Toyota Motor Sales Taps Oddcast For Groundbreaking Interactive Ad Campaign
NEW YORK--Oct. 30, 2001--Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., and Oddcast (www.oddcast.com), a leading provider of consumer friendly interactive media applications, are launching a landmark marketing campaign to support the introduction of Toyota's all-new 2003 Matrix, a pioneer in the cross-over utility vehicle category.The campaign allows visitors to www.toyota.com, to preview the Matrix, which launches in February of 2002, by creating their own Internet-based music video of the new car using Oddcast's VideoMixer(TM) application.
The program, called StudioMatrix, includes sample audio tracks and visual assets from a Matrix music video created by legendary director Hype Williams, enabling web users to mix their own music video as part of a StudioMatrix contest which will run from October 11, 2001 through January 23, 2002. For the duration of the contest period, the online StudioMatrix community will vote on the best user created videos. Every three weeks, finalists will be selected at random from the top 100 videos voted by users. Then, finalists qualify to participate in a random drawing, where one winner will be given an all-new 2003 Matrix.
"The campaign seeks to build brand awareness and enthusiasm for the all-new Toyota Matrix model," says Steve Sturm, vice president of marketing Toyota Motor Sales, USA Inc.. "With Oddcast's VideoMixer(TM), we are pushing the envelope in the emerging trend of entertainment-based advertising on the web and creating a true personal connection with the Toyota brand, while simultaneously generating customer awareness for the new model car."
"We are very excited about this campaign and working with Toyota and their agency Saatchi & Saatchi," says Adi Sideman, founder and chief executive officer, Oddcast. "The campaign brings to the forefront Saatchi & Saatchi's innovative creative direction and Oddcast's media tools that allows users to create and interact with a known and respected brand such as Toyota in a new and entertaining way."
About Oddcast & VideoMixer(TM)
Headquartered in New York City, Oddcast specializes in rich-media software applications that allow end-users or web administrators to design and publish interactive multimedia such as music video clips, virtual hosts, and karaoke songs. Oddcast's clients include HBO, BET, Infinity Broadcasting, Warner Bros., Cablevision, the Government of Canada and Universal Music Group among others.
The Oddcast platform enables media companies to make money and/or market their products without waiting for widespread broadband connections, by delivering interactive experiences via dial-up Internet connections. Oddcast applications originate on the Web, but can be played back via telephone, television, game console or PDA. For more information visit www.oddcast.com.
VideoMixer(TM) is the web's preeminent consumer level editing tool. It puts users in the editor's chair, allowing them to make shot-by-shot decisions to create custom music videos or narrative, dialogue driven movies. Harnessed to a dynamic library of Flash animations, videos and still photos, users can select from an endless media database to make one-of-a-kind creations that they can then save, email to friends or post to a site competition.
About Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. (TMS) is the sales, marketing, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota in the U.S. and is a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. Through a network of nearly 1,400 Toyota and Lexus dealers, it has achieved sales of more than 1 million vehicles annually over the past 11 years. TMS' goal is to become the "most successful and respected car company in America." Toyota Motor Corp. and its manufacturing subsidiaries produced more than 5.8 million vehicles worldwide in calendar year 2000. Toyota vehicles are manufactured in 25 countries and are renowned for their quality, reliability and value. Toyota is the third-largest vehicle manufacturer and the fourth-largest automaker in North America.