“The most destructive criticism is indifference” E.W. Howe
It is within this figurative shoulder shrugging where our challenge lies. In a fiercely competitive automotive landscape, Lexus faced a daunting opponent: The lack of salience and a lack of consumer connection.
Our mission was to shift Lexus from the periphery to the forefront of consumers’ minds, powerfully and persistently. We had to navigate an overly cluttered automotive environment across sport sponsorship to deliver cut through for Lexus in an exciting and innovative way. Enter a groundbreaking new foray into Tennis, a sponsorship “ace” that not only positioned Lexus authentically at the heart of the UK game through lead partnership with the LTA, but also catapulted the brand to “centre court” prominence with a large and well aligned audience of UK tennis fans, as the sponsor of Sky Sports inaugural tennis channel.
This multi-tiered approach, delivered across brand, rights holder and supporting agencies across sports sponsorship, media, and creative, helped to serve up a 27% spike in salience with the target audience, moved Lexus to “British Number One” as the most improved auto brand in the UK for consideration (+8.1 – 17.4% – YouGov) and improved positive resonation through the partnership, with 31% feeling more positively about Lexus as a result.
It’s not just a win; it’s a grand slam for brand revitalisation.
