Market:
•United States
Key competitor:
•BMW: Based on prestige/sales volume
•Mercedes: Based on prestige alone
Target Audience: demographics
Primary:
•Adults 30-54, HHI $100K+
Secondary:
•Super Affluents, HHI $300K+
•OR $1 million+ in investible assets
Target Audience: insights,
psychographics
Discerning Affluents:
Luxury consumers who both know and
appreciate meaningful brand and product
differences. They are interesting and
interested, live their lives confidently and are
leaders – or influencers - in their peer set.
They like to stay ahead. Whereas the pure
status seeker is content merely to flash the
badges to which they belong, the Discerning
Affluent likes to know the stories – the
marvels, the wonderments – behind the
choices they make. They place a high value
on substance alongside of style.
Current State
Equity
(Describe what the brand stands for, or
aims to, that makes it distinct)
“The Pursuit of Perfection”:
•A philosophy of continuously improving the engineering process, the automotive result and service delivery.
•A shared belief with the target in the manner in which they pursue their goals. Like us, they are never done.
Character
Brand Values:
Brand Personality:
Intelligence. Precision. Advancement.
People. The Ongoing Pursuit.
Confident. Intelligent. Progressive. Stylish.
Provocative.
Building Blocks that support Equity
Product strengths/functional attributes:
Innovative technologies.
Examples include adaptive front lighting
systems (headlights that rotate up to fifteen
degrees), advanced air filtration systems, precollision safety system, smart access
technology, hybrid engines, etc.
Consumer benefits:
Individually, each advancement offers a
meaningful consumer end benefit. For
example, rotating headlights that help drivers
to see what’s around the bend before they get
to the bend.
Collectively, Lexus’ advancements align with
our target’s self-identify. We pursue perfection
like the target pursues their life: with a
constant drive towards improvement. They are
never done.
COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE
Market:
•United States
Key competitor:
•BMW: Based on prestige/sales volume
•Mercedes: Based on prestige alone
Potential Future State No. 1
Equity
(Describe what the brand stands for, or
aims to, that makes it distinct)
Champion the spirit of “Progressive Change”:
•Create a new kind of heritage rooted in shaping the future.
> “The European brands will read from the pages of existing history while Lexus will continually write the new pages of
history.”
> “Looking backward will never lead you to creating the world’s first 8-speed A/T.”
Target Audience: demographics
Primary:
•Adults 30-54, HHI $100K+
Secondary:
•Super Affluents, HHI $300K+
•OR $1 million+ in investible assets
Target Audience: insights,
psychographics
Affluentials (influential affluents):
Traditionally, power has been political or
financial, rooted in authority or money – the
capacity to make things happen or to keep them
from happening. Influence, by contrast, is soft
power – the ability to shift the course of events
through ideas or relationships rather than coercion
or enticement. Affluentials include gatekeeprs,
opinion-shapers, star-makers and paradigm-sifters.
Some are household names, but a greater number
aren’t. They fly under the radar. What all of them
have in common is that they are changing the
world, pushing it in new directions, shaping its
economy and culture as profoundly as the old
high-and-mighty ever did.
Character
Brand Values:
Brand Personality:
People. Ingenuity. Progress. Simplicity.
The Pursuit of Perfection.
Inspired. Ingenious. Modern. Stylish.
Audacious.
Building Blocks that support Equity
Product strengths/functional attributes:
Advancements in technology and thinking.
Examples include hybrid engines that can
outperform conventional engines, sensors that
can read and respond to changes in body heat
temperature, technology that can enable an
automobile to virtually park itself, pre-crash
technology that can help to predict and
respond to an impending accident before it
happens, etc.
Consumer benefits:
Individually, each advancement offers a useful
improvement to the driving experience. Not
progress for progress sake, but change that
makes the drive simpler, faster, safer, etc.
Collectively, Lexus’ advancements align with
our target’s desire to impact meaningful
change in the world. The key benefit is in
being emotionally connected with a brand that
is pursuing the same (or similar) end result; a
shared philosophy.
COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE
Market:
•United States
Key competitor:
•BMW: Based on prestige/sales volume
•Mercedes: Based on prestige alone
Potential Future State No. 2
Equity
(Describe what the brand stands for, or
aims to, that makes it distinct)
“Putting People at the Center of our Universe”:
•A philosophy of building cars, and designing experiences, around the target’s specific wants and needs.
> “Whereas some build for the sake of engineering, and others for the sake of prestige, Lexus builds around human
beings.”
> “The more we know about people, the more we know about cars.”
Target Audience: demographics
Primary:
•Adults 30-54, HHI $100K+
Secondary:
•Super Affluents, HHI $300K+
•OR $1 million+ in investible assets
Target Audience: insights,
psychographics
Discerning Affluents:
Luxury consumers who both know and
appreciate real brand and product
differences. They are interesting and
interested, live their lives confidently and are
leaders – or influencers - in their peer set.
Whereas the pure status seeker is content
merely to flash the badges to which they
belong, the Discerning Affluent likes to
know the stories – the marvels, the
wonderments – behind the choices they
make. They place a high value on substance
alongside of style; they appreciate products
and services that attend to their wants and
needs.
Character
Brand Values:
Brand Personality:
The individual. Self-expression.
Knowledge. Relevancy. The Pursuit of
Perfection.
Confident. Insightful. Engaging.
Expressive. Artful.
Building Blocks that support Equity
Product strengths/functional attributes:
Intuitive technologies.
Examples include intuitive climate control,
voice activated NAV, VDIM (vehicle
dynamic integrated management system), ASL
( automatic sound levelizer), an array of
sensors that read and adjust to changing
environmental situations, intelligent park
assist, etc.
Consumer benefits:
Individually, each bit of intuitive technology
offers a unique emotional benefit. For
example, intelligent park assist gives the driver
added confidence in a parallel parking
situation. Other features delight, fascinate and
energize.
Collectively, Lexus’ intuitive technologies
anticipate the driver’s wants/needs leaving
them feeling important – the center of our
universe – and completely taken care of (cared
for).
COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE
Market:
•United States
Key competitor:
•BMW: Based on prestige/sales volume
•Mercedes: Based on prestige alone
Potential Future State No. 3
Equity
(Describe what the brand stands for, or
aims to, that makes it distinct)
Celebrate “Ingenious Simplicity”:
•Japanese heritage, Lexus’ heritage, is rooted in making things better/making things simpler.
•Ingenious simplicity is a brand truth, a relevant motivator for the target, and a differentiator in the luxury auto category.
> “What the German engineers will achieve in two parts, we know the Japanese engineers can achieve in one part.”
Target Audience: demographics
Primary:
•Adults 30-54, HHI $100K+
Secondary:
•Super Affluents, HHI $300K+
•OR $1 million+ in investible assets
Target Audience: insights,
psychographics
Discerning Affluents:
Luxury consumers who both know and
appreciate real brand and product
differences. They are interesting and
interested, live their lives confidently and are
leaders – or influencers - in their peer set.
Whereas the pure status seeker is content
merely to flash the badges to which they
belong, the Discerning Affluent likes to
know the stories – the marvels, the
wonderments – behind the choices they
make. They place a high value on substance
alongside of style; they appreciate products
and services that make their lives simpler.
Character
Brand Values:
Brand Personality:
Simplicity. Form and Function.
Innovation. Engineering. The Pursuit of
Perfection.
Ingenious. Creative. Cool. Modern.
Tasteful.
Building Blocks that support Equity
Product strengths/functional attributes:
Consumer benefits:
Intuitive technologies.
Individually, each piece of intuitive
technology helps to simplify the steps involved
in achieving an ideal driving experience.
Smart access, for example, allows the driver to
open, start and drive their car without having
to ever reach for a key.
Examples include intuitive climate control,
voice activated NAV, VDIM (vehicle
dynamic integrated management system), ASL
( automatic sound levelizer), an array of
sensors that read and adjust to changing
conditions, intelligent park assist, smart access
key, etc.
Collectively, Lexus’ intuitive , really
ingenious, features align with the target’s
desire to adopt technologies that help to make
life simpler. So, Lexus shares their same
pursuit.
COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE
Market:
•United States
Key competitor:
•BMW: Based on prestige/sales volume
•Mercedes: Based on prestige alone
Potential Future State No. 4
Equity
(Describe what the brand stands for, or
aims to, that makes it distinct)
Reveal Lexus to be iconic for “Unconventional Wisdom”:
•Position against the notion of Lexus being the “smart” brand, and re-position as the “unconventionally wise”
brand.
• Establish a tradition for having changed, and continuing to change, the way the auto category acts and
behaves.
Target Audience: demographics
Primary:
•Adults 30-54, HHI $100K+
Secondary:
•Super Affluents, HHI $300K+
•OR $1 million+ in investible assets
Target Audience: insights,
psychographics
Affluentials (influential affluents):
Traditionally, power has been political or
financial, rooted in authority or money – the
capacity to make things happen or to keep them
from happening. Influence, by contrast, is soft
power – the ability to shift the course of events
through ideas or relationships rather than coercion
or enticement. Affluentials include gatekeeprs,
opinion-shapers, star-makers and paradigm-sifters.
Some are household names, but a greater number
aren’t. They fly under the radar. What all of them
have in common is that they are changing the
world, pushing it in new directions, shaping its
economy and culture as profoundly as the old
high-and-mighty ever did.
•Celebrate the brand’s pioneering spirit.
Character
Brand Values:
Brand Personality:
Invention. Questioning Everything. Disruption.
The Future. The Pursuit of Perfection.
Visionary. Bold. Intelligent. Self-Assured.
Imaginative.
Building Blocks that support Equity
Product strengths/functional attributes:
Uncommon luxury.
Examples include a dealership and ownership
experience that incorporate elements from
high-end luxury brands more than the
traditional auto category, the integration of
intuitive technologies into all Lexus vehicles,
hybrid technology that excels in the areas of
performance and low emissions, an extreme
attention to quality, details, and craftsmanship
that surpasses Rolls, etc.
Consumer benefits:
Individually, each novel aspect of the brand
speaks to a previously unmet category need
such as treating people with respect in the
dealership.
Collectively, Lexus’ approach to acting in an
unconventionally wise manner has achieved an
uncommon – if not unprecedented – result.
Lexus, like the target who embraces the brand,
has a pioneering spirit. And fans align
themselves with the pioneering sentiment.
COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE
Market:
•United States
Key competitor:
•BMW: Based on prestige/sales volume
•Mercedes: Based on prestige alone
Potential Future State No. 5
Equity
(Describe what the brand stands for, or
aims to, that makes it distinct)
Present Lexus as an “Object of Desire”:
•Turn the pursuit of perfection from a practical justification into an emotional attraction.
•Own a feeling, an emotive response, more than an intellectual idea; be the status symbol for new wealth.
•Just “be it” (act as a leader) versus having to “say it” (don’t rationalize that we are a leader).
Target Audience: demographics
Primary:
•Adults 30-54, HHI $100K+
Secondary:
•Super Affluents, HHI $300K+
•OR $1 million+ in investible assets
Target Audience: insights,
psychographics
Status-oriented Affluents:
Affluent men and women who place a priority on
acquiring a collection of possessions and
experiences that ladder up to a meaningful
statement about the successes they have achieved.
If the traditional Lexus customer is content with
the brand as a sign of self-reward, then this new
group is distinct in that they have a greater desire
to be outwardly expressive. That is, status
conscious affluents aim to be acknowledged by
others for their success. Correspondingly,
messages about innovation and style- things that
others can see – have greater currency for this
group then do stories about interior comfort and
quality. Style, on top of substance, is what helps to
drive cachet and interest for this group.
Character
Brand Values:
Brand Personality:
Design. Detail. Modernity. Mystery and
Intrigue. The Pursuit of Perfection.
Vital. Engaging. Desirous. Artful.
Provocative.
Building Blocks that support Equity
Product strengths/functional attributes:
Luxury in the details.
Examples include the crystal headlights in the
next-generation LS, the dyed through leather
in the ES, the L-finesse styling being
integrated in all the new Lexus vehicles, the
inclusion of high-tech/high-touch technology
in Lexus’ vehicles, etc.
Consumer benefits:
Individually, the details incorporated into each
Lexus provides an emotive, sensory immersive
driving experience; one that enlivens the
senses.
Collectively, Lexus’ approach to designing
automobiles – incorporating progressive
design, innovative technology, the finest
materials, perfecting the details – makes the
brand an object of desire. For the target, Lexus
offers style, on top of substance, to satisfy
their heart’s desire.
COMMUNICATIONS ARCHITECTURE