Toyota May Face a Public Relations Obstacle or Opportunity

When I was in college studying public relations and communications, dealing with the flow of messages in times of crisis was often a topic of discussion and case studies. At the time of my graduation, getting the finger from a bowl of Wendy’s chili was about the most recent case study being trumpeted. Tylenol’s unprecedented 1980s tampering recall and Pepsi’s video feeds that countered accusations of syringe-laced cola were overblown examples of successful crisis communications.

In Communications Campaigns, the “capstone” course to my major, as a final project I worked with a group developing a marketing and PR plan for the launch of the Toyota Matrix. We worked from an American Advertising Federation case study. In the competitive analysis that I researched and wrote, I mentioned a PR battle Toyota was facing as it was poised to take over GM as the world’s largest automaker: Many people, especially patriotic Americans, saw Toyota as a foreign bully to the ailing General.

And now the tire has shifted to the other wheel. Toyota’s sticky gas pedals have the company freezing sales and halting manufacturing of eight of its top-selling models. While definitely a blow to the company’s bottom line, this has the potential to be a PR crisis. But out of crises are born opportunities. So far Toyota has taken a proactive approach. Dealerships, while definitely suffering along with the parent company, are complying with suspended sales. Rental fleets are bound to face shortages as most rental companies have pulled offending Toyotas off the road for now. As I departed Charlotte Airport on January 28, I noticed corralled Corollas and marshaled Matrixes, all parked along the fringes of Rental Car Road.

GM claims that its dealers are seeing a resurgent interest in its brands as Toyotas are either unavailable or undesirable.

Will the darling of the auto industry be able to bounce back? I think they’ve begun a good approach to an unfortunate situation. How fast they can get loyal customers’ cars back on the road with safe accelerators, and how many more incidents surface with stuck throttles will be determining factors in retaining brand loyalty. If Toyota can make history by offering record-fast repairs, and suitable compensation, this could all turn into a bundle of good PR for them. Out of crises come opportunities. I’ll be interested to see what develops from Toyota’s present misfortune.

See USA Today coverage of unfolding Toyota events

A Quick Aside…

Visiting Charlotte this past week, I rented a Toyota Yaris. Wednesday as I watched the morning news in my hotel, I was glad to see Yaris wasn’t among the recalled Toyota models. With about 100 horsepower and similar lb/feet numbers, I doubt a stuck throttle would’ve made the Yaris go so fast as to be a danger on the roadways anyhow.

While reliable, functional, and excellent on gas, one has to wonder how Toyota has such a solid reputation building crap like this. The Yaris has cheap plastic fixtures, exposed hardware, and a power plant that lets you know it’s only running on four cylinders. Why is the speedometer in the middle of the dash?! I constantly looked above the steering wheel only to wonder where the speedo went. Headroom for me at well over six feet was plentiful and the view was largely unobstructed. I suppose for what it is, the Yaris is a good choice: Economical, reliable, and a heck of lot less trendy (and costly) than a Smart Fortwo or a Prius.

The Yaris I drove around Charlotte parked at the Tyvola Lynx Park & Ride.