In a desperate effort to sharpen the dulling edges of Scions "edgy, youth-oriented brand," Toyota is offering fans a website (scionspeak.com) where they can channel their youthful enthusiasm towards designing individual logos for their sweet rides. The New York Times reports that Scion owners can build a logo from hundreds of symbols designed by a professional graffiti artist, download them and have them made into window decals or airbrush templates. Whether the middle-aged-and-up folks who occupy most of the Scions I see on the street even know that there is such thing as a "professional graffiti artist" or will use this website remains very much to be seen. The real point of this exercise is to keep the myth of Scion-as-youth-brand alive… among those who already own one. The campaign is not aimed at actually reversing Scion's sagging sales, but "reducing Scion's investment on conquering new customers and increasing the passion for the brand among its core fan base," according to the company running the campaign. We bet they'd do better by offering a special ramp so your youthful Rascal Mobility Scooter can drive out of the back of your xB.
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The Braun xB Rampvan, based on the 1st gen xB, cost $32k. Don’t know if there’s a 2nd gen version coming.
I’m one of the middle-aged folks who drives a Scion, but unlike most of ’em, I already knew there was such a thing as a ‘professional graffiti artist’, and obviously I read this blog.
However I’ve never bought into the whole ‘Scion as an edgy youth-oriented brand’ thing – I just thought the cars looked cool, were practical, and a good value – and I’m sure that’s what gets all the other middle-aged-and-older folks into Scions too.
And if you’re wondering: no, I am not interested in getting a custom logo for my tC. I didn’t even spend the extra few hundred bucks for non-standard taillights or a spoiler or any of that other bling. Why bother when all of it’s gonna get scratched and dented anyway, and doesn’t add a cent to resale value?
Edward Niedermeyer:
The real point of this exercise is to keep the myth of Scion-as-youth-brand alive… among those who already own one. The campaign is not aimed at actually reversing Scion’s sagging sales
What “myth” are you talking about? Scion IS a youth brand, or as close to a youth brand as you can get. The Scion brand has the lowest average buyer age out of all brands in the industry. Also, the Scion tC has the lowest average buyer age of any car sold in North America. Fact is, Scion qualifies as a youth brand better than any other automotive brand in North America.
And last time I checked (February 2008 sales) Scion sales are not sagging.
It’s strange; posters have already pointed out numerous times that the Scion brand is achieving exactly the goals Toyota wanted it to achieve, and that the brand’s sales have stopped sagging, yet TTAC continues to post such inaccurate statements.
I think, if Scion wants to be cooler, all they need to do is try HARDER. There’s nothing youth these days love better than artifice and desperate attempts by MBA’s to mimic their culture.
I rather like Scions for the same reasons all their real buyers do – they’re practical, fuel efficient, reliable small cars with a unique look. Well, they used to be small and fuel efficient before they turned the xB into something with SUV gas mileage and dropped bigger engines in everything…
Johnson: And last time I checked (February 2008 sales) Scion sales are not sagging…TTAC continues to post such inaccurate statements. Well to be absolutely accurate, Scion sales are down 6.7% the first two months of this year compared to the same time in 2007. The sales for the first two months in 2007 were down 18.8% from the same time in 2006. Not what I'd call a positive trend.
Johnson: Try sixteen months of dropping sales numbers.
It’s not the end of the world that Scion is successful with boomers and their ilk. They are small, practical, economical and unique. There’s no reason they (and cars like them) couldn’t be successful in this country as mainstream rides for the reasons kazoomaloo points out.
starlightmica: Thanks. Goes to show that no matter how hyperbolic you get these days, you probably can’t ever outdo reality for weirdness.
Edward Niedermeyer, I still stand by my opinion that your statement of Scion as a youth brand is a “myth” is an innaccurate one.
Frank Williams:
Well to be absolutely accurate, Scion sales are down 6.7% the first two months of this year compared to the same time in 2007.
To be even more accurate, TTAC has criticized the new xD and xB and their sales. xD sales in February 2008 were higher than xA sales in February 2007. xB sales last month were up big compared to xB sales February 2007. tC sales of course were down but you cannot criticize tC sales seeing as it’s a dated model.
To go into further detail, Toyota has specifically mentioned that increasing sales for Scion is not a goal and that they want to keep Scion a niche brand. Furthermore, Toyota has said they would cut supply of Scions if forced to do so in order to keep the brand niche. The fact is, since Scion debuted we have no idea if Toyota has or hasn’t forcefully limited supply to keep the brand niche.
Toyota’s goals for Scion from the beginning have been:
1.) For Scion to attract young buyers
2.) For Scion to be a “feeder” brand for Toyota
Toyota has achieved both of these goals, so to criticize Scion for being unsuccessful or for the brand as failing is misleading and inaccurate. The average buyer age for Scion is quite low, and most Scion owners end up buying a Toyota as their next vehicle.
How many people would have bought a Scion if (everything else being the same) it was made my Hyundai and sold in the corner of a Hyundai dealership. I think a great number of people who own Scion’s would have bought a Toyota anyways. Between them, the “practical/frugal old people” group and “I want a reliable cheap car” group how many people are really sucked in by the whole youth/cool people marketing? And the people that are, what Toyota are they trading up in to?
Scion has to walk a fine line. When you try hard to be cool you put a bulls-eye on your back. For everyone that buys into the hype, there is someone else who thinks the tC is a poser car.
If Scion was limiting supply of the tC when it was hot and you had to wait 6 weeks for one, why aren’t they doing it now when the dealer down the street has 6 brand new ones on the lot?
When the xA and xB first came out my (late 50s, Boomer) parents tried to test drive them, only to be told by the Scion salesmen that they were too old to drive Scions.
Let me be clear: I’m 25 years old and I like Scions alot, particularly the first generation. Then again, so does my Dad, and he’s as boomer as they come. My point isn’t that kids don’t like Scions, it’s that Scions offer vehicles which could have much wider appeal if they weren’t so fixated on appearing edgy. The Honda Fit sells to young hipsters and Grandmas alike without what I’ll call “professional graffiti artist histrionics.” How would selling a range of Yaris variants hurt the Toyota image and visa-versa?
Edward Niedermeyer:
My point isn’t that kids don’t like Scions, it’s that Scions offer vehicles which could have much wider appeal if they weren’t so fixated on appearing edgy.
If that’s your point, fair enough.
The problem is, Toyota doesn’t want Scion to have wide appeal. The reason Scion marketing continues to get more weird and more edgier is specifically to make older buyers lose interest. I know it sounds strange, but that’s exactly Toyota’s strategy. Toyota wants to narrow the appeal of Scion, to make older people lose interest in Scion and to specifically attract only young buyers. That means that Toyota will definitely lose some Scion sales, but that also means Toyota will make Scion even more of a specific niche brand than it already is.
If you’re an older buyer and you’re interested in Scion, Toyota wants to make you lose interest and Toyota wants you to buy a Toyota rather than a Scion.
Honestly, Toyota’s marketing scheme is, in theory, genious. Trying to make a 50-year-old who doesn’t get on the internet ANYWAY feel like the car he wants isn’t for him, though, is a bit hard to do.
They tried with the lack-of TV marketing, and it didn’t work. Now they try with this Deviant BS, and it doesn’t work.
I don’t know what side of the fence I sit on; for Toyota, it makes perfect sense to want ONLY young, “cool” kids to get Scions, so of course, Dad and Mom can’t be interested, by (at least US) social nature. On the other hand, you have a line of cool, unique cars that appeal to everyone for different reasons…
Being 22, I bought my Scion because it was cheap, gets great gas mileage, is fun yet comfortable enough for city and road trips, and last, it actually looks nice (which is something econo-cars usually don’t get). Unlike the marketed “kid,” I guess, I actually encouraged my mother to buy one before I got mine. It’s a great car for many people, especially those of us who only have 1 passenger at any given time. We have two xAs in our garage, yet it doesn’t bother ME..
But again, the market for these cars are the same people trying to avoid what Mommy and Daddy bought – fortunately for the others of us, we like to take lessons from Mommy and Daddy every once in a while (read: if Mommy or Daddy buy it, there MIGHT just be a good reason!!)
Johnson:
(For the record, if the above didn’t clarify, I fully agree with what you are saying) If Toyota wants older people to buy Toyotas, yet older people are liking the Scion thing, why not jazz the U.S. Toyota subccompacts a bit? They are spewing left and right in Japan, yet we get the 2-door Yaris with the “if-i-shoot-myself-it-will-be-easy-to-lean” ugly crapola plastic interiors.. browsing online, the Japanese Yaris’ come fitted to compete with luxury cars, and for a decent price. Maybe instead of tossing all subcompacts to Scion and trying to Push people away, they should try and Pull them back over to Toyota with more of what they are looking to get.