As it turns out, the Hybrid Living Suites were just a prelude to a more extended partnership between Lexus and Fairmont Hotels:

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Lexus, two global brands synonymous with luxury and style, today announced a formal partnership that will provide Fairmont President’s Club members with an even greater level of personalized service during their stay. The principal and most visible component of the new marketing alliance will be the use of Lexus hybrid vehicles as hotel courtesy cars at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in the United States.

A thoughtful benefit reserved exclusively for members of Fairmont’s guest loyalty program, the new fleet of Lexus hybrid vehicles, which provide greater fuel mileage with lower smog-forming emissions, will be available to conveniently transport guests around the destination while making less of an impact on the environment.

Seems to be a good deal, considering membership to Fairmont’s President Club is free.

[Source: MarketWatch]

This commercial featuring perpetual Lexus voice actor James Sloyan in the passenger seat of an IS-F as Scott Pruett takes a lap around the track is just about perfect:

This is a definite payoff for using the same voice actor since the very first commercials.

(Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what James is saying right there at the end?)

The Lexus-sponsored Alicia Keys tour wrapped up last night in New York, and Advertising Age has an article describing the company’s presence at the concerts:

In exchange for the paid sponsorship, Lexus installed lounges at each concert, exclusive VIP areas heavy with appetizers and a bar, and randomly selected a section of the auditorium to get Lexus-branded chair pads and “concierge service,” including free popcorn and soda. Lexus also gave free parking and VIP passes to any attendee arriving in one of its cars.

Concert-goers who spent time in the Lexus lounge could register for a seat upgrade by providing some personal information. Organizers chose a handful of the folks with the worst seats in the house and gave them spots in the front row.

Webisodes with concert footage will become available June 30 on LuxuryAwaits.com, a website highlighting the marketer’s alliance with the singer.

It’s an interesting angle, this preferential treatment, and Lexus has used it in a number of different applications, from the owner lounges at car shows to parking at baseball games. On one hand, it’s a good way to connect with their current customers, but I wonder how non-Lexus owners would feel about the exclusivity?

The 2008 US Open is being played this week, and Lexus is one of the event’s four sponsors. As expected, there’s some fairly extensive Lexus advertising being put together, including a funny short film featuring Annika Sorenstam, Charles Howell III, Raymond Floyd and Chi Chi Rodriguez in a car race to the Open (image below leads to video):

Between this video and last year’s US Tennis Open advert, these sports sponsorships sure seem to bring out the lighter side of Lexus marketing.

(Also, on a related note, I read this interesting article about the USGA’s new corporate sponsorships and how it breaks down. Indepth and informative, if you’re interested in such things.)

Motor Trend spent some time in the Lexus Hybrid Living Suite, a suite created at the San Francisco Fairmont hotel to showcase Lexus’ commitment to environmental responsibility:

The San Francisco Fairmont is located on top of the Nob Hill area, the highest point in the entire city. As one might imagine, such a location makes for fantastic views — in fact, the Lexus Suite provides a stunning look at many of San Francisco’s chief points of interest, including Alcatraz, Coit Tower, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Organic is a chief theme in the suite, with material for the bed mattress, sheets, towels, and robes all grown without pesticides. Much of the furniture in the suite, from the night stands, to the bed, dining table, and bathroom fixtures, was sourced from antique stores — as opposed to buying new items — and refinished, essentially recycling them for use in the suite.

Primarily I’m linking to the story because of the photo gallery, which shows the suite from a number of different angles, but it’s also important to note that this might be the first time Motor Trend’s passed on the chance to put down the hybrid sedan.

The Luxury Institute has released their annual report on the top prestige auto brands in the USA, and Lexus ranked #2, just behind Porsche and in front of Mercedes. Here’s some details about the survey:

The proprietary Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey is the only measure of the prestige of leading brands among wealthy Americans. A national sample of 1,642 wealthy American consumers, with an average income of $349K and average net-worth of $3.7 million, was surveyed online.

“We conduct our surveys with independent panels of wealthy consumers with results tabulated by external analytical firms. We have no consulting projects with the brands rated nor do we have advertising dependencies with them. As far as we are aware, this is the only consumer-based survey that can make those claims. Our surveys inform luxury CEOs on the health of their brands in no uncertain terms so they can take action to enhance relationships with prospects and customers. Today more luxury brands rely on the accuracy of the Luxury Institute’s survey data than any other research.”

Two years ago, Lexus ranked third behind Porsche and Mercedes, and last year tied with Mercedes for second place, indicating that the automotive brand is moving up in minds of their prospective customers.

The thing I find most interesting is that these wealthy consumers are filling out the survey, though I wonder just what percentage of the mailouts converted. Still, there’s something very impressive about ranking so high, even from a sample audience of 1,642.

(I’d like to find some similar surveys for other parts of the world.)

[Source: Yahoo!] (Thanks Dan!)