Starting from the case of GAC Toyota Saina, this article introduces how to combine products and social networking to enhance the market influence of the brand, and recommends friends who are interested in brand operation and brand marketing to read and learn.
The automotive industry, as the epitome of modern industry, is comparable in complexity and precision to the "crown jewel of modern industry".
In recent years, there has been a trend in the rapid iteration of automobile manufacturing like consumer electronics, and the pace of new car innovation has been accelerating, which is undoubtedly what consumers are happy to see.
However, nowadays, some new energy vehicles are frequently publicized, many of which focus on displaying functions such as large screens, refrigerators, color TVs, and cool electronic rearview mirrors, and the essence of car manufacturing is less mentioned.
At the same time, in the face of new technologies and new trends, traditional car factories should also give full play to their own technological advantages and carry out marketing innovation with the times.
01 "The best Saina is in China": Saina's upgrade and commitment
As a traditional automobile brand with a deep historical accumulation, GAC Toyota has been adhering to the concept of "making good cars for China" in recent years, and has been constantly innovating and practicing innovation. By carefully optimizing the product line and improving the quality of service, GAC Toyota has won wide recognition in the market.
In 2023, GAC Toyota will sell a total of 901025 units throughout the year, ranking first among Japanese brands and among the top three joint venture brands.
Entering 2024, GAC Toyota continues to maintain a strong momentum of development. The launch of new models, such as the all-new generation of Camry and pure electric SUVs under the Bozhi brand, as well as the continuous innovation of market strategies, have aroused heated discussions among consumers, and sales and word of mouth have shown a positive trend.
These actions fully reflect GAC Toyota's heritage in technology and products, as well as its strong fan base.
In GAC Toyota's product matrix, the Sena is undoubtedly an iconic model. As one of Toyota's representative models, Sena has always been a "celebrity" in the MPV field with its spacious space, comfortable ride experience and reliable quality, and has won the favor of countless family users.
Over the years, Sana has accumulated a large number of loyal users due to these unique advantages, and these user groups not only have a deep affection for Saina, but also GAC Toyota's most valuable brand asset.
The 2024 Toyota Sena has been fully upgraded for the Chinese market and a press conference was held. Without too much rendering, everything goes straight to the point: sincerity and value - the new Sena has upgraded the E-FOUR electronic four-wheel drive system, Face ID recognition system, Qualcomm Snapdragon SA8155P automotive-grade chip, welfare seats and other configurations exclusively for the Chinese market, and the price is discounted by 25,000 yuan.
The new car is equipped with a much higher configuration than other markets in the world to meet the diversified needs of Chinese consumers for high-end MPVs, which can be said to be a veritable exclusive favor for Chinese users.
GAC Toyota also came up with a new slogan for the 2024 Sena – "The Best Sena is in China", which reflects its commitment to providing the best products to Chinese consumers.
Through these new actions, GAC Toyota has once again proved its innovation ability and market insight as a traditional car company.
02 Create a topic matrix, and Sina activates users to shape the brand together
For a traditional car company like Toyota, it has always been an industry leader in terms of products and technology, and it seems to be relatively weak in terms of marketing volume. But in fact, GAC Toyota has a deep brand heritage, and there is no shortage of users who pay attention, but it needs effective communication to show its advantages.
In response to the launch of the new car, GAC Toyota has made a new attempt on social media and launched a series of social marketing activities around Sena.
Through the well-designed topic matrix - industry hot spots + social hot spots, GAC Toyota has successfully mobilized the enthusiasm of users, activated a huge fan base, promoted the release of brand voice, and made GAC Toyota return to the mainstream market discussion.
1. Industry hotspots: precise positioning, user-centric optimization configuration
Product configuration has always been the focus of discussion among users on social networks today.
GAC Toyota Sena has conducted detailed market research in terms of configuration, and has adjusted and upgraded the vehicle configuration. This includes second-row seat upgrades, the E-Four electronic all-wheel drive system, an intelligent cockpit and localized changes.
Through Weibo, the two topics of #The best Saina in China# and #Saina can have more volumes for Chinese families# were launched, and GAC and users discussed the configuration upgrade for the Chinese market. These topics have attracted a wide range of user attention and discussions, demonstrating GAC Toyota's innovation in optimizing product configurations.
In terms of price, GAC Toyota Sena not only effectively conveyed the message of price reduction by launching the topic of #Sena exclusive pet Chinese car owner official drop of 25,000#, but more importantly, it showed that GAC Toyota is willing to provide more cost-effective products for Chinese consumers, and also showed the brand's market acumen and flexibility.
These measures fully embody the new slogan of GAC Toyota Sena - "The best Sena is in China", which truly achieves user-centricity and precise positioning and optimal configuration according to the actual needs of domestic consumers. This not only strengthens the emotional connection between the brand and consumers, but also further consolidates GAC Toyota's leading position in the Chinese market.
2. Social hotspots: Stimulate emotions and empathize with users
In today's automotive market, the functional value of a product is important, but consumers are also inclined to gain emotional value beyond the product.
GAC Toyota Sena has also taken this into account in its promotional activities for the Chinese market. Their #Why are the elderly always absent from family travel# social topic survey launched on Weibo is a typical example.
Unlike Europe and the United States, in China, the elderly are more involved in the lives of their children, from planning their children's weddings to helping their children take care of their children. However, when young people travel with children, the elderly are often absent, because it is difficult for the elderly to adapt to sitting in a car with small space and uncomfortable seats for a long time.
GAC Toyota Sena has insight into this unique pain point, and has upgraded the rear seats for the domestic market from the product design, and upgraded them to the same integrated zero-gravity aviation seats as Alpha, adding functions such as ventilation, heating, massage, and electric adjustment to improve ride comfort. At the same time, there is also a model configuration equipped with electric lifting welfare seats, so it is no longer a problem for the whole family to travel!
This is a manifestation of insight into market demand. In response to this pain point, Sina and the head news media extended this pain point to a social issue, combined with the hot spots of spring travel, and let users discuss together, which resonated with them.
In this way, Sina not only improved the social awareness of the product, but also allowed users to deeply understand the characteristics of the product, and this strategy finally made the topic on the top 31 of Weibo's hot searches.
3. Fan activation: interactive co-creation, KOLs and users co-shape social voices
Traditional car brands with deep historical accumulation have a group of loyal fans, and there are also a large number of KOLs. How to find and activate this group of followers to make them a powerful amplifier for brand marketing is the key to success.
Toyota, for example, has a large number of loyal followers on Weibo, who spontaneously discuss topics such as the configuration and price of the new car. These discussions not only provide brands with a wealth of market insights, but also provide a valuable resource for developing precise marketing strategies.
By listening to the voices of these fans, GAC Toyota Sena is able to find the points that are truly connected to the needs of users, and develop targeted product design and marketing strategies around these points.
After GAC Toyota Sena released the topic of configuration upgrades and price adjustments, it quickly sparked heated discussions among a large number of KOLs and fans. They discussed the various design improvements of the Sena, such as the upgrade of the second-row seats and the addition of the E-Four electronic all-wheel drive system, showing their high level of attention and interest in the Sena.
These designs, based on insights into user needs, have become marketing amplifiers that meet user needs. After the release of the Weibo topic, the fans of Sina not only had a heated discussion, but also actively participated in the content creation, making the topic a hot topic for users, allowing users to spontaneously stand for the brand, which also highlights GAC Toyota's brand heritage and mass base for more than 20 years.
In the end, the three topics have been on the Weibo hot search list, and the highest position on the list is TOP 14, which has significantly improved the brand exposure.
GAC Toyota Saina's marketing strategy is a closed-loop path of insight into market demand, product design improvement, user discussion and verification, and amplification of marketing effects. In this way, GAC Toyota Sena not only activates the potential value of fans, but also successfully transforms user discussion and participation into actual market influence.
03 Conclusion
In the current fierce competition in the automotive industry, product first is still the essence of car manufacturing, and user-centricity is the premise of success. The powerful topic matrix function of the Weibo platform can effectively guide the discussion between KOLs and users, help brands expand their voice, and enable joint venture brands to be on the field, present and not stage frightened in the competition.
In the case of GAC Toyota Saina, by combining products and social hotspots, it not only enhanced the brand's market influence, but also successfully entered the discussion field of the mainstream market, obtained the due brand voice, and successfully demonstrated how traditional car companies can achieve brand voice and market influence expansion through social media strategies, which may be an inspiration for joint venture car brands.
Columnist
Xunkong, WeChat public account: xunkong2005, everyone is a product manager columnist, business observer, social marketing explorer.
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