Toyota on the road to recovery
A TV commercial aims to inspire hope in the vehicle brand.
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Toyota has released a video demonstrating the recovery activities at its Prospecton Plant in Durban. This facility produces Corolla Cross and Quest, Hilux, Hiace Ses’fikile and Fortuner – while also assembling a variety of Hino commercial vehicles. Hino assembly resumed on May 23.
The video is an emotional rollercoaster showing large volumes of water gushing through residential and industrial areas at high speeds, then followed by images of the Toyota Prospecton Plant immersed in water.
However, there is a twist, which is in line with the brief that stipulated that the TV commercial must “not cause grief but inspire hope”. We therefore see upbeat Toyota employees commencing mop-up operations at the plant. The advert ends with vehicles rolling off the assembly line with the promise that “we will soon be back to building Mzansi’s favourite vehicles”.
According to Glenn Crompton, vice president of marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors (TSASM), “In addition to inspiring hope among internal staff and customers, we wanted this commercial to reassure all stakeholders, including our suppliers and dealers, that we are committed to both the local automotive industry as well as the South African economy. We believe in the resilience of the Toyota brand as well as the customers who have supported us for more than 60 years in this country.”
Toyota has also created an internal slogan for its recovery called “Rebuilding Better Together”. This shows how TSAM employees work together as one team to find a way to renew and improve the facility. While a considerable amount of recovery work has been undertaken at the plant, it is still unclear as to when the full resumption of operations will take place.
The one person who cannot wait for the plant to reopen is TSAM’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, Leon Theron. “We want to assure customers who have been impacted by this natural disaster that we are doing everything in our power to get vehicles on order to their rightful owners.
“Our latest TV commercial is also a vote of confidence to the local market for having made us the most popular automotive brand in South Africa for 42 consecutive years. We are as committed to this country’s people as we are to building vehicles that they love. We promise to come back even stronger.”
Please click here to watch the TVC
Source: MotorPress