• by Alan Hart , August 14, 2018

This week on “Marketing Today,” I spoke with Jack Hollis, group vice president and general manager for the Toyota Division at Toyota North America.

Hollis leads all sales, marketing, and market representation as well as guest experience and retention activities for Toyota regional sales offices and distributors. In addition, he retains a role as global marketing advisor for Toyota’s Olympic and Paralympic sponsorships.

During the podcast, Hollis talked about the rapid change the automotive category -- and Toyota in particular -- is seeing, and what that means to him.

“Toyota is going from an automotive company to what I’m calling 'the human movement company,'" says Hollis. “And so, the idea of what we want consumers to feel is that we are part of their life, to be part of whatever challenges they may have. And while we can’t necessarily say we’re going to solve every one... we can sure be at the start of that.”

Hollis adds, “We want that relationship with individuals to tell us what is it that they could use, what is it they need, and help us challenge our team to solve problems.”

Highlights from this week’s “Marketing Today” podcast include:

• Hollis spent time playing Minor League Baseball before finding a different career path. (1:41)

• Hollis discusses his 26-year career arc at Toyota and how its DNA and people are a “core match” for him. (3:13)

• Hollis talks about three important mentors in his career. (8:09)

• Hollis on the power of Toyota’s “Let’s Go Places” campaign. (12:46)

• “We define mobility as, ultimately, a human right to move.” (19:14)

• Toyota supports the Olympics and Paralympics  equally. (24:41)

• Three things that drive Hollis: his faith, his relationship with his family, and his competitive nature. (28:39)

• Hollis admires brands that jump into a category and disrupt it, but then continue to grow. (30:07)