Lexus India's marketing playbook puts emphasis on luxury living

Some cars are budget-friendly, while others prioritise comfort and luxury. The premium car category, represented by brands including Mercedes, BMW, and Audi, is often seen as an aspirational choice by many. On the other hand, Lexus, a Japanese luxury car manufacturer, aims to become not just the mobility partner for its consumers but also a lifestyle luxury partner.

According to Naveen Soni, president, Lexus India, in the digital-first world, the foremost aspect should be how a brand takes care of its guests (customers) in such a way that they become quasi-brand ambassadors.

“To achieve the same, we launched a programme around two years ago known as Lexus Life. Under this, the best way to get a brand affiliation is that the guests (consumers) who have purchased the car or a product, become the strongest advocates of the brand,” he says.

“Under this programme, Lexus strives to make sure that each consumer gets a unique opportunity to get close to the brand, in a manner that may or may not be linked to mobility needs. Around 40% of my marketing budgets are allocated towards taking care of my guests’ passion points,” he adds.

The Lexus Design Awards debuted in India in 2017 with the name Lexus Design Award India (LDAI). It recognises and rewards members of the Indian design community who anticipate future challenges facing Indian society and are able to table innovative solutions to tackle those challenges.

Talking about the 7th edition of LDAI, Soni explains, “In this sphere, we have given recognition to both professionals and students. One of the things that our guests love is that we promote sustainability considering the current status of the market.

The design aspect has also been appreciated by our consumers so we thought why not promote this and make it a USP for our brand? Of course, we do business by selling cars, but we would like to promote certain aspects of our core philosophy, design being one of them as far as the brand is concerned.”

“We look for those bright sparks trying to solve the problems that are faced by the nation in terms of sustainability. The designers may or may not have any direct correlation between the vehicles that we sell and we are not trying to take away some ideas and build them into the vehicles. These are the designs that people have made with their creative instincts and we like to promote such people who are solving the nation’s problems using design as a tool,” he adds.

Discussing the consumer perception of Lexus in the Indian as well as the global market, Soni explains that the German makers are the ones that broadly come from the west and they give more importance to technologies and provide the best of it. “Usually all companies focus on providing the best of technologies but Lexus is more concerned about certain attributes to make consumers more aligned towards the brand.”

“One common thing amongst our guests is that they understand and appreciate Japanese hospitality. So, there is a certain flavour of what they consider important, which is, the way hospitality is introduced and taken care of. This goes the same for the Indian market,” he notes.

The luxury car market has evolved over the years in India. It is seen that the situation of people buying luxury cars has changed and now it is normally for a fourth or fifth car in their house. With advanced consumer preferences, an individual is fully aware of what they are looking for in a particular vehicle before they walk into the showroom.

Soni observes, “For us, it is essential to understand that we are not just an information provider. Anyone can access information from the internet or through discussions with friends and families. It is up to us to make sure that when a potential customer is coming to us, they should be understood in a way that their priorities are well-recognised and then, we can create unique solutions.”

Talking about the growth in sales this year, Soni says that Lexus has been growing consistently for the past two years and observed a remarkable growth in 2023. “In the previous year, we saw about 76% growth and we hope that we end this year with the same bloom. Volume growth is good for any business enterprise but sustainable volume growth is what is significant. On the grounds of the four Ps of marketing we make sure that our guests receive the best ‘Product’ at the best ‘Price', the best ‘Place,’ and with the best ‘Promotion’ so that they enjoy the goods,” he adds.

While brands employ a range of marketing strategies, there has been a notable increase in the trend of collaborating with television shows and movies. Brands such as Audi, a sponsor of Koffee With Karan Season 8, and featured in Tiger 3 alongside BMW, exemplify this approach. Although Soni noted that Lexus India has not yet entered into any partnerships with TV shows domestically, internationally, the brand has engaged in collaborations with Marvel Studios and undertaken various projects within the same realm.

“We feel that collaborations are good. But at the same time, each brand identity has to be unique. As long as we are able to promote the core values systems of the brand, the partnership will be long-lasting and more meaningful.”

In terms of Lexus’ expansion, Soni says that it has grown from four outlets in four cities around two and a half years ago to 26 touchpoints across 19 cities. “We still are only covering about 65% of the luxury car market. Having said this, we have to be sure that the growth is sustainable and unidirectional,” he conveys.