Toyota’s Scion has managed to bridge the gap between the virtual world and the real world with a highly effective use of user-generated content to build a market for its cars.

Toyota introduced the Scion to North America five years ago, and now has the youngest median age of customers, 31, in the industry. Toyota Scion has sold over 600,000 units since its inception in 2003 and has sold over 700,000 virtual Scions on sites such as Gaia, Whyville and Second Life, meaning that people in these online communities are purchasing virtual Scions using virtual money. This has translated into real life sales for Toyota.

The online buyers not only have the option to purchase the Scions but can also customize them to their own personal tastes. Toyota monitors the activities of its virtual customers as a way to have potential customers spend time with their product while also giving the company valuable insight into what their clients want and would like to see in the future. Toyota attributes its growth, 71 per cent of Scion buyers are first time Toyota customers, to this new way of getting to the target market. They understand that people who spend time with an item, will develop a loyalty to it, even if it is a virtual item. Toyota looks to continue releasing new models into the virtual world in 2009 to see if it can’t continue their rapid growth into this younger and more tech savvy market.