• by Tanya Gazdik , October 7, 2021

Toyota Motor Sales USA has hired Joester Loria Group to handle licensing services for both the Toyota and Lexus brands on an ongoing basis. 

Through merchandising and collaborations, JLG will activate programs to engage Toyota and Lexus owners as well as consumers looking for innovative quality products that are hallmarks for the brands. 

JLG will work with Toyota and Lexus marketing teams to tap into each brand's unique positioning to deliver programs that will increase engagement with consumers, said Lisa Materazzo, group vice president of Toyota Marketing.

“They will be looking for opportunities for us to leverage not only the brand but the nameplates for licensing opportunities,” Materazzo tells Marketing Daily. “People love licensed products, and when done well, they really do help elevate the brand.”

Programs will range from collaborations with third-party brands to apparel and accessories, toys and games, electronics and interactive.

“Our consumers are passionate about the Toyota brand,” says Materazzo.“Licensed product extensions provide another platform of engagement with the legendary vehicles they love."  

The Joester Loria Group represents other major brands including PepsiCo’s North America beverage brands, Frito-Lay’s Cheetos and Doritos brands, Constellation Brands beer portfolio including, Corona Extra and Modelo Especial, Kellogg’s portfolio of cereal and snack brands, Ferrara Candy Co. and Entenmann's baked goods.

One example of a recent Toyota licensing deal — although not orchestrated by JLG — is the recently announced Fender Lexus LC Stratocaster guitar. That deal is what prompted Toyota Motor Sales to hire a licensing partner to work with on an ongoing basis, she says.

The guitar includes a Structural Blue finish, that produces light metallic blue to deep midnight blue shades originally inspired by the Morpho butterfly. The paint on the Stratocaster guitar is the same paint that was used on the Lexus LC 500 coupe and convertible Inspiration Series, of which only 200 total vehicles were produced for the United States.

The Fender deal “aligns really nicely with the Lexus demographic,” Materazzo says. “It’s good for Fender, and it’s something new for them to talk about. It’s a limited series, so there’s a lot of synergies there.”