Toyota Shifts Gears to 'Put It In Play'

Festival Combines Playground Fun With Grown Up Cars

TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 24 -- Toyota is bringing back some classic playground games and putting them on four wheels for an eight-city vehicle test-drive festival called "Put It In Play."

Put It In Play will kick off in San Francisco on Aug. 28 - 29. In each city, one-million square-feet of outdoor space will be turned into an adult playground, featuring familiar childhood games with a twist; they'll be played behind the wheel of a car. Participants will compete for prizes while driving a Toyota Matrix, Corolla or Celica in motorized versions of Vehicular Dodgeball, Red Light/Green Light, Capture the Checkered Flag and Pro Driver Speed Tag.

Admission is free to the public and consumers can register to play at www.putitinplay.com. Attendees must be at least 18 years old and present a valid driver's license to participate in driving activities. All other activities are open to attendees of all ages. Other playground activities and lifestyle games include car-e-oke, four-door musical chairs, dodgeball and Pop-A-Shot.

"Put It In Play allows consumers to test vehicles in a fun, entertaining way," said Jim Lentz, group vice president of marketing for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. "This group of consumers is looking to infuse more 'play' in adulthood and this program helps them do just that."

Targeting 18 - 34 year-old consumers (sometimes referred to as "rejuveniles" for their desire to extend their college and "fun" years), Put It In Play activities are designed to demonstrate key safety and performance features on Toyota vehicles as participants compete in driving games.

The festival will be supported with multiple marketing elements including print and radio advertising in each market, online advertising and grass roots outreach such as sidewalk chalk art, wall projections, in-store handouts and street teams. The street teams will visit high traffic areas in each market with information about the event as well as live dodgeball target practice allowing people to get ready for the upcoming competitions the week leading up to the local Put It In Play event.

The more traditional advertising component will focus on outlets reaching the core 18 - 34 year-old audience including alternative weekly newspapers; classic rock, alternative rock, Spanish and urban radio stations; and e-media including PDA advertising, Avant Go, MTV.com, VH1.com, Yahoo! Mail, Launch & Games, E! Online and CBS Sportsline. The integrated campaign was developed by Los Angeles-based marketing agency Ground Zero.

After San Francisco, Put It In Play will head for Chicago (Sept. 11 - 12), New York (Sept. 18 - 19), Philadelphia (Sept. 25 - 26), Cleveland (Oct. 2 - 3), Miami (Oct. 9 - 10), Dallas (Oct. 16 - 17) and Los Angeles (Oct. 23-24).

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion in the United States, marketing products and services through a network of 1,415 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers in 49 states. Established in 1957, TMS and is subsidiaries also are involved in distribution logistics, motorsports, R&D and general aviation. The company's main Web site is www.toyota.com.