Just received an e-mail from Lexus inviting me to join "Our Exclusive Group of Influential Lexus Owners". I am pasting the e-mail verbatim:

"Dear XXXXX,

As a Lexus Owner, your opinion is invaluable to us, which is why Lexus is inviting you to join our exclusive online research panel.

By becoming a member of the Lexus Advisory Board, your feedback will help shape the future of product development, customer service and marketing communications.

In appreciation of your time, those who join the Lexus Advisory Board in April will have an opportunity to win a Lexus VisaŽ Gift Card, valued up to $500, which can be used anywhere VisaŽ is accepted.

Please, join today and be a part of our pursuit of perfection.
By being a member of this "Advisory Board" I am eligible to win $500 prepaid Visa card.

This e-mail was sent to you from Synovate on behalf of Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. Please do not reply to this e-mail. This is an outbound only email. We will be unable to respond to your reply. To unsubscribe from Lexus Advisory Board communications, please use the links below"

Is Lexus finally serious about customer input. I tend to think that this might be another credit card gimmick. Has anyone else received this? What do you all make of this?

PS. Synovate is Chicago based. Also, I find very interesting is that they are using my old e-mail address that I quit using since 2004.

I just did a Google search for Lexus Advisory Board and it appears to be legit this is the link that I found https://www.lexusadvisoryboard.com/Portal/default.aspx

I'm naturally skeptical, so I wouldn't bank on this being legit. Both companies are 3rd parties, and the fact the one above shows a Lexus logo doesn't mean much.

A simple call to Lexus HQ would answer the question for you.

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I highly doubt it's legit. The ONLY link that comes up when Googling "Lexus Advisory Board" in quotes is the link provided in the first response to the OP.

Doesn't bode well for this "advisory board"...

It's for real.

all manufacturers have a lot of study / focus group, it's just a matter of whether you get selected or not

In my opinion, I want it to be real. If it is it would be a positive thing for owners. Not to say that each owner on the advisory board will input the same things I would but, at least citizens and customers voices have a chance to be heard! L.G.N.M

I was part of the Hyundai Think Tank when I had a Genesis. They had regular chats with engineers and executives. The benefits for providing feedback were far better - you received employee pricing. I wouldn't even waste the keystrokes for a "chance" to win a $500 gift card, personally.

It sounds like Synovate just compiles survey results and submits them to Lexus.

I got the same e-mail this afternoon...

I got this yesterday as well. I just sent Lexus an email asking them if its legitimate. The "Join Now" link in the email is owned by an email marketing company called Exact Target. I researched LexusAdvisoryBoard.com and found that the URL is registered to Toyota. The website is being hosted in Canada. It all looks legitimate.

http://email.exacttarget.com/

Jim

If legit then as said by others, it is a good thing. But if you read the FAQ on the Lexus Advisory Board website, they tell you that participation will require personal informations down the line. They do give the typical assurances pertaining to security and privacy protection for this information. LOL. That is an absolute "NO" for us.

I filled it out. It wasn't overly intrusive but there were some questions such as income level (in 100K increments), married / divorced, and some questions that gave them info on your personal values, such as a sliding scale as to "how important is your image to you" and "how important is it to you to have power or control over others"...

i was part of those studies.. once you are in it.. you are on their "list" i would get a call every 3~4 months with a 1 hour focus group that paid $150~$250... well worth it..
sometimes they asked me to call my family/friends to help.. so they were able to receive the payment too..

I had to cancel my appointment once... never received a call since.

if you sign up for this - tell lexus how ****ty the navigation system is.

lol by the number of people getting the email, the 500 bucks gift card seems to have a lot of competitions