Environmental Leader

Toyota’s Prius has created a new definition of automotive cool, Jacquelyn Ottman writes in AdvertisingAge. Marketing, of course, has a lot to do with how that happened.

Here are a few points from the Prius marketing blueprint:

• A $1-million marketing campaign appealed to early adopters of new technology and a supplemental campaign secured the green audience by talking about endorsements from such groups as the Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation.
• The car’s cool image was reinforced by celebrity appearances (organized by the Environmental Media Association) by Leonardo DiCaprio and Gwyneth Paltrow.
• Toyota invested in a design that consumers have responded to positively – including a dashboard monitor that tells the driver how many miles per gallon they’re getting, making the environmental benefits tangible.

Although many new-vehicle buyers may want to purchase an environmentally friendly vehicle, just 11 percent are “very willing” to pay more to do so, according to the J.D. Power and Associates.

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