Cassies 2008 Cases

Cassies 2008 Cases
Brand/Case: Lexus Brand “h”
Winner: Automotive and DIY—Silver
Sustained Success—Silver
Client Credits: Lexus Canada Inc.
Stephen Beatty - Vice President, Director Advertising and PR
Linas Balaisis - National Manager, Advertising and PR
Jeff Powell - Manager, Advertising and PR
Stuart Payne - Director Lexus Canada
Agency Credits: Dentsu Canada Inc.
Bob Shropshire - President
Mark Russell - Vice President, Director of Account Service
Emma Hall - Vice President, Group Account Director
Kathryn Long - Account Supervisor
Glen Hunt - Creative Catalyst
Deborah Prenger - Art Director
David Cairns - Director of Communications Planning
Mark Wyeth - Communications Manager
Crossover Notes: All winning cases contain lessons that cross over from one case to another.
David Rutherford has been identifying these as Crossover Notes since Cassies 1997. The full
set for Cassies 2008 can be downloaded from the Case Library section at www.cassies.ca
Crossover
Crossover
Crossover
Crossover
Crossover
Note
Note
Note
Note
Note
1.
2.
10.
11.
12.
What a Brand Stands For.
Brand Truths.
Conventional Wisdom—should it be challenged?
The Eureka Insight.
Changing the Goalposts.
To see creative, go to the Case Library Index and click on the additional links beside the case.
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Business Results Period (Consecutive Months):
Start of Advertising/Communication Effort:
Base Period for Comparison:
October 2005 – June 2008
October 2005
Historical Comparisons
a) Introduction:
By 2005 Lexus was firmly established as a brand that consumers could count on for
quality and reliability. But despite strong sales growth and a mandate to become the
leading luxury brand in Canada, Lexus was stuck at number five in the category.
Research among Lexus, Mercedes and BMW owners revealed what was stalling
progress: Lexus was respected, but not desired. The “Relentless Pursuit of Perfection”
had to be supplemented with a relentless pursuit of affection.
b) The Essential Challenge:
Lexus needed to be re-positioned in the minds of affluent Canadians to become more
meaningful and desirable than either BMW or Mercedes. With a new design philosophy
and the establishment of Lexus as a global brand, Canada had to do its part in creating
unprecedented desire for Lexus.
In response to this, we identified a new trend to inner-directed status in the attitudes of
our audience. This led to the “Moments” campaign launched in October 2005. Then, in
2007, “Moments” evolved to focus on how the Lexus “h” series of hybrid models meets
rising concerns about environmental degradation.
c) Summary of Business Results:
The early aspects of the “Moments” campaign were recognized at the 2007 Cassies for
“Off to a Good Start” and “Best Insight”. Sales, share and consumer attitudes toward the
brand have continued to improve, and the halo effect of the hybrid “Moments” advertising
has accelerated those positive trends.
Specifically, since the launch of the “Moments” campaign:
1. Lexus sales in 2008 are up by +62% versus the first half of 2005 (i.e. the period
prior to the launch of the campaign).
2. Share has moved up several points (details later) such that Lexus has gone from
#5 luxury brand to #3, and continues to gain on BMW and Mercedes.
3. Tracking shows that purchase intent rose from 12% pre-launch to 21% after one
year. It reached 24% in 2007 and has stabilized in the +20% range.
4. Response to the 2007 iteration of “Moments” has accelerated attitudinal shifts.
Scores in Millward Brown tracking have increased on soft measures like “makes
me proud to own” (+14 points), “is fun to drive” (+3 points) and “modern and
contemporary” (+5 points).
3
SITUATION ANALYSIS
a) Overall assessment
Fifteen years after its lunch in 1990, the Lexus Dealers had built a reputation for
outstanding after-sales service, and advertising – combined with word-of-mouth from
owners and the press – had built high ratings for quality and reliability. However, BMW
and Mercedes-Benz strengths were in more emotional areas, leading to higher desirability
and purchase intent.
Despite strong sales growth and a mandate to become the leading luxury brand in
Canada, Lexus was stalled at number five, behind BMW, Mercedes, Acura and Volvo.
In 2005 a new worldwide design philosophy was revealed for Lexus that would unify the
appearance and identity of every new model in the brand family and define the kind of
experience that customers could expect when they purchase one. This philosophy was
built on three tenets: sensory immersion, individuality and seamless anticipation.
A combination of tracking and ethnographic research among Lexus, Mercedes and BMW
owners revealed a key issue: Lexus was respected, but not desired. The “Relentless
Pursuit of Perfection” had to be supplemented with a relentless pursuit of affection.
Lexus needed to connect with affluent consumers in a new way. Crossover Note 2.
b) Resulting Business Objectives
The long-term goal was to be the leading luxury
automotive brand in Canada. To achieve that, Lexus
aimed to engage consumers emotionally and
improve scores on measures like attraction, brand
desirability and purchase intent.
But in the short term, the new advertising had to
increase dealer visits and market share.
The first year share target was to move the brand
from #5 to #4, and then in subsequent years to
continue the march to #1.
c) Budget Range/Share of Voice
Lexus decided that if it intended to be #1 it had to act
like this with its ad spending. It increased from the
$15 million annual range to $25 million or more to
match or be slightly above the spends of top selling
brands. The “Media Execution” section goes into
detail on how this was done.
4
STRATEGY AND INSIGHT
a) Analysis and Insight
How does a relative newcomer to a category take on the traditional leaders? Change the
rules of the game. Crossover Note 10.
Luxury for this category had long been associated with the European brands and the
large, overstuffed rides produced by the Detroit 3. Their credentials had been established
through traditional views of luxury – status symbols, conspicuous consumption,
ostentation – a desire to show the world that one is rich, powerful, even famous.
Our research (qualitative and quantitative) told us that, at least in Canada, attitudes and
values were changing. Affluent people still want more, but they want more of something
different. Luxury that was externally-driven is becoming internal. Time and experiences
have become the new hallmark of achievement and power. Crossover Notes 11 and 12.
Research in 2007 revealed another aspect of the affluent Canadian – an increasingly
“altrucapitalist” (altruistic capitalist) attitude to the environment. Not unlike most people
exposed to An Inconvenient Truth and similar pleas, they are increasingly concerned.
Unlike many, however, they feel a responsibility to do their bit. They are concerned
about future generations and their perfect moments. In other words, the moment is now to
save the planet.
b) Business Strategy
Lexus would become the marque that encouraged
consumers to shed their old preconceptions of luxury
and pursue new luxury. To pursue what really matters
in today’s world. To pursue “the moment.”
This resonated with the new Lexus design philosophy
which was “to design a moment of theatre” into every
aspect of a Lexus owner’s interaction with the vehicle.
Vehicles built to deliver perfect moments.
c) Communication Strategy
The Lexus “Moments” campaign was built around a
singular promise that permeated the organization:
Lexus will provide more perfect moments than any
other luxury car manufacturer in the world. Period!
Crossover Note 1.
Advertising would dwell on moments – and the emotions and feelings that those
moments sparked – whether moments of personal elation related to family or loved ones,
or moments of anger, disappointment, joy or pride related to external world events or the
environment. They would include, of course, thrilling and gratifying moments associated
with driving a fine luxury automobile.
5
CREATIVE EXECUTION
The “Moments” campaign kicked off in Fall 2005 with television. A :45 spot highlights
the moments that life can offer and philosophizes that a fulfilling life is about stringing
together as many perfect moments as possible. The Lexus flagship LS was shown as the
embodiment of this philosophy and carried the brand promise that Lexus will deliver
more perfect automotive moments than any other luxury car manufacturer on the planet.
Lexus TV: 45 seconds – “Moments”
That spot was followed by model-specific advertising throughout 2006, first for the ES
(entry level Lexus), then the all-new IS (mid-range performance sports sedan) and finally
the new LS – the completely retooled super-luxury model.
In 2007 - 2008 “Moments” TV and cinema launched the flagship hybrid luxury sedan,
the LS 600h L in the Fall, and the high performance IS F sports model in the Spring.
Each spot had the models delivering unique moments. ‘Frozen Moment’ had a driver
experiencing a perfect moment in the accessible ES. ‘Acceleration’ and ‘Roundabout’
had drivers creating moments of exhilaration is their powerful and nimble IS.
Lexus TV: 30 seconds – “Acceleration”
The advertising supporting the hybrid offering is an instructive evolution of “Moments.”
Even though “The Letter h,” supports the introduction of the LS 600h L – which Lexus can
rightfully claim is the world’s first – its tone and style echoed the 2005 manifesto spot. But it
spoke to the ultimate in internally directed status –protecting the earth’s environment so that
our children and grandchildren can experience moments of perfection.
Lexus TV: 30 seconds – “Letter h”
Print work was designed to reinforce the “Moments” philosophy. For instance, print
executions encouraging consumers to actively pursue moments were used in Fall 2006 to
set up the print heavy LS launch to an upper income, well-read consumer.
6
The 2007-08 print campaign used “moments” to counter myths about hybrids and solidify
the luxury connection for those wanting to help the planet while still driving a great car
(sample headline: “How a Lexus hybrid works, moment by beautiful moment”). A web
site also followed this “edvertising” (educational advertising) approach, explaining how
hybrid technology works before promoting the Lexus h models.
MEDIA EXECUTION
The choice was made to lead our competitors in SOV for the first full year of the
program. In subsequent years we have maintained this heightened SOV, consistent with
the long term goal of moving into the number one sales spot in the category.
Mfr & Dlr Combined SOV (to May '08)
ACURA
INFINITI
AUDI
BMW
MERCEDES-BENZ
LEXUS
20.0%
18.0%
Lexus
16.0%
Infiniti
BMW
Acura
14.0%
12.0%
Mercedes
10.0%
8.0%
Audi
6.0%
4.0%
2.0%
"Moments" campaign
Phase 2 "h"
launch
campaign launch
0.0%
01 SOV
02 SOV
03 SOV
04 SOV
05 SOV
06 SOV
07 SOV
08 SOV
Lexus SOV was increased with the launch of the "Moments" campaign in 2005, and achieved the targeted #1 share.
Phase two of this campaign shows that SOV has been maintained while several key competitors catch up.
7
Given the elusiveness of the luxury consumer, this was not just investment, but rather,
strategic investment. The campaign kicked off in Fall 2005 with television using tightly
targeted programming that the luxury consumer would be watching. We always led
model-specific advertising with a wave of “Moments” to remind consumers that Lexus
not only believes in the philosophy, but delivers it in their products.
Over time, other media were added to round out the campaign and tightly target luxury
consumers. Select cinema would carry the message further. DVD releases such as
Constant Gardner and Unfinished Life also carried our message. Lifestyle magazines
carried the philosophy with all creative tailored to the subject matter of the publication
trying to capture what the perfect moments for the reader might be. This philosophy of
tightly targeting luxury consumers continues through 2008.
BUSINESS RESULTS
30.0%
In the 1st year of “Moments” sales
increased by 18.7%, with 27
consecutive record months all told,
moving Lexus from #5 to #4.
Market
share
by
Brand
(this
group)
Lexus
25.0%
BMW
20.0%
Mercedes
Audi
15.0%
Since then sales and share have
continued to rise. Sales are up
62% overall since the start of the
campaign (when the segment grew
31%) and Lexus has become the
#3 brand in the luxury segment.
Volvo
10.0%
Infiniti
5.0%
Acura (lux
only)
0.0%
2004
2005
2006
2007
08 to June
CAUSE AND EFFECT BETWEEN ADVERTISING AND RESULTS
1. Purchase intent, measured in
tracking by Millward Brown,
increased from 12 percent at
the outset to 21 percent a
year after “Moments”
launched, and has remained
at that level since.
Lexus
Brand Communication
90
Tracking
Study
Measures
Overall Opinion
Initial Consideration
Moments Campaign
"h" Campaign
Launch
Launch
Purchase Intention
80
70
Overall Opinion
60
50
40
Brand Communication
Awareness
2. Overall opinion of the brand
increased each time an
element of the campaign ran.
Following the launch
The Lexus Moments campaign and its evolution into the "h" campaign both produced immediate gains in consumer opinion
“Moments” consumer
of the brand and purchase intent. The ups and downs for the communication awareness scores show these scores are
opinion of Lexus increased
responsive to advertising flighting.
markedly, and this occurred
again following the launch of the “h” evolution of the campaign.
30
20
Purchase Intention
10
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