Sienna Minivan Hits Market At Worst Possible Time For Toyota

Toyota executives are trying to stop the brand bleeding as they deal with safety recalls and attempt to jump-start sales with a new incentive program and a fresh TV-advertising campaign aimed at shoring up consumers’ overall confidence in the company.

But at the same time, Toyota also has been launching an important new product, a completely made-over, 2011 version of the Sienna minivan. The long-derided minivan segment has been showing some signs of life lately, and Toyota still sees it as an important category for the long term, as its Generation X customers move through parenthood.

The trouble is that, as great as the new vehicle is and as clever as the TV spots are, Sienna has been in danger of getting lost in Toyota’s scrambling attempt to stabilize its brand overall.

“We have adjusted our [Sienna] launch campaign a little bit,” Bob Carter, Toyota division general manager, told brandchannel. “We’ve substituted some [Sienna] advertising that we had for more of a corporate branding position."

Still, the company sold about 3,900 Siennas in February, a mix of its old and new versions. And whenever the air clears a bit for Toyota, Americans finally may be able to appreciate both the vehicle and the company’s marketing campaign.

The 2011 Sienna bears a bolder design than the version it is replacing, is a little wider and slightly shorter overall. The third generation of this vehicle features, for example, an upscale interior with an available 10-speaker JBL sound system, voice-activated DVD navigation and a rear camera for backing up safely.

And the humorous ad campaign is a decided – and effective – departure not only for Toyota but for the minivan segment. “Our approach has been that kids have always loved the Sienna, but now it’s something that parents like too,” Randy Pflughaupt, a Toyota marketing executive, told brandchannel.

So, for instance, in one TV ad, “Daddy Like Space,” the balding father of “The Sienna Family” is shown behind the wheel talking about the vehicle being “pretty intimidating” and about its spaciousness. “I can jump back there and have a dance party!” he semi-jokes.

And in the “Mommy Like Rest” spot, “Mrs. Sienna” relates how the minivan and its available “lounge seating” in the second row is great for her beauty rest. “This is like a Lazyboy recliner,” she says as she pops up a footrest. “It’s like having a guest house on wheels."

If Toyota can ever move past its current recall mess, it might have a pretty good thing going with the 2011 Sienna.