Online event allows fans to tweet their favorite Toyota driver to victory
SALISBURY, N.C. (September, 13 2013) — Toyota Racing today unveiled Tweet Race, a first-of-its-kind virtual NASCAR race that puts the power into the fans’ hands by allowing them to tweet their favorite Toyota driver to a “virtual” victory.
The Tweet Race, which kicks off during this Sunday’s (September 15) Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway, enables fans to virtually participate in the excitement of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship – the 10-race playoff to determine the 2013 champion. Racing fans can tweet a hashtag of their favorite driver’s name alongside the hashtag #TRTR during each of the final 10 races of the year, which will move their driver along the virtual Tweet Race track. Ultimately, the driver with the most tweets that week will be crowned the Tweet Race winner.
“The Tweet Race is a way for fans to virtually participate in the Chase for the championship, as well as support their favorite Camry driver,” said Keith Dahl, Toyota National Motorsports and Engagement Marketing Manager. “This is yet another activity that highlights Toyota’s continued commitment to providing unique and immersive experiences for our consumers.”
In addition to a winning driver following each of the 10 races, three Tweet Race participants will be selected to win a weekly prize. Two participants will be selected from the pool of the winning driver’s supporters, and the third will be a wild card, given to the most creative tweet of the week. At the end of the 10-week Chase, a Grand Prize winner will receive tickets to the 2014 Daytona 500.
Toyota tapped iCrossing, its digital agency of record, to create and manage the Tweet Race. The agency is also partnering with Toyota to promote the Tweet Race through Toyota Racing’s social media channels, including efforts to engage the drivers themselves in the social media outreach.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Toyota to offer consumers a chance to participate in the excitement of the Chase for the Championship,” said Brian Powley, global president of iCrossing. “We believe in the power of the connected brand, and this experience will continue to build fan loyalty for Toyota by connecting the brand with its audience in a distinct and engaging way.”
The Tweet Race is the first social media contest and sweepstakes partnership between Toyota, NASCAR and Twitter.
“My fan base has always been pretty active on Twitter so I’m certainly looking forward to them supporting me in the Tweet Race during the Chase,” said Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Camry. “It would be awesome if I could virtually win a bunch of races along with capturing the real wins during the Chase.”
Fans can track their favorite driver’s progress during each race and throughout the Chase on http://www.toyotaracing.com/tweetrace. The Tweet Race contest will run from September 15 to November 17, 2013.
About Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Established in 1957, TMS markets products and services through a network of nearly 1,500 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers which sold more than 1.64 million vehicles in 2011. Toyota directly employs over 30,000 people in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com, www.lexus.com, www.scion.com or www.toyotanewsroom.com.
About iCrossing
iCrossing is a global digital marketing agency that builds connected brands for some of the world’s most recognized companies including Beam Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, FedEx and LG Electronics. The agency combines its expertise in media, creative and analytics with talent and technology to help brands build close relationships with their customers in real time. iCrossing, a unit of Hearst Corporation, is headquartered in New York and has 900 employees in 18 offices globally. In addition, iCrossing owns Core Audience, a software as a service (SaaS) data management platform that powers audience-based marketing across bought, earned and owned media. For more information, visit www.icrossing.com or its social spaces.
