Create public art tour to showcase functioning solar-powered technology, a feature in the new Prius. Larger than life Solar Flower sculptures were created and placed in high traffic public spaces in Boston, NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. The sculptures served as “free hot spot” destinations, providing seating, solar-powered charging stations and Wi-Fi access. An online destination page encouraged users at log-in to participate with the Prius brand. The web was a conduit to allow users to join the Prius Facebook page, sign up for Prius Harmony tweets and invite family and friends to upcoming tour stops. Integrating with social media enhanced the impact of the solar tour and connected two media motivations of the Prius target: sharing happiness and spreading information.To further enhance the tour, ventilated bus shelters using solar powered cooling fans provided an added benefit to commuters.

The idea was so inspiring people couldn’t stop talking about it. The six market tour generated extensive national and local results, including:• Connecting over 400,000 customers with Prius via public art • 80% of these customers used free Wi-Fi• 15% used the recharging technology• Users created personal experiences; a NYC city band used the sculptures as staging for their impromptu concert for 600 fans• 21% increase in mainstream-buyers; from 18% to 39%.• Hybrid category leadership in ALL brand imagery metrics, including TechAdvanced and Innovation• Over $16 million in PR editorial value was documented