#LexusInTokyo to Engage Fans via Live Vine Videos

In what is said to be a world first, Lexus will unveil its latest sports coupe and hybrid SUV models at the Tokyo Motor Show on Thursday (Nov 21) using Twitter and responding via six-second Vine videos to interact with fans that day.

“The inspiration behind this campaign is to recreate an offline experience online in a premium and unique way,” Antoine Malin, interactive planner at Saatchi & Saatchi Fallon Tokyo, tells ClickZ in an email.

Because most of the Lexus fans will not be able to attend the Tokyo Motor Show, we want them to have the opportunity to experience the event as if they were on the ground, he explains.

Lexus International’s website was counting down to the live video response at press time and redirects visitors to its campaign site, which features details of how fans could get up-close with #LexusInTokyo.

The live event will take place during Japan hours between 9am and 7pm on Nov 21 before the motor show is open to the public.

Fans will need to follow @lexusint on Twitter to submit requests. The official account already has more than 61,000 followers.

On Thursday, Lexus will select two tweets every hour and reply to the most popular requests through Twitter’s mobile video app, Vine as a way to showcase its Lexus RC sport coupe and LF-NX turbo compact crossover SUV (sport utility vehicle).

“Twitter is very excited to be working with Lexus in a world first to reveal their new vehicles using Vine,” Masa Ajisawa, Twitter Japan sales director, said in a press statement.

Consumers will be able to view the Vine response videos once they are uploaded on the Japanese luxury automaker’s dedicated Tokyo Motor show page under its International website.

Lexus International’s official Vine account does not appear to have posted anything yet but has 85 followers on the mobile app.

With average consumer’s attention span decreasing, Twitter (140 characters) and Vine (six-second videos) are two social platforms aimed to showcase products in a short and engaging way to consumers online, Malin says.

“It is all about capturing the attention”, he notes.

The campaign is heavily mobile-focused to engage with fans in the format they’ll actually engage with, the Saatchi exec adds.