Toyota is making a bid for its popular Corolla line to appeal to tech-savvy millennials with a campaign that puts mobile at the center of digital advertising, television, out-of-home and social media efforts.

Toyota?s new campaign for the 2014 Corolla is leveraging mobile to hit a millennial audience that is looking to buy their first real car to accelerate their career. Toyota worked with Saatchi & Saatchi LA to develop the ?Elevate? campaign?s theme.

?Mobile advertising is rapidly growing and an important component of the 2014 Corolla Campaign,? said Lisa McQueen, national media planner at Toyota, Torrance, CA.

?The young millennial audience this campaign targets is always connected and relies heavily on their mobile devices to stay informed,? she said.

Mobile test drive
Toyota is rolling out billboards and outdoor signs in major markets including Los Angeles and New York that are equipped with near-field communications. Consumers with an NFC-supported phone will be able to tap their mobile device against the ad to unlock a virtual test drive.

The out-of-home ads will also include a printing process that triggers key features such as the car's LED headlights to light up at night.

Mobile media supporting the campaign will drive traffic to http://touch.toyota.com/corolla. A button on the site encourages consumers to take the car for a spin through an experience that leverages rich media to navigate a car down a street.

Consumers have to swipe their finger vertically across the screen to propel the car. As the car makes its way down the street, users can tap to learn more about 10 different areas of the car.

At the end of the test drive consumers are taken to a landing page where they can customize a Corolla, book a test drive, find a dealership or request a quote.

Toyota is also running an iAd campaign that the car brand claims will keep consumers engaged and dole out free music downloads in exchange for exploring features of the car.

A campaign image

Social, TV reach
Toyota is also gearing up its social and television elements with mobile elements.

The campaign also includes a 60-second television spot that syncs with the Shazam mobile application. Consumers who tag the audio spot using the Shazam app can download the songs featured in the campaign and access the same virtual test drive feature that is on Toyota?s mobile site.

The TV spot plays up the dance and music in pop culture in the past five decades.

According to Toyota, a sweepstakes will also be integrated into the TV spot with an experience that will take place inside movie theaters.

To build on the TV ads, Toyota will also create Vine and Instagram videos that show consumers how to replicate popular dance moves throughout the five decades.

Mobile video will also be incorporated with the hashtag #CorollaStyle and a campaign that encourages consumers to submit clips that show off their own style.

Toyota has made mobile a staple in similar media buys in the past to target millennials.

For example, Toyota rolled out a campaign in 2012 to promote its Prius C line of cars with a series of mobile partnerships (see story).

?Technology has been elevated, both inside the Corolla and out, and the accompanying marketing campaign showcases those features through mobile, digital and social media elements,? Ms. McQueen said.

?Extensive customer research tells us that mobile and new technology is an important part of the Corolla buyers' life,? she said. ?The likelihood that this audience will discover the campaign via their mobile devices is very high. As such, we aim to engage these drivers via mobile platforms, which is very unique to this campaign for Toyota.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter at Mobile Marketer, New York