Toyota Takes Another Step Towards the GM Way

Toyota has been remarkably upfront about its struggles with “Big Company Syndrome.” The fate of Toyota’s predecessor as the world’s largest automaker is an unavoidable example of what awaits giant manufacturers that lose their focus. And yet, as Toyota has replaced GM as the big daddy of car building, it keeps making eerily familiar mistakes. And its no surprise that Toyota’s challenges tend to center around marketing and brand management (hello, Scion). Toyota’s brand is a by-product of its obsession with manufacturing, rather than an independently developed, carefully-maintained image. The trademark Toyota brand qualities of quality and reliability are built on dedication and reputation, not the modern-day alchemy of marketing, sales strategies and brand-pushing. So why is Toyota telling Automotive News [sub] that it’s creating a wholly-owned subsidiary to coordinate global marketing and advertising? And why is Akio Toyoda going to be running the new marketing realm?

This new subsidiary “will handle advertising, sales promotion and global marketing strategy,” explain Toyota spokesfolk. “It will focus on marketing issues globally and help create a unified message.” But where’s the confusion about Toyota’s brand? At least in the US market even Toyota’s competitors agree that the Toyota name is synonymous with industry-leading. And not because you meet the nicest people when your Toyota speaks bold moves like a rock; because getting products right always came before marketing. In this sense, Toyota is almost an anti-brand.

Moreover, Toyota’s steadfast integration of development, production and marketing around each vehicle line has long been held up as one of its keys to success. Marketing information is crucial to development and design, and visa-versa; it was for this very reason that Toyota pioneered its “heavyweight project manager” model. So why create a separate marketingland now? New fiefdoms rarely improve focus, as proven by GM’s internecine fueding during its long decline. Decoupling marketing from the rest of the business feels like another step towards distraction for the world‘s (and now Canada‘s) leading automaker.