A tale of idea innovation.
Lexus in Australia recently ran a campaign for their newest brand positioning – This is the New Lexus. It was a simple interactive smart billboards that were placed in major roads around Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. M&C Saatchi came out with the idea and collaborated with outdoor advertising experts APN Outdoor and Australia’s largest independent media agency TMS.
These smart billboards are so, well smart, that it could identify the brand, model and colour of the passing vehicles to trigger a personal and quirky message to the drivers. Some messages that were displayed digitally on the billboard:
- Hey white Audi driver, it’s time to Crossover.
- Hey black Merc driver, the heavens have opened.
- Hey white Evoque, it’s never too late to cross over.
Well, this is a great innovation. Probably inspired by MINI’s Not Normal interactive billboard. It might not be fully automated, MINI’s campaign was far more engaging. Personal messages to brighten one’s day? Awesome. Messages that feel how we all love MINI? Stupendous. The brand really connected with their fans and consumers in a very human and personal way.
While the Lexus campaign’s engineering and technology is pretty awesome, it didn’t feel personal. Yes, it talked to the consumers of switching over but it felt a little forceful – didn’t really connect with the brand.
Also, MINI’s technology was not too shabby as well. It is sync to the billboard from the tablet, wireless! And to cap it, on-ground activation for the drivers. Now that’s a personal touch.
Let’s compare fun and marketing. Oh look, Porsche has joined us…
MINI – Not Normal
Lexus – This is the New Lexus
Porsche
Idea Innovation; the way to go.
creative/chump 