• Yahoo/AP , Tuesday, October 9, 2007 12:45 PM

Deborah Wahl Meyer, who left Toyota to become Chrysler's marketing chief, is looking into programs that let companies target their television advertising by ZIP code. Chrysler already targets Internet ads based on potential customers' Yahoo searches, but Wahl Meyer wants to take what the company learns to the local level so dealers can beef up their own efforts to target customers.

Meyer, the daughter of a former Chrysler plant manager, also says she wants to build on Chrysler's success in winning over black and Hispanic buyers and use what the company has learned to go after younger customers. She also wants to get a deeper understanding of Chrysler's core buyers.

Some industry watchers say Meyer's task will be difficult. Meyer did good work at Toyota and helped lift its Lexus brand into the highest luxury tier, says Dan Gorrell of consulting company AutoStratagem. But Chrysler's brands have been hurt by heavy incentive spending and quality problems, he feels, and they have much lower consumer acceptance than Toyota's brands.

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