Seven months ago, Toyota unveiled season one of its original anime series Grip. The five-episode series follows male protagonist Jae Kang, the charismatic son of a racing legend who whips through Japan in a GR Corolla. It also features some of Toyota’s other Gazoo Racing motorsport division cars including the GR Supra and GR 86.
Grip is the brainchild of Intertrend, one of Toyota’s longtime creative project agencies. The car marque’s group, vp of marketing Michael Tripp, told ADWEEK the series was developed to build awareness and excitement among young Asian-American consumers. Despite Toyota being a Japanese brand, the company has had a hard time attracting Asian-American buyers.
Asian-American consumers are an “influential consumer block,” according to a 2024 report from research firm NIQ, which predicts they will have $1.6 trillion in spending power this year.
The investment has paid off for Toyota, with season one garnering 31.3 million views across its episodes, trailers, and paid media content. It also drove an increase in positive brand perception across terms like “exciting” (+15%), “different” (+27%), and “inspiring” (+14%), according to Tripp.
The marketer said the series has been a surprise hit among young Asian-American women, which has led to its second season renewal, starting Oct.2.
The upcoming season has been designed to deepen ties with these viewers, centering around female protagonist Linh “Nitro” Lam, a racer with pink hair and a bubbly personality. The business has also dug even deeper into its Japanese roots, enlisting J-pop girl group Atarashii Gakko! (AG!) to soundtrack Nitro’s story.
Intertrend’s executive director of strategy and creative, Matthew Choy, said the strategy was a long-term play. “When a brand wins a young person over, they become a lifelong consumer,” he noted, adding this audience was “far more valuable just from a dollars standpoint,” than an older consumer.
“A company like Toyota, which is only going to sell a handful of [new] cars to a person over a lifetime, would much rather appeal to a young person,” he added.
And a large number of Asian-Americans are young. NIQ’s research noted that 58% are Gen Z.
Dabbling in anime
According to Statista, Toyota was the second best-selling car brand in the U.S. in 2023 behind Ford. For Gen Z and millennials, the Camry and Corolla are the third and fifth most-owned models respectively, per Insurify. However, according to internal data, it’s older Asian-American men who are most likely to buy its vehicles.