One-line summary Toyota launches a display advertising campaign to draw awareness to the new Prius and increase sales. The problem The Prius is a hybrid electric car. Toyota needed to raise awareness and drive sales around the introduction of new models to the Prius line. To address this challenge, they brought the Saatchi & Saatchi LA team on board (WorldsBestCaseStudies.com, 2012). The solution Since the idea for the second Prius had been conceived, debate had surrounded the question of what exactly the term for the plural of Prius would be (Walsh, 2013). The Saatchi team identified this as a potential talking point among customers and launched the ‘Prius goes plural’ campaign. The bigger picture Offline advertising and marketing campaigns can be adapted for an online audience in order to ensure maximum brand exposure. It is very effective in enhancing offline marketing and advertising activity and in ensuring a wider reach. As mentioned, online advertising can be used as an acquisition channel, reaching out to a new audience. It can be used to initiate a buying cycle and customer relationship, which then plays out across other online channels. Addressing advertising and other channels to complement each other will result in a consistent message, and optimum results. Online advertising can be used to reach a large audience, and then other digital marketing tactics can be used to refine and engage this audience further. Social media advertising in particular is crucial for building communities and keeping the brand top of mind. Online advertising and affiliate marketing go hand in hand. Affiliate networks also act as advertising networks, allowing for advertising to be purchased on a performance basis. When seeding new products and viral campaigns, display advertising can be used to reach a wide audience at a low cost. It can expose a campaign to many new users, and increase the chance that those who are most likely to pass on a message receive it in the first place. Display advertising also supports other advertising and marketing channels, such as search advertising and marketing. Online advertising has two main objectives: • Branding • Direct response and sales The Internet allows for highly targeted and highly trackable advertising across a variety of online media. Some ways that advertisers can use the Internet are: • Banner adverts • Interstitial banners • Popups and pop-unders • Floating adverts • Wallpaper adverts • Map adverts Ad servers provide trafficking, tracking and reporting solutions to both advertisers and publishers. They allow advertisers to target display adverts based on parameters, including: • User profile (location, operating system, browser, connection type) • Behaviour • Frequency and sequencing • Exclusivity • Context of content Technology allows for increased levels of interaction within an advert, and for advertising tailored to engagement media such as online videos and social network applications. Case study questions 1. Why did display advertising play such a critical role in the Prius campaign? 2. Why did people find the concept of coming up with a plural for Prius so engaging? 3. What is the benefit of using interactive adverts, as demonstrated in the case study? 4. Online banner advertising and outdoor display advertising both use images to try to increase sales. In planning, both need to consider placement so as to be seen by their most likely audience. What are the key differences? 5. Why is display advertising an effective acquisition channel? 6. Go to www.wheels24.co.za and www.thetimes.co.za. What advertising can you find on the front page of these two websites? What products are being advertised, and how are they being advertised? What can you deduce about the target market for these products?

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Assignment on the Case Study Questions 1 Why did display advertising play such a critical role in the Prius campaign The display advertising played such a crucial role in the Prius Campaign as it brou... View the full answer