The University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman), De La Salle University Manila (DLSU Manila), and De La Salle College of Saint Benilde Antipolo (DLS CSB Antipolo) won the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes respectively, at the first-ever 2019 Toyota Young Marketeers Challenge.
The winning teams of the inaugural Toyota marketing competition won technology packages and cash grants for their schools, with the grand champion getting the chance to have their winning campaign brought to life by Toyota for their marketing campaigns.
The UP team was awarded the grand prize of MacBook Airs, a P250,000 school grant, and a free trip to the home of Toyota in Japan, during the final pitch competition held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bonifacio Global City on October 8, 2019.
University of the Philippines Diliman bested 9 other finalist schools that presented Vios marketing ideas to Toyota Motor Philippines’ officials, including the company’s president, Satoru Suzuki.
The University of the Philippines team of William Alonso, Samantha Ching, Hanna Laurel, and Nathan Oranga won for transforming the Toyota Vios car into “Vio”, a race car driver who helps people.
The champion team developed their “Vio” from data collected through market research as well as a review of advertising campaigns conducted by Toyota and other brands.
“One of the things we realized is that purchasing a car is not just all about the needs or the functional things you want out of it, but more of the emotional satisfaction that you get. The connection that you have with the car and where you want to be, just by having that car—there’s a huge opportunity in trying to communicate that emotional benefit,” explained William Alonso about the results of their research.
Samantha Ching added, “We really saw that people found functional ads for cars very undifferentiated. They’re all very much alike, so we really wanted to stand out by proposing something new, that catered more to the emotional side of things. It’s really a skill that you won’t learn unless you apply it somehow. This competition gave us an avenue to do that.”
“I think that’s the core of marketing. You really have to drill it down to the specifics. Right now, marketing is starting to get very complex. People really want everything very tailor-fit and personal according to who you’re talking to. I think that’s the base of it. And that’s something that we learned in Toyota,” shared Hanna Laurel about their experience in the competition.
Nathan Oranga points out the strengths of their winning marketing campaign, “We realized that in the industry right now, all the cars just talked about which car has better entertainment systems, which car has larger interior space, which car has the better colors. But no one really talks about which car will help you actually try to achieve your dreams. There are cars that brag about style, but then after three years break down.”
“We wanted to show that the Vios trademark, the Vios brand, is something that you could really rely on. It’s something that would help first-time car owners or drivers in their journey to succeed, or do whatever they want to do,” Oranga added.
The UP champion team’s research into preferences of millennials pointed out to car durability. The students then went on to highlight the key features of the Vios in their campaign, among them, the reliability of finding parts when something breaks down.
The UP Diliman team went into the finals of the Toyota Marketeers Challenge among the Top 10 finalist schools:
* Centro Escolar University
* Colegio de San Juan de Letran
* De La Salle College of St. Benilde
* De La Salle College of St. Benilde Antipolo
* De La Salle University
* Far Eastern University
* Miriam College
* University of Makati
* University of Santo Tomas
* University of the Philippines
De La Salle University Manila emerged in second place with prizes including iPads and a school grant of P100,000. The team of Jica De Luna, Christia Macandili, Alex Monasterial, and Sharlene Sia created a campaign presenting all of the features of the Vios car as embodied by the new look of its 2019 edition.
Third place went to DLS-CSB Antipolo’s Mae Del Valle, Mariele Felizardo, Chrisabel Salas, and Kakoi Yambao whose campaign focused on the Vios car’s longevity. The team took home iPad minis and a school grant of P50,000.
Toyota has been initiating projects with Philippine groups, among them, universities on the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Campus Tour, civic groups for the international coastal clean up and mangrove planting actiion, and helping para athletes with the Start Your Impossible campaign.
The Toyota Vios is the star of the ongoing Toyota Vios Racing Festival where the One Make Race Car edition has been introduced and tested by celebrity racers, sport racers, and Toyota enthusiasts.
SEND congratulations in the comments below to UP Diliman. DLSU Manila, and DLS-CSB Antipolo for winning the inaugural Toyota Young Marketeers Challenge!
Like, Follow, Subscribe to GoodNewsPilipinas.com Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Good News Pilipinas! TV on YouTube, new story notifications and e-mail newsletters for updates on more Filipino Pride stories.
