The Toyota Tundra had long suffered from the misperception that it was less of a work truck than its “American” counterparts. This was despite the fact that Tundra featured top of the line components, and was actually built in Texas. We needed the public to know the real story of this half-ton truck.

A unique opportunity arose when Space Shuttle Endeavour was being transported cross-country to its new home at the California Science Center. A motorized dolly slated to tow the Space Shuttle was found to be too heavy for a small patch of overpass near Endeavour’s final destination. Getting the Shuttle across would require a vehicle that was incredibly light, yet strong enough to tow 300,000 pounds. Tundra volunteered to be that vehicle.

The Tundra Endeavour campaign was activated through press outreach to national media, top-tier automotive publications, and local Los Angeles print and broadcast media. An online documentary tracked the truck’s journey leading up to the tow, while a tweet drive helped raise money for Endeavour’s new home.

The campaign exceeded expectations, garnering 1.7+ million YouTube views, 80+ million Twitter impressions, and more than 1 billion earned media impressions worldwide. It was successful in demonstrating Tundra’s capability while also spreading the narrative of Tundra’s American roots. In the months to follow, sales of the truck rose by over 31%.

The goal of the campaign was to increase awareness of Tundra as an American-made vehicle, and demonstrate its capabilities as a full-size pick up. This information would be communicated through local and national press coverage, as part of the larger story of the Endeavour tow.

The target consumer audience was California residents, truck buying intenders, and owners.

The target media audience was local Los Angeles broadcast, print and radio, as well as national media and top-tier automotive publications.

The Tundra Endeavour campaign exceeded its goals and expectations through both qualitative and quantitative measures.

The tow was covered by major outlets including CNN, The LA Times, Fast Company, Jalopnik, Popular Science, and USA Today.

Online comment sections were filled with Tundra owners celebrating their American-made vehicle and what it accomplished.

The campaign garnered 1.7+ million YouTube views, 80+ million Twitter impressions, 830K Facebook impressions, and more than 1 billion earned media impressions worldwide. The towing of the Endeavor was also a success with those in the market for a truck. Year over year Tundra sales increased by 31%, despite no major overhaul of the vehicle itself.

Prior to the announcement, top-tier broadcast, print and radio media were pre-pitched with embargoed information and images. On September 11, the Tundra Endeavour tow was announced via national media and distributed on PRNewswire and the Toyota Newsroom.

This coverage combined with Toyota’s social media channels to drive users to an online destination site. The Tundra Endeavour hub let users track preparations for the tow, watch an original documentary series, or take part in a Tweet Drive to raise money for Endeavour’s new home.

Executing the tow was a Herculean task. Obtaining the proper clearance required unprecedented coordination between the agency, client, NASA, California Science Center, state and local governments.

On October 12, 2012, thousands of spectators lined the streets to watch the historic moment in person. With news helicopters broadcasting it live from above, Tundra successfully hitched Endeavour, and towed its way into history.

Consumer research showed that despite class-leading specs, truck buyers felt that the Tundra couldn’t perform as well as other trucks in its class. We were faced with the challenge of communicating Tundra’s performance capabilities and American-made origins.

In the process of transporting Space Shuttle Endeavour to its new home at the California Science Center, planners discovered a stretch of overpass not strong enough to support both Endeavour and its heavy carrier. This presented the opportunity for the Toyota Tundra to become part of a once in a lifetime event, while also telling its own story to the world.

We knew that Endeavour’s transport would dominate headlines. When Space Shuttle mania broke out, a press outreach effort was deployed to spread the story of how Tundra would play a vital role in this journey.

Media was provided with materials to develop stories, a media backgrounder with statistics about the tow, capabilities, schematics and sketches of the mechanics. Press was offered the opportunity to attend and film/record/document the tow live as it occurred.

With interest in Tundra’s towing of Endeavour piqued, the online documentary series was used to provide vital background about the job, the truck, its capabilities, and American roots.