German Car Zone

cawimmer430 · 11-18-2008, 08:00 PM

It's funny if somebody buys a Toyota, which they then own, and then photographs it, which means they own the pictures too and then you have Toyota knocking on their door expecting to be paid for that. Hilarious.

Osnabrueck · 11-18-2008, 08:12 PM

That's not really it. What's happening is that first-party images are showing up on the website. For instance, some of the Scion images that have been posted are shots produced by their Ad Agency and are only to be published with permission.

So really, it's just a shotgun approach that Toyota is taking.

From a marketing point of view, I don't know if this is a good or bad idea... really at the end of the day Toyota is trying to control their properties and really could give a shit if some guys who frequent a desktop wallpaper site get miffed. On the other hand, Toyota really wants this kind of viral marketing, so it's just a lame situation no matter how you slice it.

Beemer B773ER · 11-18-2008, 10:23 PM

The smart idea might then be to create an online competition where Toyota has a bank of car photos, and the competition is all about creating Toyota wallpapers or merchandise designs which incorporate these images.

Something like this might be good for Toyota and TRD in their attempts to gain respect with NASCAR fans (such as myself!!!)..and of course this can also be applied to the Scion crowd who are into riced-up cars.

Anyone know if any Toyota marketing jobs are available at the moment ?

Monster · 11-19-2008, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beemer B773ER

Well that's pretty freakin' stupid of Toyota!! It's free advertising..and the wallpapers are most likely created for the younger market, which Toyota are definitely trying to capture.
So much for thinking I could email a few of my Toyota Aurion TRD photos to Toyota to see what they say...

Interesting thing though.. I went to my local BMW dealer a few months ago, and I got questioned by one of the employees. Actually.. I wasn't "question", more along the lines of spoken sternly to that I was not allowed to take photos of their vehicle. Funny thing is, prior to that day I had visited that dealer on 10 or so other occassions with my camera in-hand..and I had even walked inside the showroom to take some special photos...yet this particular day the idiot salesman tells me I'm not allowed to take photos. So of course I questioned his reasoning, to which he replied that I'll need to get permission from the manager of the dealership... to which my prompt reply was 'Yep, that's fine. Is the manager in today so I can speak to him and get permission?' .... he paused for a second, and informed that he was in a meeting. Knowing I had this guy on the back foot I requested if I could get the managers business card so I could email him to gain permission. I was then very kindly escorted into the dealership, where the salesman gave me the managers business card.

I haven't been back to the dealership since that day...but I plan to drop by some time soon. Should be interesting to see what happens this time around.

Which BMW dealership did you go to ? I got a feeling you went to the one in Paramatta

martinbo · 11-19-2008, 06:48 AM

Paramatta?!? Strewth mate - I had ding dong good party in a Paramatta night club once!

cawimmer430 · 11-19-2008, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beemer B773ER

The smart idea might then be to create an online competition where Toyota has a bank of car photos, and the competition is all about creating Toyota wallpapers or merchandise designs which incorporate these images.

Something like this might be good for Toyota and TRD in their attempts to gain respect with NASCAR fans (such as myself!!!)..and of course this can also be applied to the Scion crowd who are into riced-up cars.

Anyone know if any Toyota marketing jobs are available at the moment ?

That is a great idea. Even I would participate in that (in the hopes of gaining experience and having fun).

Osnabrueck · 11-19-2008, 12:25 PM

Marketers are trying that stuff all the time - to get fans to create their own viral content with the official blessing of the brand.

Problem is, it never works. If you ask people "Hey guys, go do something for us - it'll be awesome!" you end up getting the wrong people and/or you can't control what they create. You ask people to create Toyota wallpapers and they end up making something like "Jap Rice is Trash - Buy American" and post it on your officially-sanctioned fan site.

It just never works out the way you want, which is why places like this become the real viral marketing venues - because they've grown organically.

All in all, it's probably the wrong move for Toyota to do this. The neg far outweights the positive.

Beemer B773ER · 11-19-2008, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monster

Which BMW dealership did you go to ? I got a feeling you went to the one in Paramatta

Ding! Ding! Ding!.. you guessed right mate!

The dealership itself is awesome, and apart from this one instance the people there have been pretty nice. The only other dealership I've taken photos at is Toyota, and on one occassion I took photos without a worry, but on another occassion a salesman very kindly asked me what the photos were going to be used for... I simply stated that they were personal photos since I'm into cars and into photography..and he was totally fine with that.

Quote:

Marketers are trying that stuff all the time - to get fans to create their own viral content with the official blessing of the brand.

Problem is, it never works. If you ask people "Hey guys, go do something for us - it'll be awesome!" you end up getting the wrong people and/or you can't control what they create. You ask people to create Toyota wallpapers and they end up making something like "Jap Rice is Trash - Buy American" and post it on your officially-sanctioned fan site.

Well I guess someone would need to filter through what is submitted. Only legitimate attempts would be accepted and posted online. I'm not too sure what the ROI would be for such a campaign, but it sure could be a simple tool when launching a new vehicle aimed at youthful market.

Quote:

All in all, it's probably the wrong move for Toyota to do this. The neg far outweights the positive.

That I completely agree with. Bad publicity.

Monster · 11-19-2008, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beemer B773ER

Ding! Ding! Ding!.. you guessed right mate!

The dealership itself is awesome, and apart from this one instance the people there have been pretty nice. The only other dealership I've taken photos at is Toyota, and on one occassion I took photos without a worry, but on another occassion a salesman very kindly asked me what the photos were going to be used for... I simply stated that they were personal photos since I'm into cars and into photography..and he was totally fine with that.

The dealership itself looks fantastic, but I will never step foot inside it ever again. I had to deal with them before, I got the feeling I am being constantly monitored, and they adpot a 'take it or leave' attitude when dealing with customers.

Beemer B773ER · 11-19-2008, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monster

The dealership itself looks fantastic, but I will never step foot inside it ever again. I had to deal with them before, I got the feeling I am being constantly monitored, and they adpot a 'take it or leave' attitude when dealing with customers.

You got that right.. I definitely get that feeling that they're watching every little thing I do..and I can tell they don't like the fact that a person like myself (young, clearly not a prospective customer, not dressed overly sophisticated, and with coloured skin) is not very welcome at the dealership. I feel absolutely out of place whenever I actually walk into the showroom... the stares I get.... it's a good thing I've dealt with that sort of treatment since I was young so I don't give a sh!t what they really think of me.

But next time I go down there, I'll very politely walk straight into the showroom and up to the reception desk and request if I could speak with the manager of the dealership so as to gain permission to take personal photos. Better to be on the front foot with those folks at that dealership... what's the worst they can do... say 'No you can't".

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German Car Zone

Toyota Demands Payment For Fan Created Wallpapers