Title	THE OTHER SIDE OF LEXUS MULTI-SCREEN CAMPAIGN
Brand	LEXUS
Product/Service	F-SERIES PERFORMANCE VEHICLES
Category	A10. INTEGRATED CONTENT CAMPAIGN
Entrant Company	MICROSOFT Redmond, USA
Contributing Company	TEAM ONE Los Angeles, CA, USA
Contributing Company 2	MICROSOFT Redmond, USA

Name	Company	Position
	Lexus
	Team One
	Microsoft

The Campaign

In today’s digital age, lines between work, play, and personal are blurred. TVs, tablets and mobile phones have become more powerful than the sum of their parts as technology enables consumers to be online longer, interacting with content wherever the need arises. Always-on screen time is the new primetime, with the trend shifting towards mobile, and the ad dollars are following. Research shows that people consume information differently, spending half of their time using devices sequentially and simultaneously in order to get things done, accessing multi-screens up to two hours a day. It’s harder for them to get what they need—one connected experience. Each device controls a sweet spot of media consumptions, and these relationships are crucial across devices. It’s harder for companies to break through all the noise to engage in a consistent dialogue with their audience, let alone knowing where and how people are consuming information. Mobile phones and smart TVs don’t use traditional ad-tracking tools, and users are opting out of ad-tracking on the web. So how do advertisers break through all the noise and reach their consumers—not their devices—in new and exciting ways? The industry needed a new storytelling approach.

Results

The challenge: Lexus was looking to change perception that its cars were only for an older, Boomer audience. The objective: Lexus needed a way to reach a younger audience (18-49 year old men) to show them a new side to its F-series performance vehicles and drive them to buy. The strategy: New Multi-screen technology that tells an end-to-end digital story and gives consumers more meaningful engagement. The strategy enables advertising that moves along sequentially as people move through their day, from home to work to play, regardless of device. Advertisers can involve consumers at just the right moment and just the right mindset throughout the day, while telling a larger story over time on multiple screens through personalized advertising. Original features like creative sequencing and frequency controls ensure that the ads are always refreshed to be new and evolutionary in the story. Adaptable ads simplify the storytelling process by extending the display campaign across screens with a single set of assets. All with a focus on security and privacy. The execution: By featuring extreme athletes in a series of progressive display and video ads, Lexus propelled its audience on a thrilling journey. Creative sequencing across technology platforms allowed auto enthusiasts to see different athletes interacting with Lexus in a series of favorite sports quests, like taking a joyride with stuntman Craig Baxley Jr. The goal was for people to imagine themselves engaging in similar experiences so they could see first-hand the performance connection between adventure and Lexus cars. The ads were custom, the video content was original, and the experience was highly interactive. With this campaign, Lexus was able to engage these men in a consistent and compelling way to tell the Lexus story, opening up new opportunities and buying experiences.

Using Multi-Screen technology, the campaign reached consumers throughout the day with ads that provided a sequenced storyline. Consumers were drawn to the content as they went on an exciting adventure with athletes and Lexus cars, not knowing what was around the next bend until they clicked on the next ad, which they could do at any time, regardless of device. We heard from Lexus consumers that the ads were “… very intriguing, I'm obsessed, I watch it . . what's going to happen next? …what ad are they going to put out next that I didn’t see yet?”

Research shows that brands who move from single to multiple channels see 3X increase in ROI, 24% higher conversion rate, and lift brand engagement by 100%. One Lexus consumer said: “Which [ad] over the long haul would draw you in better and why? The sequence…because it’s always changing and it’s always keeping your mind interested in something.” Once only considered the carmaker for Boomers, Multi-screen turned Lexus skeptics into enthusiasts—showing them its thrill-seeking side. The campaign reached 8.1M unique users—75% were aged 18-49 and 67% were male, meeting audience reach objectives. Lexus consumers told us: “It definitely is appealing to a younger, more adventurous audience,” and “Lexus, in my opinion, has been the car that my mother-in-law wanted to buy…but [these ads] definitely would make me consider Lexus higher than previously.” Sequential ads saw 103% overall Lexus performance site lift vs. non-sequential ads; people searching for Lexus Performance terms saw 126% lift. A larger percentage of those exposed to sequential messaging performed branded searches. Stats: 59MM Impressions; 0.23% click-through rate; 2 minutes 57 seconds average time spent with video content; 78% video completion rate, above the industry average of 64%. (source: internal reporting and consumer research)