U.S Market Entry Plan for the 2025 Toyota Century

Problem:
In my International Marketing course, our class was tasked with introducing a foreign product into the U.S. market with a 15-page international marketing plan and presentation. My group chose the 2025 Toyota Century, a luxury Japanese sedan which is completely unknown in the U.S. market. In our eyes, there were two main challenges for this project: how do you package a $180,000 Toyota as a real competitor to familiar brands like Rolls-Royce and Bentley—and how do you market it to a relatively niche audience of wealthy and high-status individuals without compromising its exclusivity?

Actions:
My main responsibilities for this project were developing the Marketing Mix and building out the $5 million budget that will support the product launch. For the Marketing Mix, I created a selective promotional strategy to reach our target market using luxury-focused channels like high-end magazines, exclusive events, and influencer partnerships on platforms like YouTube and TikTok. I also created a pricing strategy that captured the rarity and craftsmanship of the vehicle, while also remaining consistent with our target demographic’s expectations. For the budget, I used the objective-and-task method we learned in class, allocating funds based on specific campaign goals like awareness, pre-orders, and media placements. To ensure we all had the same vision with our separate sections of the project, our team maintained excellent communication by dividing roles early, supporting one another, and staying aligned through regular check-ins.

Results:
Our final presentation received strong feedback and an A grade for our realistic strategies, engaging and visually appealing slides, and creative approach to positioning a foreign product in a competitive U.S. market. Also, for the report my professor noted the strength and clarity of the budget and Marketing Mix sections in feedback phases of the project. Through this course project, I gained hands-on experience in high-level brand strategy, pricing for luxury markets, and performance-based budget planning. I also learned the value of clear teamwork and how effective task division can drive a group project to success.