A case study of the the Toyota Tundra Endeavor Campaign

1. Toyota Tundra
Endeavor
By: Miriam Friday, Tiffany Jones, Joey Dye, Haley Nelms

2. Brief Overview
• Toyota created the Toyota Tundra Endeavour
campaign because they wanted to create
awareness among consumers about the
durability, power and strength of their 2012
Toyota Tundra full-size pickup truck.
• Toyota sought to gain coverage by towing the
retired Endeavour space shuttle, an American
icon, to its final home at the California Science
Center on October 13, 2012.
• Campaign is current and showcases modern
tactics.
• Made contact with public relations team but they
didn’t respond.

3. Company Background
• Kiichiro Toyoda, the prototype for his first passenger car
in 1935.
• In 1937 Toyota was officially established in Japan.
• Toyota was established in the United States in 1957.
• By 1967 Toyota was the 3rd most popular imported car
brand in the U.S.
• The Toyota Tundra is made in San Antonio, Texas.
• the founder of the Toyota Motor Corporation, invented

4. The Problem
• Toyota wanted to show the power and strength of their Toyota
Tundra and was trying to think of ways to successfully convey
this to the public. They also wanted to showcase the fact that
the Tundra is made in the United States and so is not a foreign
car.
• The California Science center also had a problem because the
original carrier intended to carry the Endeavour from LAX
airport to the Science Center was too heavy to cross the
Manchester Bridge, which was part of the Endeavour’s
intended route.
• Toyota and The California Science Center had an existing
partnership so came together to solve their problems.

5. Research
• The tow was a result of a 20-year partnership between Toyota
and the California Science Center to raise awareness of the
space program and continue public education through exhibits
and events.
• Toyota has contributed between 8 to10 million dollars to the
California Science Center since the 1990’s and has worked
with them over the years to raise awareness about the space
program and exhibitions.
• The Endeavour would travel a total of 12 miles from Los
Angeles International Airport on city streets to the Science
Center, with the Tundra towing the last quarter mile.

6. • They ran several tests before the event by
making a Tundra pull concrete blocks weighing
the same amount as the space shuttle which was
about 300,000lbs
• Toyota did extensive testing and worked with
The Sarens Group, a heavy lifting and
engineered transport company, to develop a dolly
specifically for hauling the Endeavour.
• They loaded two heavy haul trailers weighing
55,000 pounds with concrete blocks weighing
90,000 pounds. A dolly weighing 15,000 pounds
also supported the trailers; this meant the Tundra
towed 307,000 pounds during testing.
• The Endeavour and the dolly being towed together
at the real event weighed close to 300,000 pounds.

7. Goals and Target
Audience
• Goal: To increase positive attitudes about Toyota
trucks, particularly about the strength and power of the
Tundra among consumers
• Target Audience: Males and those who like trucks

8. Objectives
• Toyota sought to create awareness of Toyota trucks
among consumers by garnering media attention about
Toyota’s unique role in transporting the Space Shuttle
Endeavor.
• They also wanted to increase understanding of the
efficient towing capacity and strength of the Toyota
Tundra among consumers by showing that Toyota is fully
capable of towing the Space Shuttle Endeavor to its new
home the California Science Center.

9. Objectives Cont.
• Toyota wanted to make American consumers aware that
the Toyota Tundra is made in the United States and play
off of this information by connecting the Toyota brand
with the Space Shuttle Endeavor, an American icon.
• Toyota wanted to increase sales of the Toyota Tundra in
the U.S and increase awareness of Toyota’s commitment
to the space program and public education by joining
with consumers to donate over $400,000 to the California
Science Center.

10. Tactics: Online Recources
• They created a site for the campaign that host’s videos,
photos and information on the Toyota Endeavor.
• The Challenge-A series of 5 videos
• Click
• Streamed the event live/ NASA posted pictures /#
Spottheshuttle

11. Tactics: Representatives
of Toyota
• Matt McBride –Professional driver and stuntman
• Garret Riesman –Astronaut aboard space shuttle
Endeavor

12. Tactics: Tweet Drive
• “Share with Twitter”

13. Tactics: Finish Line
Celebration
• Created buzz among viewers
• Click

14. Tactics: Activities and
Videos for Children
• Created a Kid’s Corner on event website

15. Tactics: Social
Responsibility
• Toyota also wanted to Increase awareness about space
program through education to ensure campaigns success

16. Evaluation
• The Toyota Tundra Endeavour campaign was successful in
achieving their goal of towing the Endeavour shuttle and
custom made dolly safely to the California Science Center on
October 12, 2012
• The tow Tundra will replace the existing Tundra and will be on
display after the Endeavour exhibit opens on October 30, 2012.
• There was a “finish-line” celebration at Exposition Park when
the shuttle arrived at the Science Center, allowing the public to
witness the finale of this historic voyage, and creating an
opportunity for Toyota to showcase the trucks power.

17. • They gained coverage from numerous media outlets
including, USA Today, The Huffington Post, The LA
Times, CBS News, FOX News, and CNN.
• Toyota did the “Tweet Drive Funding Initiative”
offer. For every tweet sent using the "Share with
Twitter" button on their website, Toyota donated $50
to the California Science Center maximum funding
goal of $500,000.
• The Tweet drive didn’t end until November 30, 2012 so
the information on the actual number is not yet
available, but when last checked the estimated amount
raised was 402,250 so they had not yet reached the goal
of $500,000.
• The campaign only finished in Oct., 2012 so changes
in attitudes and awareness have not yet been
measured. We also could not find out if sales
increased after this campaign.

18. Strengths
• Toyota seized a great opportunity to create brand
awareness by being a part of something that is historical
and newsworthy.
• Toyota really utilized social media, You Tube and their
event website during this campaign.
• Toyota were smart to partner with a museum such as the
California Science Center as it shows the public they care
about helping the community and have an interest in
technology.

19. Weaknesses
• Toyota’s press contacts did not respond to our inquires.
This shows a flaw in their system and reflects poor
relationship management.
• Was research conducted?
• What evaluation methods will they use?
• Could have done more (free Tundra)

20. Discussion
• Did you hear about the Toyota Tundra Endeavour
campaign?
• Do you pay attention to generic tweets from friends, such
as the Toyota prewritten tweet about the event?
• Do you think the fact Toyota donated several million to
the California Science Center prior to the event lead to
their involvement? Is this ok?
• What did you think about the campaign website?