Scion, a division of Toyota, wanted to carve out a niche among younger auto buyers. They wanted to solidify their brand as the choice of young thrill seekers, thereby increasing sales in a very competitive category. Capitalizing on the street racing fad of "drifting," Scion made a considerable investment in Scion Racing; sponsoring teams and drivers in a number of racing categories. The categories in which Scion competed, however, were getting little or no coverage through traditonal offline media. Mercati was tasked to help Scion communicate their racing commitment to their target segment.
Mercati developed a Scion Racing "digital channel" on their Web site. This afforded them "TV coverage" not being provided through offline TV. By leveraging Facebook and Twitter, fans could keep up to date on race results, and go to the Scion Racing Web site to watch video streams of the races and features on the drivers Mercati had produced for them. By signing up, fans could get results texted to their phones. They could download the videos or post them on their own Facebook pages, thereby using the internet to extend the reach of Scion Racing without the support of broadcast television.
Scion Racing has now seen it's membership grow for the fifth straight year. Positive Brand Awareness is up 17% since the start of the Scion Racing Channel, resulting in a 7% sales increase in this competitive segment.
