What is Brand?

A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of all these, that identifies the maker or seller of a product or service. Branding is when that idea or image is marketed so that it is recognizable by more and more people, and identified with a certain service or product when there are many other companies offering the same service or product. Brand value has become a perception in the minds of the buyers. Branding has become so strong that hardly anything goes unbranded. Even house hold items like salt and rice are packaged with a label. Consumers view brand as an important part of a product. For example most consumers would perceive a bottle of white linen perfume as a high quality expensive product. But the same perfume in an unmarked bottle would likely to be viewed as lower in quality even if the fragrance were identical.

Why Branding?

A brand is a company's face to the world. It is the company's name, how that name is visually expressed through a logo, and how that name and logo are extended throughout an organization's communications. A brand is also how the company is perceived by its customers -- the associations and inherent value they place on your business. A brand is a kind of promise. It is a set of fundamental principles as understood by anyone who comes into contact with a company. A brand is an organization's reason for being and how that reason is expressed through its various communications media to its key audiences, including customers, shareholders, employees and analysts. A brand can also describe these same attributes for a company's products, services, and initiatives. Apple's brand is a great example. The Apple logo is clean, elegant, and easily implemented. At a certain point in time the company began to use the apple logo monochromatically (as opposed to the rainbow stripes), signaling a new era for Apple. Smart branding allowed the company to clearly communicate a change in direction while continuing to build its reputation. Think about how you've seen the brand in advertising, trade shows, packaging, and product design. It's distinctive and it all adds up to a particular promise: quality of design and ease of use. Branding is also a way to build an important company asset, which is a good reputation. Whether a company has no reputation, or a less than stellar reputation, branding can help change that. Branding can build an expectation about the company services or products, and can encourage the company to maintain that expectation, or exceed them, bringing better products and services to the market place.

About Lexus

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Corporation. Lexus brand name vehicles are sold in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, Africa, and Latin America; in the United States, Lexus is the highest-selling make of luxury cars. In 2005, the Lexus marquee launched in Japan, marking the continued global expansion of the luxury division. Since its debut in 1989, Lexus has developed a reputation for the luxury and reliability of its vehicles, along with the quality of its customer service. In 2007, consumer ratings firm J.D. Power and Associates named Lexus the most reliable brand in the U.S. based on its Vehicle Dependability Survey, a measure of over 53,000 vehicle owners and the problems they experienced in the first three years of vehicle ownership. It was the thirteenth consecutive year that Lexus achieved this top rating. In recent years, Consumer Reports has ... named Lexus among the top five most reliable brands in its Annual Car Reliability Surveys of over one million vehicles nationwide. Additionally, Lexus ranks highly on surveys of dealership service experience.

Lexus as a brand

Great brands live in peoples hearts and minds. They express a set of core values that resonate with the customer, and they possess the power to inspire. Successful brands form the basis of a powerful relationship. Customers trust them and expect great things of them. Lexus is one of these great brands. To our customers, we stand for more than premium luxury automobiles. We represent a company that is focused and passionate. A company that has an understanding of, and concern for, our customers. A company with a keen appreciation for a rich quality of life. Through this guide, we hope all Lexus Associates and partners will capture the spirit of who we are, take pride in the exceptional benefits we provide to our customers, and be fully equipped to communicate the distinctive tone and personality that set us apart from less passionate luxury brands. As you do so, you will help to maintain and strengthen the bond of trust that Lexus shares with its customers, and to uphold the value of the Lexus brand.

Lexus Product Attributes Lexus vehicles are created with a masterful skill and attention to detail inspired as much by traditional artisanship as by state-of-the-art engineering. This pursuit of perfection is evident at every stage of the manufacturing process. For example, at the Tahara, Japan facility, components precision-made with leading edge digital technology are assembled and then finished by master craftsmen called Takumi. To be a Takumi

is to have a synergy of technical expertise and sure senses honed by decades of rigorous experience. At the vanguard of quality, every Lexus is a masterpiece of automotive artistry brought to life with human hands sensitive to the heartbeat of innovative technology. Lexus has always pursued a uniquely uncompromising approach to creating premium automobiles. One that seeks innovation with a sophisticated fusion of seemingly incompatible ideas such as: high performance yet high fuel efficiency, or advanced technology yet exceptional ease of use. This "Yet" Philosophy of refusing to compromise inspires all aspects of Lexus engineering. Visually, you can recognize a Lexus by its unique styling, born of our design language called Lfinesse. By finely balancing the two concepts of "leading edge" and "finesse," L-finesse helps assure that Lexus automobiles are not only captivating and luxurious, but also highly refined. In addition, Lexus models are measured against a set of internal requirements called the Lexus Musts which cover design, performance, specifications and equipment. These proprietary protocols make Lexus models distinctive and worthy of the Lexus badge.

The Lexus Commitment to Quality and Craftsmanship Lexus combines high tech with the human element in each and every model. The high quality of the automobiles produced by Lexus doesnt happen by accident the luxury car company has spent decades refining its techniques and practices to combine science with craftsmanship in the building of its industry-leading automobiles. The use of advanced technologies plays an important role in the Lexus commitment to quality. The automaker employs a range of high-tech tools in the construction of its automobiles including CT scanning devices to check engine blocks for imperfections and light projectors that are designed to reveal any flaws in an automobiles paint job. The latter are capable of running through the entire spectrum of visible light to ensure that paint is evenly and expertly applied. In addition, the facilities used to assemble Lexus engines are sealed against the intrusion of dust and other debris, featuring rooms where engineers wear special suits that are air-blasted prior to entry and where the walls are coated with adhesive that traps any wayward particles before they can make their way inside a cylinder. The human element, however, also contributes greatly to the high quality of Lexus design and implementation. The individuals who build Lexus automobiles collectively perform 26,000 separate tasks in the building of the vehicles and each task requires certification on the part of the craftspeople before those people are considered qualified for the job.

Further advanced skills taught to Lexus personnel include techniques such as training their hands to be able to instantly sort out specific numbers of bolts on the assembly line without needing to divert their attention away from the task at hand. Lexus craftsmen and women are also educated on how to properly condition their hands, using special exercise tools, to maintain excellent health and dexterity while those involved in the painting of Lexus automobiles are additionally put through a hue sensitization process that gradually enables them to rapidly sort vials of paint separated only by the slightest variations in shade. This particular focus is exceptionally useful when training the eye to detect inconsistencies in a painted surface such as a door or a hood panel. More attention to detail is found in the way that each Lexus vehicle sees its wood paneling cut from the same source to ensure uniformity in the grain and appearance of all interior trim. Lexus designs are put together digitally with very close tolerances inspected via laser-assisted processes at the plant. Software-based testing can only tell so much about an automobile, however, and human test drivers are called upon to put designs through their paces in a range of real-world scenarios and also in extreme situations meant to stress a vehicle to its very limits. Once past the prototype stage, cars like the Lexus LS are test driven a final time after they leave the assembly line to ensure that each one represents the pinnacle of Lexus fit and finish prior to its delivery to a customer. The marriage of craftsmanship and technology, of futuristic techniques and centuries-old human skill and polish are all important elements in the formula that elevates a Lexus above other luxury car contenders.

Unique Features Of Lexus

Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan has manufactured the most luxurious car known as Lexus. Lexus is a blend of style, comfort and luxury. Lexus is known for its strong, tough, and durable quality features. Any one would dream to possess one.

The well-crafted cabin, a plush ride and commendable performance by the powerful but silent engines is one of the hallmarks of this brand. Lexus launched in the year 1989 is the hard-earned efforts of the company's team. In early 1989, the first two models of Lexus were ES 250 and the flagship LS 400. The LS 400 has features of a refined engine and silent comfortable cabin. At the end of the decade, Lexus had added LX 450 and RX 300 to the chain of Lexus brands and sold almost million of vehicles in the U.S. There was the launch of the world's first luxury hybrid SUV, the RX 400h at the beginning of the 2000 millennium era.
The best part of driving a Lexus is that you do not lose control of your vehicle while you also experience an exceptionally smooth driving. This is mainly because of the incredible parts like handling output, grip and rear suspension. Thus, power and handling are the most important features that can tempt anyone to buy a Lexus.

The speed and power of the Lexus engine is almost exceptional as compared to the other models. This makes Lexus distinct from all the other cars created by the manufacturers. A high level of performance and multiple driving styles are some of the distinctive features of Lexus. Lexus is popular for its power, speed and comfort. One of the most essential features of Lexus is the car warning system that is known as smart owner detection. This system helps in unlocking and disabling the alarm of your vehicle, if it senses the remote, as you get closer to your car. The smart keyless car siren can open or close your Lexus doors. Thus, there is absolutely no hassle for you to do the same, manually. The latest creation of Business Car is the LCD screen Lexus car warning system. This has an inbuilt remote camera that will help in keeping a good check on whatever is happening in and around your car. All you need to do is get customized setting of your entire car system depending upon your requirements. Another endearing feature of the Lexus is the Lexus Car security indicator. This enables the automatic warming or cooling down your car temperatures as per your need. You can even keep the security of your Lexus by controlling any stranger from getting inside your car. This is possible through an effective Lexus car alarm. Lexus, promises to deliver luxury, safety, comfort, and reliability to everyone.

LEXUS DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

"The core of the Lexus design philosophy is to be technologically advanced yet humanised, to create striking design but still be artistic yet unpretentious" says Simon Humphries, Group Manager, Global Design Management Division. Lexus has a beauty and style of its own. Lexus is thus an innovative brand as far as the quantum of customer demand and satisfaction is concerned. He stated, "Two finely balanced concepts are central to our design philosophy and inherent in every one of our automobiles - 'leading edge' and 'finesse'. Our cars are leading edge because they use the most advanced technology to make the driving experience as captivating and luxurious as possible. But technology would be nothing without refinement and it being specifically tailored to the needs of the car user - hence the crucial complement of finesse. Our designers strive to bring the two concepts together without losing the purity of each"

Lexus Brand Positioning

Toyota, the global car brand, has always positioned itself as a brand that offers customers a compelling value at a very affordable price. When the major US car companies such Ford, General Motors and Chrysler were making sub-standard cars, Toyota stormed the market with its very unique value proposition. However, such a strong positioning proved detrimental to Toyota when it wanted to enter the emerging luxury car market. The brand identity and the brand personality of Toyota was so deeply entrenched in the minds of customers and competitors alike that the notion of a luxury

Toyota car did not make much sense. In such a scenario, any sort of brand extension that is using the Toyota brand equity to extend or enter a new market segment would have been a failed strategy. Given such constraints, Toyota launched a completely new and independent brand called Lexus. Lexus had not brand associations with Toyota. All aspects of Lexus, right from manufacturing and assembly to marketing and dealerships networks were designed to convey the luxury aspect of the brand. Such a distinct positioning was successful and Lexus became hugely successful.
Lexus ranked highest in customer satisfaction among luxury brands in the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Study. Lexus achieved an overall CSI score of 846 on a 1,000-point scale, 27 points above the segment average and the highest numerical score in the study, regardless of segment. The Lexus brand also led in three of five measures in the CSI Study. Those areas include Service Initiation, Service Facility and Service Quality. The 2011 CSI Study is based on responses from owners and lessees of 2006 to 2010 model-year vehicles. The study was fielded from October through December 2010. Lexus ranked highest in the J.D. Power and Associates Customer Satisfaction with Dealer Service (CSI) Study in 2011, 2010, 2009, 2006, 2001-1997 and 1995-1991.

Toyota to Move Lexus Brand Toward (Brand Development) Toyota has announced a new global strategy for its Lexus brand, which it is calling "progressive luxury," focusing on advanced telemetric, sportier packages, and hybrids. Pairing the enhanced approach with bolder designs, Toyota hopes to move into new market segments. Karl Schlicht, general manager in charge of global Lexus marketing and product planning, said the company is attempting to unify the Lexus image on a global scale. "There was a need," said Schlicht, "to make sure we were all on the same page." Lexus came to the United States 20 years ago and has been the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S for the last decade. The re-focusing of the Lexus strategy will be an attempt to craft an identity of smart luxury, one in which green credentials and social responsibility share equal or greater importance with engine power and conspicuous amenities. In future models progressive luxury will be expressed through more daring designs, the aggressive application of hybrid technology, and the use of advanced onboard telematics. The F and F Sports package will be expanded following the IS-F and IS-F performance variations, with sporty packages initially being added in the CT and RX range.

"There are new segments developing as we speak, segments within segments," said Schlicht. "I think there's a lot of potential future markets."

Conclusion Toyota is constantly improving the quality of its products and services. The most important policies for the management of the company are: "thorough quality control" and "maintain and improve quality." This policy, as the main objective should be followed at all levels of management and production. Over the past decade, the Japanese have successfully used qualitative methods and strategies. It was a successful way to become a leading country in production of various electronics, automobiles and other products. The last sixty years Japan has been very good at producing high quality goods, and but still the quality level is improving. Many U.S. companies are using Japanese equipment and products, because they appreciate it. Toyota-is the largest multinational corporation, the world's largest automaker, with headquarters in Japan. We see success as an example of the level of quality on the example of automobile industry. Toyota Company for design and quality of the Lexus brand took the example of some of the leading automobile manufacturers in the world, such as Mercedes, Jaguar and BMW. It was a great idea to make a luxury car from their point of view. The chief engineer decided that they can get better quality, design, characteristics, with different models of luxury. They made a very popular and best-selling car in the world. After some research, Toyota has made improvements to 11 parameters. At the end, they found a more perfect result than other cars in the luxury level. It was like total weight, fuel-efficient engines and safety technology damper.