Toyota's 'Scion' (Guerrilla) Brand in US: The Market Positioning Strategies

Many automobile companies in the US are targeting Gen Y, who are estimated to become the

largest segment, in the automobile industry. Toyota, which intends to be number one in the global

automobile industry, also entered the fray. But Toyota - which has been extremely popular with

the baby boomers - is considered to be old fashioned by Gen Y. To refurbish its staid image, it

came out with a new brand, designed exclusively for the Gen Y. Two models 'xA' and 'xB' were

launched under the brand named 'Scion'. A year later another model, 'tC' was added to the lineup.

To attract the Gen Y, Scion's marketing was carefully planned, avoiding conventional marketing

strategies. With the help of Attik, a management group based in UK, Toyota resorted to guerrilla

marketing. The brand was aggressively marketed before its launch, with 'unconventional' slogans

displayed at places where its target buyers gathered.

Toyota launched a website and also redesigned showrooms for Scion, to facilitate information

search and customisation. The success of Scion has prompted Toyota to adopt these strategies for

its other brands too.

i. With reference from above case study discuss the opportunities and threats in developing