Business

Saturday July 21, 2012

Toyota stays ahead with iSnap which bridges the gap between traditional and digital media

By EUGENE MAHALINGAM
eugenicz@thestar.com.my


UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd believes that The Star’s new augmented reality feature, iSnap, will help to bridge the gap between traditional and digital media - and in the process enhance the appeal of the country’s leading English daily.

“Traditional medium like the newspapers is moving with time. It is no longer confined to texts and images only. Reading a newspaper can now be very enjoyable with the iSnap function. This innovative tool by The Star bridges the connection between traditional and digital media.

“It helps to increase the return on investment of our adverts in terms of expanding the boundaries of what information can be included in a full page ad. It is a revolutionary step by The Star, to evolve its traditional platform to bring life to whatever we intend to communicate in the print ad,” UMW Toyota Motor president Ismet Suki tells StarBizWeek.

Ismet says that when the UMW Toyota Motor first heard about the iSnap feature, the company was “very excited” and immediately took the opportunity to be part of the first group of advertisers to participate in the new technology.

Ismet: ‘It helps to increase the return on investment of our adverts in terms of expanding the boundaries of what information can be included in a full page ad.’

“We have already incorporated the iSnap feature in all Toyota and Lexus ads since April 23 this year and readers will get to view the product videos, photo galleries and register for test drives with us.

“The iSnap feature also benefits our marketing strategy as it allows our customers to obtain more information about our product while on the go.”

Lexus Malaysia is a division of UMW Toyota Motor.

“Under the company’s spirit of Kaizen (Japanese word for improvement), we continually reinvent ourselves, introduce new technologies and stay ahead of the competition. The iSnap function fits in well with our vision and mission as both UMW Toyota Motor and The Star share the same sentiment,” says Ismet.

“As the forefront in technology and innovation, we always pursue new ways or technologies to connect with people and deliver to the needs of those we serve. We put high priority and attention to customers’ needs and demands.”

Ismet points out that the lifestyle of UMW Toyota Motor’s customers today is changing rapidly, with more people accessing information through their tablets or smart devices.

“In order to stay relevant to customers, we need to explore new creative tools to interact with them (and) iSnap is one of the avenues for us to achieve that as we are able to bring our ad content to life for our customers.

“It is very convenient as they can get more information beyond what is displayed in the ad.”

Ismet says that with the iSnap technology, interaction with customers can now be more fun and informative.

“For example, we are currently running our nationwide roadshow and by incorporating the iSnap feature in the ad, customers would be able check out the latest and attractive promotions that we are offering when they purchase a car.

“In another words, we are able to tell people more information about our brand and products but more importantly, it allows us to connect with a potential customers in the right frame of mind when he or she is already interested to find out more.

“We hope iSnap can support the brand in terms of awareness and consideration stage of the purchase funnel which is a crucial step to secure a potential customer. We see iSnap as the latest platform for us to build brand affinity.”

Toyota’s market share in the non-national segment has been steadily increasing since early this year. The company’s market share stood at 17.2% compared with 13.5% in the same period last year.

“Our sales momentum has been very encouraging. Since the beginning of this year, we have introduced a few interesting new models such as the new Avanza, Prius, Prius C, Camry, Toyota 86, Lexus GS, Lexus RX and some improvement models will follow suit later this year.

“Today, customers’ buying trends focuses on technology, design and value for money. Under the company’s theme of One Team - Customer First, UMW Toyota Motor puts high priority and attention to customers’ needs and demands,” says Ismet.

He says that with the introduction of new models this year, UMW Toyota Motor will continue to monitor and make available models to suit the taste and needs of the Malaysian consumers.

“All buying trends which will fulfill customers’ preference in purchasing a vehicle are made available in a reliable brand known as Toyota. Fulfilling our customer’s needs and demand, UMW Toyota Motor’s market share will expand and continue to capture the automotive market.”

Ismet does not deny that the local automotive is very competitive.

“Everyone in the industry is very competitive nowadays. The Korean and European brands are very active in promoting their products while the hybrid market size is expanding at a promising rate with so many new models being introduced into the market this year.”

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