In the summer of 2008, I had a wonderful opportunity to work with local marketing firm the Drew/Walker Group on a number of strategic creative projects. The most ambitious and successful of which was a complete redesign of the Toyota Texas Manufacturing Visitor & Education Center in San Antonio, TX. Continue reading or download the PDF below.

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Introduction:

Welcome to Toyota Texas

The TMMTX Visitor & Education Center tells the story of Toyota and how this automotive leader builds world-class vehicles. Toyota Texas wanted a center that would recreate the plant experience. While plant tours are given, fewer than 100 people per day are permitted inside. Thus, the purpose of The Visitor & Education Center is to provide a sense of the Toyota Production Process for those unable to tour the actual plant.

Creative Inspiration:

Texas heart with a modern style

Inspired by the hard-working Texas ranch tradition and highlighted with sophisticated style indicative of Toyota’s forward-thinking technology, we chose typography, symbols and a deep range of colors that could effectively carry visitors from the History of Toyota to Future Innovations and Environmental Outreach, and still remain contextually relevant to a state of the art global manufacturing company. The visual themes you see here are consistently applied throughout the Visitor Center.

The Road to Toyota Country:

Signage and oversize banners mark the trail

Banners and exterior signage lead visitors from the main plant facility to the Visitor Center just outside the gates of TMMTX. The Texas flag and dark wood background lend to the theme of “Toyota Texas.” Translators triple-checked spelling and context of “welcome” and “goodbye” messages in 3 languages (English, Spanish and Japanese) to honor the mix of cultural influences that make Toyota Texas a truly unique experience.

Get Your Hands Dirty:

Interactive exhibits encourage the kid in all of us

A number of custom-designed interactive exhibits encourage visitors to see first-hand and become involved with different aspects of the world-renowned Toyota Production System and what it takes to produce the Toyota Tundra. Exhibits were conceptualized by Drew/Walker and our contracted exhibit construction team and brought to life in the 3 months of our contract.

Larger than Life:

Window graphics awe visitors

As soon as you walk in the door, your eyes are drawn to enormous window clings that take up 3000 square feet of wall space. There are three images that span the entire length of the wall, each of which was framed and shot specifically for the space. It may have been easier to find stock photography, but we worked with the TMMTX human resources team to let us in with a small camera crew to scope out appropriate shots of the production facility in action. Lastly, we tracked down a NASCAR photographer who shot a beautiful photo of the #23 Tundra racing to the finish in the NASCAR Master Craftsman series. This is a shot of the same vehicle that is now resting at the Visitor Center.

Key Ingredients:

Wall wraps take center stage

One of the most important pieces of the entire project was the design and production of 4000 square feet of wall wrap graphics to cover over 30 wall surfaces. The graphics were uniformly arranged and designed to match the different areas of the facility, each with a unique color scheme and carefully designed typography. The greatest challenge was getting the right copy approved and making it to press successfully with scalable art and high-quality images.

Beauty in the Details:

The story of Toyota Texas unfolds with every step

We produced a series of about 100 PVC and vinyl placards detailing not only the different areas of the plant, but also local and environmental impact of Toyota in the community. Copy for the mounts was provided by Toyota managers and refined by a professional copywriter to give the story a consistant feel across the scope of the project.

Toyota Texas Goes Live:

Website, press release and a grand opening introduce Toyota Texas

Toyota Texas Website | Press Release:

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (Sept. 17, 2008)

Drew/Walker, a San Antonio-based advertising and branding agency, worked with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas (TMMTX) to create and build its brand new Visitor & Education Center which will be unveiled today at 10 a.m.
“We used experiential marketing for everything from the exhibition planning to the online marketing of the TMMTX Visitor & Education Center,” said Andrew M. Anguiano, creative partner and CEO of Drew/Walker. “It is a great honor to have played a pivotal role in the creation and success of the Toyota Texas Visitor Center. We appreciate the opportunity Toyota afforded us in helping to promote the quality vehicles it builds. Toyota Texas is not only an American story, but a Texas story. With its quest for innovation and continuous improvement, it sets a high standard of excellence in the automotive industry.”
The TMMTX Visitor & Education Center creatively tells the story of Toyota and how this automotive leader builds world-class vehicles. Toyota Texas wanted a center that would recreate the plant experience. While plant tours are given, a maximum of three groups of 40 people per day are permitted inside. Thus, the purpose of The Visitor & Education Center is to provide a sense of the Toyota Production Process for those unable to tour the actual plant.
“This visitor experience goes outside traditional media and will fill a need for people of all ages, including students, tourists, community members, and business professionals who visit the plant,” said Mike De La Garza, Manager of External Affairs for Toyota Texas. “Drew/Walker helped make the Visitor & Education Center a reality from the beginning, conducting case studies of other visitor centers to help bring this groundbreaking exhibition to life. The Agency’s creativity, passion and tenacity shine through with this strategically-developed experience.”

Register for a tour or call for information.

–Press release by Lorraine Pulido-Ramirez