Cie Games’ ‘Car Town’ Partners With Toyota to Merge Real With Virtual During Detroit Auto Show Reveal

Cie Games has partnered with Toyota to eliminate the double-yellow line that normally separates the real world from the virtual space by simultaneously revealing the Toyota Prius family of vehicles in the online game Car Town (www.cartown.com) while the real cars make their debut at the Detroit Auto Show.

Car Town creator Cie Games (www.ciegames.com) and Toyota (www.toyota.com) have created a completely interactive, Prius-branded experience in Car Town, the hugely popular social game with 7.2 million active players and growing. The three-month campaign is designed to introduce the new Toyota Prius family of vehicles to Car Town’s highly engaged group of consumers. It drives brand engagement through a virtual showroom, branded virtual items and game play elements created expressly for players who purchase the Prius cars within the game.

“Car Town is more than a game – it’s a media platform,” said Justin Choi, president and CEO of Cie Games. “We don’t just throw ads in front of consumers to drive impressions. We create game elements and game extensions that incorporate the key messages of the brands we work with – ensuring a level of attention and engagement to the brand that other media properties and games don’t achieve.”

The Toyota integration will drive consumer participation in the “Prius Goes Plural” marketing campaign, launching at the Detroit Auto Show. Toyota is asking its customers and fans to help them decide on a term to describe the plural of Prius vehicles via a public voting system. Upon voting within Car Town, players will receive a virtual T-shirt indicating their preferred plural. In-game Prius T-shirts are based on actual T-shirt designs worn at the Detroit Auto Show and will only “unlock” (become available) after a player votes.

“We're excited to launch a live, virtual event which parallels Toyota's real-world Prius activities at the Detroit Auto Show," said Kim Kyaw, senior media strategist for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. “The integration in Car Town offers dynamic and engaging content with the ultimate goal that consumers will more likely connect with the Prius family and have a positive experience with the Toyota brand."

Additionally, the integration includes a planted Prius money tree on the main game page. With each purchase of an in-game Prius, the tree will grow, eventually evolving from a tiny sapling to a full-grown tree. Also, with the purchase of the featured Prius vehicle, players unlock the tree’s “money crop” functionality – the tree will generate gold coins, which players use as currency within the game.

The Prius money tree acts as a gateway to the Prius Showroom within Car Town, a virtual replica of the physical display at the Detroit Auto Show. Once there, players are transported to a Toyota and Prius branded destination with the latest Prius models on display, a video wall, an avatar acting as greeter, Prius T-shirt rack, signage and voting kiosk stations.

To underscore the real-world advantages of owning a Toyota Prius vehicle, players who own the virtual model will experience special benefits within Car Town. In Car Town’s racing mini-game, Prius cars will require minimal fuel to race. Completing certain in-game tasks – like pizza delivery or a road trip – will cost 50 percent less for Prius owners than it does for owners of other Car Town vehicles.

Car Town has 7.2 million active users and is one of the largest games available via Facebook. Created by Cie Games, Car Town is the only game on Facebook built around licensed automotive brands. It lets players collect and customize virtual cars, build their dream garages and help their friends do the same. Committed to high-quality brand integrations, Car Town delivers more than impressions – it delivers focused engagement. Brands are exposed to an audience of millions who are eager for the new content that advertisers bring to the game.

About Cie Games

Cie Games (www.ciegames.com) creates online social games that deliver deeper engagement and a richer experience to game players while serving as a powerful media platform for advertisers. Its popular game Car Town (www.cartown.com) has 7.2 million active users and is one of the largest games available on Facebook. Cie Games builds interactive media properties that combine gaming, social networking, online advertising, product placement and brand interaction. Cie Games is located in Long Beach, Calif., but operates at the intersection of Silicon Valley, Hollywood and Madison Avenue.

About Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Established in 1957, TMS markets products and services through a network of more than 1,400 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers. Toyota directly employs more than 34,000 people in the U.S. and sold more than 1.76 million vehicles in 2010.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com, www.lexus.com, www.scion.com or www.toyotanewsroom.com.