Torrance, CA - The recent launch of the 2007 Tundra marked a pivotal step in establishing Toyota as a legitimate contender in the U.S. full-size truck market. To celebrate this milestone in Toyota's history, and to educate the dealer body about the future customers entering their dealerships, Saatchi & Saatchi LA came up with the idea of the "Working America" coffee table book.
Toyota invested seven years of research in developing the Next Generation Tundra. Over this seven year period Toyota research engineers trekked across the U.S. to speak to people who love, use and drive full size pickups. They lived with and interviewed working Americans such as loggers, construction site workers, truckers, steelworkers, ranchers and oil drillers, to understand what they need in a truck. This process of learning is called "Genchi Genbutsu" in Japanese - "We came, saw, we listened and improved upon". It is a cornerstone of Toyota's corporate philosophy.
"Working America" is a tribute to this body of research and to these largely blue-collar Americans.
Saatchi & Saatchi LA contracted three of America's top photojournalists including James Nachtwey, Steve McCurry and Jeff Dunas, to essentially "follow in the footsteps" of the Toyota engineers who first undertook this study.
The book includes essays penned by six nationally recognized writers such as Hampton Sides, David Masiel and Bill Vaughn, Randy Wayne White, Robert Andrew Powell, and is edited by Philip Armour.
CD, Erich Funke: "We needed to prove we (and Toyota) had seen and understood the intimate details and textures of blue collar America, details that are beyond common knowledge - essentially the insights into their lives that we could only have learned by being there with them.
And so, the challenge with "Working America" was to do it in a way that did not seem corporate or self-serving - It had to be an authentic demonstration of respect, acknowledging the role that these honest-to-goodness workers played in the design and engineering of this truck. Being honest and authentic was absolutely key in this project".
A recent headline sums up quite nicely the importance of this:
"America's Best Car Company. Toyota has become a red-white-and-blue role model. How? By understanding Americans better than Detroit does." - March 7 2007, FORTUNE Magazine
Each book was a limited, numbered edition created especially for the dealers, Toyota's most important partners in the launch.? Encased in each book was an autograph card signed by a contributor and five prints that were specially created for their personal framing.
The Next Generation Tundra is viewed as a declaration of Toyota's commitment to America.? "Working America" manifested Toyota's declaration of its commitment to the people who buy and use their trucks and celebrated the occasion as a step forward in becoming a full size leader in the U.S. truck market.
Distribution Channels:
Toyota:
o Dealers
Opinion Leaders:
o National Press
o Politicians
o Automotive Press
o Regional San Antonio Press
Quantity:
Limited Edition - 5,000
Dimensions:
8" x 12"
269 Pages
Case Bound