Risk Pays Off: Team One Wins Cannes Media Gold and Silver for Lexus
26 JUN 2009
In early 2009, Team One took a risk into uncharted territory with an idea to reinvent the magazine…and the risk has paid off. The agency has been recognized with two wins at the prestigious Cannes Lions 56th International Advertising Festival for its “Reinventing the Magazine” campaign, which was created for luxury automaker Lexus. Awarded two Media Lions - a Gold in the "Best Use of Magazines" category and a Silver in the "Cars and Automotive Services" category - Team One (part of the Saatchi & Saatchi Network) is the only U.S. agency to medal in either of these two very competitive categories.
“We are thrilled to have been recognized by the global ad community for an idea that we knew at the onset was groundbreaking,” said Paul Silverman, Team One’s executive media director. “But that idea would never have come to fruition without the inspiration of a great product, a forward thinking and supportive client, full agency collaboration, and the valuable brand assets and partnership of Time, Inc.”
Besting more than 22,000 entries, the innovative endeavor invited consumers to literally create their own magazine by choosing editor-selected content from Time Inc. and American Express Publishing brands to create a free, personal, customized magazine, appropriately dubbed “mine.”
Based on the interests, input, and passions of the reader, “mine” represents a first in the evolution of magazine production and consumer interaction.
The winning campaign was developed for the launch of the 2010 Lexus RX. “For the driver-inspired theme of the RX, we wanted to communicate in a way that demonstrated a like-minded commitment to user-inspired innovation,” said Chris Graves, chief creative officer at Team One. “Just as the new RX has reinvented the luxury sport utility vehicle around the driver, we decided to reinvent the magazine around the reader.”
In addition to 36 pages of customized editorial content, “mine” included four single-page ads for the Lexus RX, each of which contained specific personalized copy for every individual recipient based on geographic location and taste in content. “That literally translated into millions of individual, one-of-a-kind ads,” said Graves.
Participants were given the option of receiving their six custom publications either digitally or in printed copy via mail. All 31,000 hard copy subscriptions were claimed within weeks, along with more than 20,000 digital copies. Seventeen percent of participants opted in for additional Lexus information, and the campaign garnered more than 332 million editorial media impressions.
