As for the traditional route of marketing via television ad campaigns, Toyota has truly struck gold by segmenting its marketing and targeting the pro-environmentalist groups states Gutsa, N.H. (2009).  Part of the success of the Prius, Maynard (2008) suggest, “the Prius has been featured in dozens of movies and TV shows as the car driven by the main actor, such as CSI Miami, Weeds, Evan Almighty, and Superbad,” therefore not only giving it the Hollywood endorsement but also the star appeal that it needs to penetrate an already challenged automotive industry.

To obtain a better understanding of what marketers of the Toyota Prius have done to heighten awareness with their line of popular Hybrid car, I performed an exhaustive search online to understand what the Prius marketing strategy is.  I started my search utilizing Google, utilizing the following search criteria: Toyota marketing, Toyota green, Toyota press release and Toyota celebrities.  This definitely led me to numerous articles written regarding the Hybrid, but none of my search has actually provided true marketing collateral for the Prius.  The closest I have encountered is actually the website for Toyota which has a special web page dedicated to the Prius. It has a tagline that states, “Harmony between man, nature and machine,” along with links to numerous Prius related content.  Part of the experience one would have by visiting the Prius web site is access to other marketing venues that a lot of companies are beginning to utilize now such as Facebook and Twitter. It is obvious to me that Toyota is trying to appeal to the population that is hip to this new era of social networking.  Upon visiting the Prius Facebook site (http://www.facebook.com/prius), it is very clear that the site is meant to conjure up excitement over the Prius.  The Facebook page allows existing owners to share their experiences with their beloved Prius.  One can even clearly see that Prius is clearly trying to appeal to the eco conscious as evidenced by a section of its page publishing the, “random acts of prius.” Prius calls the campaign as, “the little things you can do everyday to make the world brighter (http://www.facebook.com/prius?v=app_139815434211).”  Now, I must admit, it appears that one of the unintended consequences of the Facebook page is for the unhappy customers to now visit the Facebook page and express their dissatisfaction with the product.  The Facebook page seems to lack moderation from Prius and therefore one can argue what the value is of having this open forum.  If I was thinking of purchasing a Prius the commentaries would actually make me think twice before purchasing. A trip down Twitter (http://twitter.com/toyota) land however I find a more benign site mostly praises over the Prius and the company, photo postings of new Prius owners and links for visitors wanting detailed Prius recall information.   

If you are eco conscious, tired of paying high prices of gas and want to decrease your carbon footprint, then you are the segmented target audience of the Toyota Prius.  It is obvious that Toyota is not launching a heavy marketing campaign for its Prius because they have been able to establish the value that it provides in the marketplace.  Not to mention the free publicity it gets by having a product heavily endorsed by Hollywood superstars such as Will Ferrell (Berman, 2006) who states, "I absolutely love our Prius. In addition to being obviously economical and environmentally friendly, they drive great and are just plain sexy. There’s no reason all Americans shouldn’t be driving hybrid cars." 

With the automobile industry in such a volatile state, clearly being innovative and providing more eco friendly options has been identified as the best strategy to thrive in such a struggling economy where in automobile owners now more than ever are holding on to their automobiles longer than previous years.  Although riddled with bad press, Toyota is clearly trying to pull itself out of this public relations nightmare.  Toyota has started a commercial campaign showing people re-purchasing Toyota products therefore pushing the issue that their products are safe to drive.  Luckily in terms of the Prius in a side by side comparison with other hybrid models, it still ranks number one in most miles per gallon (http://www.allabouthybridcars.com/comparison-chart.htm).  This has allowed the Prius in my opinion to prosper despite the negative publicity it has experienced lately.  As a matter of fact for 2009 the Prius has won a prestigious loyalty award (http://usa.polk.com/Company/Loyalty/).  According to Polk the loyalty award is based on Toyota’s ability to retain previous customers.  Although Polk does not publish how loyalty was established one can speculate that the marketing push Toyota embarked on with its commercials showing actual testimonials form return customers purchasing a Toyota product has assisted them to turn the tides.  The on-line presence of Toyota as well, allowing existing customers to connect with each other and share their great experiences with the product via Facebook or Twitter can do nothing but increase buyer confidence on the Prius.  Who would resist the notion of purchasing a product that not only will allow you to save in a world of increasing gas prices, but also do your part in preserving the environment?  It sounds like a win-win proposal to me or rather, “a random acts of prius.”

Bibliography

Allabouthybridcars.  (n.d.).  Website.  Retrieved July 16, 2010, from  http://www.allabouthybridcars.com/comparison-chart.htm

Berman, Bradley. (2006). Celebrity Hybrid Cars. Retrieved July 12 2010, from http://www.hybridcars.com/hybrid-drivers/celebrities.html

Maynard, Micheline. "Toyota May Make Prius a Brand and Widen the Model Lineup ". New York Times10/9/2008: B1-B8

Nyasha Harmony, Gutsa. (2009). Marketing Mix in Action: Toyota Prius. Retrieved July 13 2010, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1804334/marketing_mix_in_actiontoyota_prius.html

Polk.  (n.d.).  Website.  Retrieved July 16, 2010, from http://usa.polk.com/Company/Loyalty/

Toyota.  (n.d.).  In Twitter [Twitter page].  Retrieved July 16^, 2010, from http://twitter.com/toyota

Toyota Prius.  (n.d.).  In Facebook [Fan page].  Retrieved July 15, 2010, from http://www.facebook.com/prius

To solidify my decision in purchasing an iPad, as an eBook reader and a portfolio alternative, I did an exhaustive search reading multiple online sources such as blogs and product reviews’.  I started my review of sites by utilizing Google and simply typing in, “iPad review.”   This provided me commentaries and detailed reviews from sites such as Engadget, Gizmodo, CNET, PCMag, Huffington Post and the likes.  I also expanded my search, being a Microsoft Windows user that I am to obtain various viewpoints, specifically those expressed by windows based users and this was achieved by also doing a Google search for, “windows users review of the iPad.”  To ensure that I truly get multiple perspectives on this topic, I did a Google search of Apple fans and read their review of the iPad.  It comes as no surprise however that the proclaimed Apple fanatics practically revered the iPad for the most part as the Holy Grail of Apple.  Nonetheless, the online research did not do justice to this device, not until I was able to actually visit a local Apple store and physically test out the device.  It was at that magical moment as I interacted at the very responsive yet intuitive user interface and the stunning design Apple is known for that I realized the iPad had just raised the bar in terms of consumer expectations with mobile devices.  

In order to classify this purchase as a fruitful one the factors necessary to solidify my decision would be based on battery life, how distracted my colleagues would be as I bring this device to meetings and lastly how I would adopt to the paradigm shift of moving from paper based textbooks to an electronic one.  Specifically, how would I handle the workflow process that one generally takes with paper based textbooks which includes bookmarking, annotations and highlighting of important text?

To those who know me it could be said that I have been one of Apples toughest critic.  Apple is known to be a closed proprietary product, only allowing third party application that has been granted approval.  To some it is merely Apple acting as curators to make sure only great quality products are released to its user base.  To others like me, I say let us the users decide what is best for our purchased product.  Let the public be the curators and not be objects of Apples discretion because there is this notion that they know better what is best for us users.  So in closing the determining factor on whether this decision to purchase an iPad can be considered a successful justification is based on how it can adopt to my daily workflow not only as a professional going through the daily grinds of one meeting after another but also now as a graduate student with the need to ensure textbooks are mobile and can accommodate the typical interactions I have with paper based textbooks.   In my estimation, one month would be a good time frame to ensure productive use has been properly instituted on the iPad to deem it an excellent selection and perhaps even profess that it is a device that has changed my world for the better.

I was a Google Docs user prior, but Google Docs limited you to very specific file formats. With Dropbox, file type is almost limitless.  This is such a great back up solution as well. I added the Dropbox app on my Android powered device, and it works just as well.

Try it for up to 2gb free with a tiered priocing model for more storage needs.  Refer Dropbox to friends and you will get an incremental increade on your Dropbox file size (max 8gb).  

Now with my review of the Android (Google Phone) platform…From a Smartphone perspective, I started with a Treo 600 and moved on to various Windows Mobile devices.  My carrier is T-Mobile and therefore wanted to stick with phones supported by my carrier.  One of my priority pre-requisite in selecting a Smartphone is Exchange support so that I can have access to my work information.  My Touch 3G, T-Mobile’s second Google phone definitely had my attention.  It was a tossup between getting a Blackberry or the My Touch 3G and the decision to go with the My Touch 3G is purely based on not wanting a phone that was for the most part a powerful email communicator.  I wanted something that I can have fun with outside of the work environment and the Android Market definitely has more applications that the Blackberry.

After having the My Touch 3G for several months now, I must say I am very much happy with my decision to go with this device.  It is definitely a very customizable device, just as it’s marketed and I love the ability to add widgets to the phones home screen.  One of the major upside of this phone that is crucial for me at least is the great integration with Google Voice and the newly released turn by turn GPS device utilizing Google maps with actual spoken street names.  Now don’t get me wrong, it is not yet an iPhone killer, but what we have now is definitely a strong competitor.  Of course only time can tell if developers will start building more apps for this platform, but with over 12,000 applications now in the Android Market (iPhone has over 100,000) there are some promising signs.  

Although I am a fan of this platform and will recommend it in a heartbeat, the caveat to understand with this phone is to realize it is not an iPhone.  I feel I am somewhat competent to comment on this considering my wife has an iPhone.  From a user interface perspective, the iPhone is by far more responsive compared to  the Android which  has a little bit of lag in its response time.  But with the right set of utility applications it is manageable.  

As a final thought, I feel there is a lot of promise for this platform.  Although let me reiterate, it is not yet an iPhone killer, but what we do have now is definitely a great iPhone alternative, especially if you are like me who is very happy with my carrier and does not want to transfer to another carrier such as AT&T who has had their share of bad press in terms of Customer Service and network reliability.

Comments are open, interested on your thoughts regarding this platform…

Comment posted by Ginger Campbell
at 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM
As an emergency physician the two programs I use the most are PEPID and the Sanford Guide for antibiotics.

Comment posted by InterOpNurse
at 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM
Great applications…I have heard great things about them. I will definitely add to the list. Thank you for visiting my blog and for welcoming me to your neighborhood.

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