Toyota GB ‘real voices’ underpin second phase of IMI ‘There’s More to Motor’ digital campaign

Toyota GB talent tell their career stories in the second phase of IMI digital campaign to shift perceptions

After the significant success of the first phase of its ‘There’s More to Motor’ digital campaign, The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) is investing in a further push to improve perceptions of the automotive sector as career choice. Key to the new campaign is the inclusion of a wide diversity of ‘real voices’ from Toyota GB, which are shown in a series of short films that can be accessed at There's More to Motor - YouTube bringing to life the breadth of opportunities that exist in automotive.

Paula Cooper, Director Consumer One & Academy at Toyota GB confirmed why the company felt this was such an important campaign to support: “Toyota GB has captured ‘real voices’ from both head office and our retail network to showcase the many exciting and rewarding opportunities to grow and develop a career in automotive.

“As our industry faces a significant shortage of skills in traditional and new aspects of the business, it is crucial that we change the perception of automotive and attract new, diverse talent. Toyota and Lexus are employers of choice, and our retail network provides a wide range of career opportunities throughout the UK. We want to attract talent who would not have otherwise considered working for us, demystifying what it is like to work here. We offer world-class learning and development to support candidates joining our business. We are confident the IMI campaign will inspire people to join our brands - there is a role for the broadest range of skills and profiles, and at all stages of development.”  

The first phase of the IMI campaign surpassed industry benchmarks across all platforms. The second phase will run throughout the summer months focusing on the social platforms that proved most successful.

Phase One achieved:

•    More than 75,000 clicks
•    34,600 conversions
•    32,500 clicks on the ‘Search Jobs’ button
•    Over 5 million impressions 
•    More than 2,000 users successfully taken to partner (recruitment) sites

Sally Hodder, Head of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at the IMI added: “While the first phase of the campaign was successful across the board, the most valuable result was the 2,000 conversions where users clicked through to partner sites to browse and apply for job opportunities. What that told us is that there is strong interest in our sector when we tell the story of the career potential. We are, therefore, delighted to have partnered with Toyota GB to bring more ‘real voices’ video content into the second phase to highlight the many different roles available to a wide diversity of people and skills, as well as illustrating the breadth of technology advances that put automotive on a par with other tech-led sectors.”

The latest IMI job vacancy figures show that motor trades remains the sector with the highest skills gap, with 22,000 unfilled posts. The need to encourage more people to consider a career in automotive, therefore, remains critical. Yet there are more than 200 different occupations across the sector, with technological advances creating opportunities that go far beyond traditional perceptions of working in automotive.

“Phase one of ‘There’s More to Motor’ undoubtedly raised awareness of the career possibilities in automotive with the data showing a clear increase in the number of people considering a role in the industry for the first time”, concluded Sally Hodder. “However, it will take time for the impact to make a significant difference to the vacancy rate and the projected skills gap, so we are determined not to take our foot off the pedal. Utilising carefully selected ad placement coupled with greater industry engagement, we believe this next phase will be an even greater success and bring wider benefits to the industry in the short and long-term.”