This Is How Lexus Is Going After Younger Consumers
Lexus is going after the younger generation hot and heavy in a variety of ways.
Multi-Pronged Approach
It's become pretty obvious that Lexus has placed a major emphasis on attracting younger customers to the brand lately as it works to change its image as a supplier of vehicles for older folks. It's obviously important for the brand's future to do so, as the cyclical nature of the business means that generations come and go, so you constantly have to appeal to as many as possible. Thus, Lexus has taken a multi-pronged approach to drive down the average age of its owners in recent months.
Photos: Lexus
Getting Focused
Much of this change can be credited to Vinay Shahani, who took over as Lexus' VP of U.S. Marketing earlier this year. Shortly after being named to that position, Shahani had a tough conversation with his new marketing team and the ad agencies that supported them. "Even though I loved the work they were doing, I thought there was an opportunity for us to be a little more focused in our marketing," Shahani explained to AdAge.
Photos: Lexus
Different Direction
Shahani saw a lot of opportunity with millennials in particular, as he believes that they will soon become the biggest group of luxury vehicle buyers. "If I am being honest, I feel like our competitors are doing a better job of connecting with these consumers than we were," Shahani admitted. Thus, he set out to change the brand's advertising approach by striking deals with micro-influencers including gamers, audiophiles, and sneakerheads.
Photos: Lexus
Innovative Approach
The latest of these efforts is an ad campaign called "Emotional Sparks," a multi-faceted effort that includes the creation of an original song and music video, featuring Argentinian rapper Ecko, the songwriters from Nova Wav, and singer Audrey Nuna. The song touts the capabilities of Lexus' TeamMate driver-assistance technology in an innovative and unobtrusive way.
Photos: Lexus
Non-Traditional Venues
Lexus has released the corresponding 30-second ad spots for Emotional Sparks on TV, but its focus is clearly shifting toward non-traditional platforms like TikTok and Instagram. "The prevalence of TV in our media mix has definitely come down," Shahani said. One of its first TikTok hits came from a video starring the Lexus NX that demonstrated the dangers of distracted driving.
Photos: Lexus
Moving Forward
"We were amazed at the engagement that we saw on the TikTok platform," Shahani said. "We developed that campaign specifically for TikTok and it was a pretty powerful pilot, or lesson, for us and it's given us more confidence to go after more specific TikTok executions." In the same vein, Lexus has shifted its advertising spending away from traditional sports like golf to new-age vessels like esports.
Photos: Lexus
Planting the Seed
Those efforts include a specially-built IS 350 F Sport with a gaming PC located in the trunk, as well as a collaboration with the esports team 100 Thieves earlier this year. With the chip shortage having a huge impact on production and sales, Shahani admits that the automaker is doing all of this with an eye toward the future. "At most 2% of the people we talk to are in-market [to buy a car] at any given time … so the majority of our advertising frankly is planting a seed for the future and telling the story of our brand and why you should consider our brand," he said.
Photos: Lexus
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