NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota will again reinforce its commitment to the Latino community by sponsoring the Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media (LATISM) 2013 Annual Conference, kicking off today in New York City. 

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The event, which runs through September 21 at the Waldorf Astoria New York, brings together community, social media and technology leaders to honor the influencers making the biggest impact and explore new ideas and best practices in social media together.

As the exclusive automotive sponsor, Toyota will engage participants with activities aimed to showcase key conservation, education and safety missions aligning with LATISM priorities that span more than 180,000 members.

Toyota will, once again, serve as lead sponsor of the LATISM Awards Gala, taking place on Friday, Sept. 20. The LATISM Awards Gala will recognize the best performers in social media across several categories, including best bloggers in Parenting, Tech and Food, Best Multicultural Campaign, Best Latin Vlogger and many more.

The @ToyotaLatino Twitter handle, launched to share, listen and learn with the Latino community through social media at LATISM last September, has since reached nearly 3,000 followers and published more than 1,400 tweets. The channel has become a powerful platform for Toyota to engage this growing community at live events and online, as well as share more targeted vehicle information with owners and enthusiasts.

Toyota has spent the past year boosting our connection to the Hispanic community through social media, especially with our launch of @ToyotaLatino and new partnerships with Latino social media influencers like Jon Secada," said Javier Moreno, manager of corporate communications at Toyota Motor North America. "These initiatives have allowed us to reach even deeper within the Hispanic community to demonstrate our core values, including our commitment to safety and the environment."

As Toyota has been marketing to and engaging the Latino community for more than 20 years, the conference offers a unique opportunity to reflect on and draw from that multi-decade commitment.

Since 2004, Toyota has been the leading automotive brand among the U.S. Hispanic community. According to data from automotive research firm Polk, Toyota garners more than 16 percent of the U.S. Latino car-buying market, with success driven largely by Toyota's dedicated efforts to authentically engage with the community.

"We appreciate Toyota's commitment to our conference, and it's this continued involvement that proves how dedicated the company is to the Latino community within the social media sphere and beyond," said Ana Roca Castro, president and founder of LATISM.

About ToyotaToyota, the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands.  Over the past 50 years, we've built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ nearly 40,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.).  Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.3 million cars and trucks in 2012 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today. 

Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment.  As part of this commitment, we share the company's extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good.  (NYSE: TM)  For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

ABOUT LATISMFounded in 2009, Latinos in Tech Innovation & Social Media (LATISM) is a 501(c)4 nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to advancing the social, civic and economic status of the Latino community. LATISM actively engages in digital communities to ensure that online discourse more accurately reflects the rich diversity of thought, heritage and culture in our changing society. To learn more about the LATISM organization, visit http://latism.org.

SOURCE Toyota