While this was the first ever global campaign that didn't focus on selling cars, across the globe, Toyota regional offices and dealerships were putting up the Start Your Impossible messaging to tell the world they had a future beyond cars.

Toyota believes freedom of movement is a human right, and we are here to tear down barriers and ensure mobility for all so everyone everywhere can reach their potential —when we are free to move, anything is possible. Toyota set out to start an impressive metamorphosis, shifting the brand from a car company to a mobility company in order to provide mobility solutions for all people. We had two objectives —to enhance Toyota’s brand equity via increased Olympic and Paralympic association, and to shift perceptions of Toyota from that of a car brand to a global icon of innovation and human progress through mobility. Our brief was to showcase Toyota’s beliefs, actions and products related to mobility innovations, and to demonstrate how we are working to remove barriers so that people from all walks of life have more ways to move freely —Ever Better Mobility for All.

Tasked with creating the first-ever global campaign for Toyota, we set out to change people's perceptions of Toyota from that of a car company to a mobility company. We challenged the world with our rallying cry, "Start Your Impossible." With nine different films and online content, our massive, global 360 campaign used top-tier athletes and inspiring influencers. We told the stories of a visually impaired Paralympic hopeful, an Olympic ice skater, an eight-time Paralympic gold medalist, a Syrian refugee Olympic swimmer, a man who climbed Everest with no arms, and even a 100-year-old runner from Japan, just to name a few. We not only redefined the role of the automotive partnership by becoming the first-ever Mobility Partner for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but we also used inspiring mobility stories to bring to life Toyota's expansive vision - mobility for all.

Because this was Toyota’s first global brand campaign, we needed to reach a really large audience — the whole world. The Olympic and Paralympic Movements were the perfect platforms, not just because of global reach, but because fans and enthusiasts share the exact mindset we were seeking. They’re inspired by the passion of the Games and the stories of individual struggle. So we searched the world for the most-inspiring mobility stories — universal stories that represented mobility challenges across different continents, abilities, regions, races/ethnicities, ages, and even genders. Since our approach was to reach people in more than 40 countries in 28 languages, our campaign had to resonate with everyone. So in order to make sure everyone was represented, Olympians, Paralympians, influencers, and everyday heroes shared the spotlight in the most-inclusive and diverse integrated campaign to date.

We kicked off our campaign using the biggest platform in the U.S. (the Super Bowl) to springboard our launch on the biggest platform in the world — the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Our campaign spanned across 40+ countries and 28 languages. It lasted the entire duration of both Games with coverage across every platform, ranging from TV to streaming and digital. Our executions featured such a wide variety athletes and influencers that we were able to align their airing with contextually relevant events throughout both Games. We also placed ads featuring Paralympians during Olympic events to generate interest in the upcoming Paralympic Games, furthering our mission to elevate the perception of the Paralympic Movement across the globe.

The Start Your Impossible campaign launched the next era of Toyotas business. It was so successful, that we more than exceeded expectations for our campaign objectives.

It was featured on every major press outlet and generated global impressions reached over 18.5 billion.

The campaign achieved over 60 percent awareness of the Toyota "Start Your Impossible" tagline on average across core countries. Toyota's association with the concept of Ever Better Mobility for All grew significantly from the benchmark (up six percentage points on average across core countries)

Perceptions of Toyota as a leader in mobility increased approximately eight percentage points on average from the benchmark with over 50 percent of consumers now seeing Toyota as the top-ranked mobility leader. Commercially, we aimed to increase Toyota’s share price and the campaign did just that.

During the Start Your Impossible effort, Toyota’s share price increased by 11% from pre-campaign levels.