The Toyota Vios, as we know, is the runaway best-selling car in the Philippines. But think about these numbers for a moment: Last year, the popular subcompact sedan sold a total of 16,517 units--much more than the total number of cars sold by the fourth best-selling brand in the country, Honda (12,653), and not that far away from the total of the No. 3 brand in our market, Hyundai (21,996).
That\'s like having a one-man scoring machine like Michael Jordan on your team.
So, when the new version of the Vios arrived, how do you suppose Toyota Motor Philippines did it?
Extravagantly, of course.
Besides hiring Ely Buendia and Rico Blanco to serenade its dealers and the press during a two-night preview at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay last week, Toyota threw a club party called \"Vios Vibe\" at the NBC Tent in Taguig on Friday. The photos you see here were taken from this 8pm-to-2am shindig.
The party was open to the public. To get special invites, one had to register through a microsite Toyota created just for the event. Nevertheless, walk-in guests were accommodated. A lineup up supposedly hip DJs provided the kind of music Opus and Privé regulars were accustomed to, booze flowed like water, and lights dazzled like the sun.
Curious, we asked a fellow guest who knew marketing stuff to put an estimate on the event\'s total cost. \"This won\'t cost lower than P4 million,\" said the blown-away attendee.
Wow. That staggering amount just to formally welcome a new car for one evening?
Then again, if that car can sell more than 1,300 units a month, why not?
Photos by Vernon B. Sarne and Toyota Motor Philippines
