Car manufacturer Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. is ramping up its mobile strategy for the new Prius C with a round of mobile advertising and partnerships, including integration into the Words with Friends and Urbanspoon applications.

The mobile media buys are part of a Toyota?s multichannel campaign to promote the new Prius car. Toyota is working with agency Saatchi & Saatchi LA on the campaign. 

?By design, Toyota's mobile properties exist to provide a seamless shopping experience for the consumer on their mobile devices,? said Sona Iliffe-Moon at Toyota, Torrance, CA.

?Toyota has a two-pronged mobile approach?mobile browser and the Shopping Tool App ?specifically designed to allow consumers to research vehicles, find dealers and request quotes,? she said.

?The brand also engages in mobile marketing tactics, offering consumers more touch points for access to product news and information.?

Toyota has partnered with Hasbro on the campaign, which is inspired by the board game Life. The campaign is using the Life theme to show how the Prius can help consumers overcome bumps in their daily lives. 

The mobile ads will be appearing in the Yahoo, YouTube, Huffington Post, Amazon and College Humor mobile properties.

Additionally, Toyota is running a mobile ads in the Urbanspoon app that will let users spin a mobile wheel to play a game.

Part of Toyota?s sponsorship will also include a spot in the Words with Friends mobile app. Users who spell words associated with the Prius C car will receive extra points.

A mobile Prius C application for Amazon?s Kindle Fire will also be available in the coming months to show interested consumers specifics on the car model.

The car company also has digital partnerships with YouTube, Facebook, Hulu and Pandora for the campaign as well as traditional advertising with television, print and out-of-home components.

Car manufacturers have tested mobile marketing for years, but what makes the Toyota campaign unique is that a significant portion of the company?s launch campaign is allotted to mobile.

With the digital media buys, Toyota is taking a different approach than many car manufacturers because the Prius C line is aimed at young, tech-savvy consumers.  

Mobile is increasingly being used as part of larger digital campaigns that include Web and mobile components as a way for a brand to align a specific product with a new group of consumers

For example, Tide recently launched a multichannel campaign that pushed mobile via a microsite and a QR code initiative (see story).

?Mobile gives automotive manufacturers an opportunity to extend their reach and further connect with their customers,? Ms. Iliffe-Moon said.

?Consumers are better able to engage with brands and access product information whenever and wherever they are,? she said.