billboard or magazine ads and its always there; the emphasis on how much Toyota contributes to the health of the Canadian manufacturing economy. 

     For example, read below the full page ad Toyota placed in yesterday's K.W. Record  announcing the RAV4 plant expansion and you see what I mean.

                         THANK YOU CANADA FOR LOVING THE RAV 4

                        Thank you Canada for loving the RAV4 so much, we were

                         able to invest $1.1B in Canada to build them.

                        Thank you for building them so well that more Canadians

                         are wanting them.

                        Thank you for wanting so many of them that we're hiring more

                         than 800 Canadians for a second shift to build even more of them.

                        Thank you from all the Toyota associates, team members, nationwide

                        network of dealers and parts suppliers for making RAV4 a true

                        Canadian success story.

Underlined are the 6 times Canada or Canadian was mentioned in this ad.  Furthermore, the ad cleverly emphasizes Canadian quality, jobs, service, and investment.  A second example of Toyota's Made in Canada awareness campaign is their glossy Red and White(our national colours) brochure entitled "Toyota. A Made-In-Canada Story".  You can pick it up at any Toyota dealership across the country.  This brochure not only highlights Toyota's contribution to the Canadian economy over the past 40 years but connects this contribution to the 4 models currently built in Canadian factories that account for fully half of their Canadian sales; Corolla, Matrix, Rav4, and Lexus SUV.  It's a common sense awareness campaign that makes sense.  They want us to know that they currently employ 18,000 Canadians, have invested $8.64 billion dollars in facilities over the past 40 years, and have produced 3.2 million cars for sale in Canada and for export.  In return, they hope you will take this into account when making your car buying decision.

     Its obvious that Toyota's management believes(and I think they are right) that in today's challenging economic environment, in which Ontario has lost 190,000 manufacturing jobs in the last 4 years, Canadian consumers now appreciate more than ever the significant contribution that companies like Toyota make in terms of providing well paying, secure jobs for Canadians in clean, well managed production environments.  And this appreciation helps to positively influence buying behaviour.  Toyota's  November sales performance seems to validate this view. 

     And while Toyota is obviously not the only major manufacturer contributing to Canada's economy, their recent "Made in Canada" theme does reflect better than most the changing dynamics of consumer purchasing behaviour since the recession began 2 years ago.  Whether it's the Buy Local food movement, or popular retail shows like The One of a Kind Christmas craft show highlighting Canadian made artisans, people are becoming more concerned about not only what they are buying but where it was made and who made it.   They want their purchases to help fellow Canadians in a way that wasn't even on their radar screen a few years ago when our economy was chugging along.

     If Toyota is right, the implications for all Canadian manufacturers are obvious; that highlighting Made in Canada and the overall contributions each of you make to your local economy in terms of jobs, community, taxes, research and development, etc. are stories that today's consumers need and want to hear.  Perhaps you should begin asking your own sales and marketing people or external ad agency consultant what they think of the idea and how it might resonate with your target market.   If they agree than you can begin to make this theme a more prominent part of your communications strategy and include it on your logos, tags, and labels, on your websites, and in your Point of Purchase displays, brochures/handouts and sales training.  And like Toyota  you might see your sales increase as a result.