Why Toyota’s Tacoma isn’t the star of its new branded TV content

Toyota is leaning into branded streaming TV content in its ongoing campaign for its 2024 Tacoma model. Its latest effort, in partnership with AMC Networks, is much more subtle than some of its recent marketing, as the automaker aims to appeal to specific viewers who may ultimately become truck buyers. 40 under 40 entries are open The final deadline for nominations is Aug. 2 Enter here Toyota Tacoma is a sponsor of “Mammals,” a nature docu-series debuting on BBC America and AMC+ on July 13. A companion documentary, “Bird’s Eye View,” follows wildlife cinematographer Ann Johnson Prum on her journey to capture hummingbirds in the southern U.S. and will stream on AMC+, which reaches 11.5 million subscribers according to the company’s first-quarter financial report. The documentary will also be distributed on YouTube and a hub on the BBC America website. The five-minute film begins with and shows its share of a bright red Tacoma cruising through gorgeous landscapes, but “we wanted to be really cautious of taking away from the authentic storytelling by pushing too hard with a product in the forefront,” said Ann Dragovits, marketing manager, media, Toyota North America. Letting products take the backseat in branded TV is critical, according to Dragovits. But that isn’t the case for all media channels, and Toyota curated partnerships that embrace the different ways audiences consume entertainment by platform. It’s important in branded content for streaming that “it doesn’t feel like an ad,” said Mike DiGiacomo, head of integrated marketing, AMC Networks. The executive added that fans of BBC America’s nature content would naturally seek deep dives into the secret sauce of developing its wildlife series, which created a natural moment to integrate a brand. “Rarely do you get to see behind-the-scenes of the people who are actually dedicating their lives to creating this amazing footage,” said DiGiacomo, adding that the film was inspired by a statistic that only 2% of nature cinematographers are women. This was a match for Toyota’s desire to spotlight diversity in its definition of adventure-seekers. AMC recruited Shaandiin Tome, an Indigenous filmmaker who was already a Tacoma driver, to direct the documentary, DiGiacomo said. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Matching the vibe Toyota aims to establish the image of the Toyota Tacoma as a means for adventure and exploration. In its Super Bowl spot, that meant daring drives and hollering passengers. In the “Bird’s Eye View” documentary, created with AMC’s Content Room, the Tacoma is an enabler for Prum’s expedition, holding her equipment and providing visibility at night. More: Watch the 2024 Tacoma Super Bowl commercial While Dragovits said it’s important to lean into each media partner’s expertise with its audience, it’s equally important to curate how it matches the brand’s campaign goals. One custom content opportunity, for example, leaned too heavily into extreme adventure, said Dragovits, and was deemed too alienating for Toyota’s desired casual adventurers. The majestic tone of the documentary is meant to be a natural draw for those viewing BBC America’s “Mammals.” While “Mammals” viewers will see the Tacoma in ad breaks, “Bird’s Eye View” is where Toyota anticipates popping the most. “It’s no surprise how fragmented the [media] ecosystem is, and how easily a standard asset can be disregarded because it’s what you expect,” said Dragovits. In addition to running broader campaign creative, Dragovits said it’s important to invest in marketing bespoke to each platform’s audience and make the general spots pop in return. The AMC+ documentary’s tone differs from Tacoma ads running in Outside Magazine, which look different from ads served to sports fans. AMC’s Content Room similarly took a different approach to generating social media content that promotes the partnership. Rather than simply fitting a trailer into vertical templates, additional content was made with TikTok in mind. One is an ASMR video that plays on social trends for stimulating sounds. It heavily features the thrumming beat of hummingbirds’ wings as well as sounds from Prum’s camera equipment and the Tacoma. A second social post is a how-to guide on tracking hummingbirds. In it, Prum advises visiting southeastern Arizona in the spring, wearing red and bringing binoculars. In both social spots, Toyota is pointed out more directly than in the long-form streaming doc. Dragovits said this was intentional, as “there is a lot of opportunity for branded content to live more naturally on social media because that seems to be the expectation today—there is a lot of brand-sponsored content out there and it’s trusted content” on social media. In streaming, however, viewers try to pay out of or avoid watching ads. “Now, you’re seeing the social platforms take up a lot of time spent in entertainment viewership that we traditionally saw with linear or CTV,” said Dragovits. “How are we balancing these changes in customer behavior in where they’re viewing media and then meeting their expectation for how they view that content? That’s made our jobs both very challenging, but also really exciting.”

Why Toyota’s Tacoma isn’t the star of its new branded TV content

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