Toyota's New Brand, Web Site and Kiosk Experience Crafted by Next-Generation Consultancy...Cool Dude

    LOS ANGELES--March 27, 2002--Fresh Machine, a next-generation consultancy, has joined forces with Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. to launch the automaker's new brand for youth-oriented vehicles -- SCION. The brand is being unveiled at the New York Auto Show today, March 27, 2002.
    Design veteran and Fresh Machine founder Rick Bolton says, "Toyota's SCION aims to connect in a new way with a new generation of car owners. Fresh Machine is focused on design and innovation, and this project was a wonderful fit for us. Since we're also very focused on our clients, it was great to have an opportunity to work with Toyota and help the SCION team succeed in this important new venture."
    Brian Bolain, National Manager of the SCION team, says, "Fresh Machine understood our vision and desire to represent SCION in a manner that resonated with our target buyer. Their knowledge of this particular market's preferences and sensibilities was a welcome complement to our own ideas, as was their ability to execute a project of this scale."
    Fresh Machine landed the account in September 2001 when Toyota was looking for innovative partners to help them reach out to the youth market. Joining the launch at an early phase, Fresh Machine's creative team was challenged to begin developing the brand before the product itself was unveiled to them. Fresh Machine joined forces with The Rebel Organization, an affiliate of URB Magazine, to collaborate on the brand design. Presented with the SCION name, the two groups worked together to establish the identity for the SCION family of products, including the design of the SCION logo and the badge that will be placed on the cars themselves.
    Josh Levine of The Rebel Organization says, "We enjoyed our collaboration with Fresh Machine. Their approach to brand development brought out the best in all of us, and as a result, we created a great new brand for SCION that we feel will stand the test of time."
    Along with brand development, Fresh Machine provided a host of creative services to Toyota during the launch. Fresh Machine produced the Web site introducing SCION to the public. The Web site, located at www.scion.com, offers music downloads, lifestyle articles, opinion polls, photos and video previews of the cars, along with ways for the visitors to request additional information.
    The screen experience for SCION's kiosk displays -- to be unveiled this week at the New York Auto Show -- was also developed by Fresh Machine.
    Bolton says, "Our approach was to create a lifestyle experience for Web site visitors. The site aims to communicate the values of the SCION lineup. The site is hip, streamlined, technological (without being geeky!), and loaded with visual imagery. As SCION moves forward, the values embodied on the site will be tied to specific cars."
    Fresh Machine, now in its second year of operations, is a next-generation consultancy providing strategy, branding and creative services for a wide variety of clients, with a focus on interactive media and emerging technology. The team at Fresh Machine brings nearly three decades of design and management consulting experience to every project. Fresh Machine's clients include Harvard University, DreamWorks Records, the UK Visual Effects Group, Bay State Community Services and, of course, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. The company is headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, in the burgeoning creative district surrounding the new SCI-Arc campus, and can be found online at www.freshmachine.com