Toyota’s brand rhetoric strategy is a staple element of its marketing and advertising campaign, responsible for boosting the company’s perception and performance.
Headquartered in Japan, Toyota is a multinational manufacturer, responsible for producing more than 200 million vehicles in total over the course of several decades. With such a long history, it would be easy for Toyota to emphasize its Ethos in its branding and marketing, but the company takes a much more Pathos-heavy approach in its brand rhetoric strategy.
Ethos (Authority)
The company’s Ethos is quite powerful, even without any extra attention given to it. Most automotive manufacturers with a history as long as Toyota’s take extra care to emphasize their history and their reliability, but in most modern advertising, Toyota plays this aspect of their business down. At this point, its authority in the automotive world is not questioned, so they don’t need to spend as much effort.
Pathos (Emotion)
The majority of Toyota’s branding efforts are spent on developing a keen, collective Pathos for its loyal customers. Toyota speaks to owners and potential owners of Toyota vehicles to give them a special feeling about their vehicle ownership. By using positive slogans like “Get the feeling” or “let’s go places,” Toyota creates a bond with its customers and draws new customers in by presenting its vehicles as experiences as much as anything else.
Logos (Logic)
Toyota also does invest in a Logos-driven side of their rhetorical strategy as well. Some of their advertisements emphasize the logical advantages of owning a Toyota vehicle, such as longer warranties and practical advantages.
Despite having a long and reputable history, Toyota’s brand rhetoric draws on Pathos more than either Ethos or Logos. The strategy has been highly effective, both in improving the perception of the brand and improving existing customer relationships.
