The Paralympic Games athletes have incredible, world-class abilities and athleticism. Despite this, they are largely ignored by society. People don't often think about the incredible odds that must be overcome in order to compete — it's an accomplishment most able-bodied people can’t even begin to imagine. As a result, Paralympic coverage is almost nonexistent. But without coverage, people don’t tune in. It was due time for change.

Every two years the Olympic and Paralympic Games return to NBC, the world’s-largest broadcaster of the Games. Sadly, the Paralympics receive significantly less media coverage. Toyota wanted to inspire NBC to join our mission to change that. In an unprecedented move, Toyota sponsored both events equally. How? By buying media that didn't exist. This challenged NBC to increase airtime for the Paralympics. It worked. Exposure for the Games more than doubled.

Ahead of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, we ran the first-ever Super Bowl ad on NBC featuring a Paralympic athlete to get people excited. Then for the event itself, we increased our media investment across TV and digital platforms by far more than NBC had originally planned. This challenged NBC to increase airtime for the Paralympics to fit our media buy. It worked. In fact, exposure for the Games more than doubled.

The 2018 Paralympic Winter Games received a total of 250 hours of coverage on NBC. This included 156 hours of streaming and 94 hours of traditional broadcasting. Overall, this was a 200 percent increase compared to Sochi 2014. For the first time in history, we gave the masses an opportunity to watch and engage in the Paralympics like never before.

Thanks to Toyota's intervention, the Paralympic Games garnered 22MM P2+ impressions on NBC, and 4.5MM minutes of live streaming were viewed on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC app. Further, Toyota moved from below one percent top-of-mind association with the Paralympic Games in the U.S. at benchmark (ranked #14) to be the number-two brand associated with the Paralympic Games in 2018 (approximately seven percent top-of-mind association). Finally, according to our research, interest in the Games increased significantly (up 12 percentage points) from benchmark in the U.S.

Enthusiasts of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements share our mindset. They’re inspired by the Games and individual stories of struggle. We call these people optimists of the world. This target believes, as we do, that technology and innovation will lead humankind toward a brighter future. And by engaging with them, we believe others will follow along.

Our campaign aimed to elevate perceptions of the Paralympic Games to the same level as the Olympic Games. A feat long overdue and deserved. But with only 53 hours of Paralympic coverage in 2014 in the U.S., an inclusive ad campaign during the Olympics could only go so far. The approach was to not only reach our audience with our message, but give them more of the content they were seeking. We aimed to make what seemed impossible possible — bringing massive exposure to the Paralympics — by going far beyond our own communications.

Toyota believes that freedom of movement is a human right. That when we are free to move, anything is possible. Toyota's goal? To tear down barriers, so that everyone everywhere can reach their potential. Thus began an impressive metamorphosis, shifting the brand from that of a car company to a mobility company providing mobility solutions for all people of all walks of life.

To do this, our brief was to showcase Toyota’s beliefs, actions and products related to mobility innovations and to demonstrate how we are working to remove barriers so that people from all walks of life have more ways to move freely.

By partnering with both the Olympic and Paralympic Games and featuring them equally, our aim was to elevate the Paralympic Movement to the level it deserves.