Community Site Developed by Saatchi & Saatchi LA and Firstborn Invites

Owners to Create the Content

    NEW YORK, Jan. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., a
 leading manufacturer of energy efficient vehicles, today announced the
 re-launch of its Web site for Toyota hybrid owners
 (www.toyota.com/hybrids), a community that has grown exponentially in
 recent years.
     Designed by Saatchi & Saatchi LA and Enjoy User Experience and
 developed/produced by Firstborn (www.firstbornmultimedia.com) along with
 Vital Stream, the site explores the amazing diversity of Toyota Hybrid
 Synergy Drive (HSD) owners by inviting them to create profiles of their
 reasons for owning a hybrid vehicle.
     "Toyota's more than 600,000 hybrid owners are very passionate about
 their vehicles and the reasons they drive them," said Gregg Benkendorfer,
 National Manager of Media Strategy and Digital Marketing for Toyota. "The
 new community site taps into that excitement by letting users visually
 represent themselves through graphic art and video. Members will help
 promote the HSD brand as they evangelize about their own personal
 experiences."
     The Toyota site allows users to view owners by a host of attributes,
 from age group to vehicle color. Most importantly, it offers hybrid owners
 the opportunity to share their reasons for driving a hybrid and to provide
 some statistics about themselves and their vehicles. Each and every
 community member is visually represented, with their profile searchable and
 viewable in a variety of ways, making the forum a great way to see the
 diversity of community members.
     The site also includes fun features such as an interactive distance
 map, which charts how much further Toyota hybrid vehicles travel than
 ordinary cars, and a gas savings calculator.
     "The HSD site is based on the theme that everyone has their own reasons
 for owning a Toyota hybrid," said Peter Kang, interactive creative director
 for Saatchi & Saatchi LA. "Whether it's the fuel economy, the technology or
 the environment, we're fueling the movement toward HSD vehicles at a
 grassroots level by bringing to light the many tangible benefits."
     Saatchi & Saatchi LA joined forces with Firstborn to bring the site to
 life with dynamic visualization of member data and their reasons for owning
 a hybrid. The site provides a palette of concepts, statements, imagery and
 sounds for users to choose from to help them illustrate their reasons.
 Users also can personalize their reasons with their own images and video
 clips.
     "We are thrilled to be part of developing a site that celebrates and
 encourages environmental awareness," said Michael Ferdman, president,
 Firstborn. "The blueprint for the site is simple: let everyone see all of
 the reasons why people choose Toyota hybrid vehicles, in a visually cool
 and compelling way. We wanted to develop a site where people could have a
 lot of fun exploring and being part of this unique 'green' community."
     About Toyota Motor Corporation
     Toyota is the world leader in sales of hybrid vehicles. Toyota and
 Lexus combined offer five hybrid models in the United States in the
 mid-sized sedan, SUV and sports car segments. In all, Toyota's hybrid
 vehicles have saved over 150 million gallons of gas in the United States,
 and avoided more than 3 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. Hybrid
 sales are led by the Prius, which topped 500,000 worldwide in April. This
 year alone, Toyota will sell more than 100,000 Prius in the U.S., which
 features Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive.
     Aside from Hybrid technology, the company's environmental initiatives
 in North America include: recycling, reducing landfill waste, conserving
 natural resources, using renewable energy, and nurturing strong
 partnerships with organizations like the U.S. National Parks Service,
 National Public Lands Day, National Arbor Day Foundation, Audubon Society,
 the American Lung Association, and EMA.
     About Saatchi & Saatchi LA
     Saatchi & Saatchi LA's dream is to positively influence U.S. popular
 culture. Since its founding in 1975, the West Coast office of Saatchi &
 Saatchi has been creating world-famous creative ideas on behalf of its
 clients. The agency recently made history with its campaign to launch the
 Toyota Yaris, which included the first ever ad-sponsored "mobisodes" of
 Fox's "Prison Break." The agency picked up two Bronze Lions at Cannes 2006,
 including one for Toyota Tacoma "Tide," the only U.S. automotive spot to
 medal at the festival. Saatchi & Saatchi LA is the agency of record for
 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., and it also serves Toyota Dealer Associations
 and Procter & Gamble.
     About Firstborn
     Firstborn is a renowned interactive design and technology studio with
 headquarters in New York and Los Angeles. Through its innovative use of
 technology applications, unparalleled project management and award-winning
 design expertise, Firstborn helps marketers create meaningful brand
 experiences that achieve strategic business objectives in sales, marketing,
 training and communications. Since its inception in 1997, Firstborn has
 provided breakthrough interactive solutions for a diverse range of high-
 profile brands and worked with some of the world's top advertising
 agencies. For more information, please visit www.firstbornmultimedia.com.
 
 

SOURCE Firstborn