The trailblazing Lexus #TraceYourRoad experience

Joss Davidge, business director of brand experience agency BEcause, continues his weekly search for great marketing ideas.

This week he looks at how Lexus has got people talking with an innovative experience.
 
Over the last couple of years, the automotive sector has really taken to experiential marketing. After all, beyond the mechanics, reliability and fuel efficiency, what really defines one car from another is how it delights the senses.

So this week I want to showcase a great bit of experience-driven content marketing, that has got people talking about the Lexus IS Hybrid. Brands are starting to really craft content that people genuinely want to watch and share. This is particularly evident in the boundary pushing tactics that are being eagerly adopted by the automotive sector.
 
‘Trace Your Road’ features F1 driver Jarno Trulli and a group of people selected from a Lexus Facebook competition. The Lexus IS Hybrid was placed in a warehouse and competition winners got the chance to draw a projected racetrack onto the ground for Trulli to expertly navigate. The idea was to put people inside a life-sized driving game, an utterly unique experience that brought the car to life as a fun, responsive and desirable product.
 
 
This two minute showcase from Lexus is dripping with cool angles, innovative technology, crisp editing and cinematic sheen - designed to captivate its target market. But it goes beyond a good personal viewing experience. Viewers will want to share and pass on the experience, not only because it is fun but because it is also form of social currency, it reflects the kind of person viewers want to present themselves as and the kind of video they want to be the first to reveal to their friends.
 
 
The video ends with a link to a ‘making of’ mini-documentary and a video that takes you through the Lexus IS Hybrid’s functions - encouraging consumers to invest more time with the marque. In these videos, Lexus is able to elaborate on the car’s features while asserting the edgy, innovative approach the brand has taken to create this content – just for you, of course.  
 
Nicely played Lexus, nicely played.
 
Read more from Joss Davidge in our Clubhouse.