Automaker Lexus rolled out the Lexus CT City Challenge app and complementary mobile ads to drive awareness and purchase consideration for its CT 200h model in the Australian market.

The target audience was consumers ages 20-40, both singles and couples, with a high disposable income and for whom style, design and technology is important. The effort focused on highlighting the unique features of the CT 200h.

"For the launch of the Lexus CT200h we wanted to reach out to a new demographic, a younger audience in their late 20s to 40s,? said Julie Hutchinson, CRM and interactive marketing manager at Lexus Australia.

?The Lexus CT City Challenge mobile campaign was the perfect way to achieve this objective,? she said. ?It created a sense of excitement and innovation around the Lexus brand and kept this demographic engaged with the car and the brand."

According to the Harvard Business Review, Asia-Pacific will comprise half of the world?s economic growth by 2030

Google research shows that nearly half of the top 10 markets for smartphone penetration are in Asia. AdMob requests grew by 500 percent in Asia Pacific last year, the highest in the world. 

Solution
Lexus, the automaker?s digital agency The White Agency and Admob worked together to create The Lexus CT City Challenge.

The game could be played in the eco and sports mode. A sweepstakes incentive was used to get app downloads, offering a winner a grand prize of a CT 200h. 

The digital directive was lead by The White Agency and development of the app by Webling.

The app was created with a young, urban, design and quality-conscious audience in mind. They are frequent visitors to the Apple iTunes App Store, engaging with and purchasing casual gaming offerings in high quantities.

To build awareness and acquisition of the app, Admob also created a mobile ads campaign.

The Lexus CT City Challenge Game
The game challenges players to take the Lexus CT 200h for a virtual spin around courses modeled after Australia's capital cities.

The game features five courses which are progressively unlocked as players achieve qualifying scores.

Engagement was incentivized with a live playoff at the Melbourne Motor Show with the winner receiving a brand new Lexus CT 200h

The ?Slot Cars? style gameplay demonstrates the unique hybrid ?two mood ? two mode? feature of the CT 200h. This allows players to switch between Sport and Eco modes to achieve the best times while saving fuel, culminating in higher scores and positioning on the leader board.

Players can broadcast their scores across social media, challenging friends to download the game, or beat their scores/position on the leader board.

The game was developed via a custom 3D engine and features realistic torque physics, particle animation, sound effects and an original music soundtrack, with a stylised look and feel to match the Lexus brand.

Mobile ads
The campaign ran April 21-June 1 across the Admob network, targeting iPhones, iPads and iPods.

Click-to-download banners were displayed on mobile apps such as Words With Friends, Angry Birds, WeatherZone, and various mobile Web sites.

Clickers were routed to the iTunes App Store where they could download the app.

Results
The total time played by all players that downloaded the app was 1,138 hours, 46 minutes and 83 seconds.  

The average number of plays per user was 5.01

The most number of plays by a single user was 131.

Mobile banner click-through rates were 1.03 percent.

Downloads peaked two weeks after the campaign launch. A second peak occurred during the last week of the campaign.

?A rapidly expanding population, upward trending consumer spending and living standards, and significant infrastructure investment all help to make Asia-Pacific a hot market,? said Ryan Hayward, product marketing manager at Google, Mountain View, CA.

?As such, starting today Google Mobile Ads will focus this next week on Asia-Pacific to help you optimize your Asia strategy for mobile,? he said.