The Basement

Those of you who've been following along know that I'm impatiently awaiting the arrival of my Scion xB. In the meantime, being the passionate freak I am, I've been cramming my brain with all things Scion. I have to say, Toyota has done some pretty cool things from a WOMM perspective. I've written a bit about their Six Flags event where anyone showing up in a Scion got in free. The event (I think) was designed to create a high density of fanatic Scion owners in the parking lot alongside normal folk who, not being in on the gag, found themselves wondering why everyone else is driving a box. Word-of-Mouth can help but happen.

And it's not just the Six Flags gig. Toyota has been hosting hip-hop events, car club meets and car shows. The have several CD's worth of freely downloadable hip-hop mp3s. They have games target for free stuff and they SMS hints to your mobile phone to make sure you come back and play more later. All very cool.

Last weekend I went to a meeting of the local Scion club – the Scikotics. This is a group of local Scion owners that meet periodically, park all of their cars together in a parking lot near a busy intersection to show them off. Most members are 20 something males but there are a few women and a few older folks. The cars are unbelievable. Lamborgini doors, neon lights, nitrous oxide, in-dash television/dvd/navigation systems, custom paint, body modifications, etc. You can't buy this kind of promotion – but you can encourage it and Toyota is figuring out how.

There are lots of Scion fan sites that are supported and/or encouraged by Toyota. The two best known are probably Scion Life and Scion Girls. This is an awesome WOMM strategy. Scion cars are intended, designed even, to be modified and personalized. In fact, Scion encourages dealers to work with local custom shops to offer after-market modification of new cars with the cost rolled into the note from Toyota financial. For example, I'm getting a leather interior and sun roof in mine. Neither is not offered as a factory option. Both with be handled by the dealer before I take delivery and the cost will be included in the note. I got to pick the colors for my interior from something like 100 colored leather swatches. This is a completely different car buying experience.

If you want to get some WOMM ideas, call your local Scion dealer and ask if there is a local Scion club. Then go to a meet and talk to some of these kids. They will be very approachable and they will want to talk to you about their Scion experience. This is genuine Kathy Sierra brand passion. It's hard to describe, but it is immediately obvious why television advertising is obsolete.