It is interesting to watch the Toyota story unfold. But, as a marketing professional it is very interesting to watch its use of marketing—commercials, YouTube and etc.
Toyota used public relations, social media, and YouTube to deliver a message by Jim Lentz, president of Toyota’s US marketing, to reassure consumers over concerns surrounding the safety of its cars. They used the video-sharing website in an attempt to restore trust in the brand and avoid damage to its reputation, which reports estimated could cost the brand as much as £4bn worldwide. On the YouTube video, Lentz says, “I hope you will give us a chance to win back your trust.” Trust is a key value the company is also really pushing forward. We are the company you have trusted and you can continue to trust.
Effectively the company is using YouTube and traditional commercials in an attempt to restore trust in the brand and avoid damage to its reputation. While commercials are a great vehicle, a key YouTube element is that unlike television this clip will be around for public consumption for quite a long time and it can be embedded on blogs like this or Facebook, subscribed to on Youtube, and generally pushed around online so there is extra power in the message.