Lexus: Reinventing The Magazine

Credits & Description:

Type of Entry: Use of Media
Category: Best Use of Magazines
Title: REINVENTING THE MAGAZINE
Advertiser/Client: LEXUS USA
Product/Service: 2010 LEXUS RX
Entrant Company: TEAM ONE El Segundo, USA
Advertising Agency: TEAM ONE El Segundo, USA
Creative Credits
Name Company Position
Paul Silverman Team One Executive Media Director
Jason Harrington Team One Group Media Director
Rebecca Foster Team One Associate Media Director
Chris Graves Team One Chief Creative Officer
Jon Pearce Team One Group Creative Director
Jason Tucker Team One Art Director
Schuyler Vanden Bergh Team One Copywriter
Jeanna Duff Team One Account Executive
Susie Lyons Team One Senior Strategic Planner
Meg Seiler Team One Director Of Public Relations
Daphne Adair Team One Account Supervisor
Alyssa Jones Team One Account Executive
Mary Miyoshi Team One Senior Print Production Manager
David Nordstrom Lexus Vice President/Marketing
Deborah Senior Lexus Corporate Manager/Advertising/Brand/Product Strategy
Steve Jett Lexus National Manager/Marketing Communications
Teri Hill Lexus Media Manager
Mariko Kusumoto Lexus Advertising Manager
Susan Trout Time Inc. Vice President/Corporate Sales
Lance Mald Time Inc. Chief Creative Officer
Details
Results and Effectiveness:
At the time of submission, the “mine” program had just launched, having been in market a mere two weeks. But the response has been phenomenal: 85% fulfillment (goal was 95% at 3 months), with 17% opt-in for more information on Lexus (compared to a benchmark 9%). The news media has reacted with similar enthusiasm, with over 500 media outlets reporting on “mine”, generating 235+ million media impressions. Since launch, dozens of marketers have contacted Time, Inc. to see how they can participate in this groundbreaking reinvention of the magazine platform.
Creative Execution:
To bring the idea of the unique driver to life, we didn’t simply put ads in a magazine – we created a new magazine. A multi-platform, first-ever, reader-customized magazine named “mine”. We partnered with Time, Inc. to offer readers self-selected content from eight Time, Inc. publications. In-book and online promotional units across Time, Inc. properties drove readers to a signup website, where they could easily select their content and delivery format: print, digital, RSS feed via downloadable widget, or mobile reader. Once selected, the first of five “on-demand” issues reached the reader in just 2-3 weeks. As the sole advertiser, the four Lexus RX ads in each of the five issues were also customized to the subscriber, based on information they supplied at sign-up. The capacity to create over 4 million unique ads, with no two issues alike, is what makes “mine” so remarkable.
Insights, Strategy and the Idea:
First launched in 1998, the Lexus RX established the category of luxury, compact SUVs. Eleven years later, it was beginning to lose its edge amongst the competition. To launch the all-new, 2010 RX, we needed to reinvent a distinctive point of view. Our target – affluent, busy parents in their mid-30s to mid-40s -- like technology, but don’t necessarily like, or have the time, to figure it all out. We decided to frame the features and systems of the car as attributes that relate directly to the way people really live their lives. In other words, completely inspired by the driver. When it came to print, Lexus needed to act, not just talk, in a way that conveyed a deep appreciation of the consumer as a unique individual. So to celebrate a driver-inspired vehicle, we created a reader-inspired magazine.