4 out of 10 cars on Indonesian roads are Toyota. Since the 70’s, the name Toyota is synonymous with a peace of mind in car ownership; Reliable features, great after-sales service, and unbeatable resale value, cementing Toyota as the undisputed car brand of choice for the mature generation.

However, that is not the case when it comes to the young generation of car buyers. Transactional features alone do not resonate entirely with their brand consideration process, more so when the brand is consistently associated with “predictable middle-aged males who prefer stability”.

The challenge, hence, is to find a sweet spot for Toyota to sing the tunes of the younger generation, dance to the right rhythms and drive brand relevance, puns very intended.

Pandemic or not, music is one of the most universal languages for young Indonesians. But when work-from-office became work-from-home, Indonesians spent more and more time listening to music to uplift their mood while being confined to the 4 walls of their homes. And a new behavior emerged.

Instead of streaming from music platforms, many young Indonesians were getting their daily dose of music from video platformsThanks to “Lofi Playlists”. A digital phenomenon where people tune in to videos of music playlists playing hours of laidback music accompanied by looping visuals of anime-style animation to accompany their activities like studying, working, making morning coffee, and other day-to-day activities.

We leveraged on this behavior shift with Toyota Lofi Drive Beats playlist videos and created a unique experience to drive brand relevance to younger target audiences. 2 originally-composed playlists, Uplifting Morning Drive and Relaxed Beachside Cruise were born.

Toyota’s brief was simple: Be different, be unexpected.

In a category where TVCs, billboards and brochures are often filled with same images of the car model, Toyota wanted to explore a different route during the pandemic to ignite the sparks of brand love to the younger target audience, i.e. the next generation of car buyers.

Choosing to deviate from tried and tested paths, Toyota tapped into young Indonesian's unique digital behavior of listening to music playlists from visual platforms like YouTube during the pandemic to accompany their day-to-day activities. 2 soothing Lofi playlists were created to accompany them study, work, do chores and relax, literally making Toyota part of our audiences’ everyday lives and deliver a fresh approach in driving brand relevance.

We wanted to break away from the usual and expected.

Toyota released two Lofi playlist videos on its Indonesian YouTube channel, each with its own particular mood. The upbeat Uplifting Morning Drive brings viewers running down the dynamic city streets of Jakarta in GR Yaris, while the laidback Relaxed Beachside Cruise shows visuals of GR Supra cruising on calm coastal roads of Bali – a direct contrast of the different beats in beautiful Indonesia, both perfectly accompanied by the beats of Lofi music.

The music was composed to match the vibes from its visual imageries, portraying atypical Indonesian moments and settings in the hustle bustles of Jakarta and the calmness that is Bali. Maintaining the style of Lofi playlist, the music is accompanied by visuals of anime-inspired animation playing in a loop, showcasing the driving experience along with shots of the cars’ aerodynamic exterior and interior designs.

Toyota Lofi Drive Beats playlists went down as the YouTube content with the highest retention in Toyota Indonesia’s history: 609% higher than other historical contents.

Without a star-studded cast, sky-high production cost, multiple brand ambassadors and large endorsement deals, it was one of the best-performing non-launch campaigns for Toyota and within the automotive category. The youth-appealing campaign gained almost 130k engagements and 8.6 million impressions, way above industry benchmark and expectations for a 1.5 months campaign.

Both the playlists garnered positive sentiments from viewers and listeners, with requests for more similar playlists for the other Toyota car models in the comments section. Toyota is in consideration of answering to its young audiences’ pleas and to continue with the playlist series, while igniting new generations of fans to continue reinforcing Toyota as a brand that goes beyond generations.