Key Takeaways:

The Leaf is the poster child for innovation. Yet it brings the
spunky, fun edge that Nissan wants to demonstrate to new and
current customers.

This year Nissan combined a PlayStation virtual car racing
experience with a real life driving academy competition. Over
one million “players” entered from around the world. This
combination of a virtual and physical driving experience could
be something for MINI to look into.

Among many other automotive brands, Nissan appropriately
incorporates their community service and leadership throughout
the country. This could be a potential aspect of the brand that
MINI might want to explore.

Nissan requires potential customers to enter his or her zip code in
order to build a model. This access to free demographic
information might be of interest to MINI.
Brand:
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., is Japan's second largest automotive company,
headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan
Alliance. Nissan first came to the United States to sell vehicles in 1958.
In 1990, Nissan North America Inc. (NNA) was created to coordinate all
of Nissan's various activities in North America to enhance the design,
development, manufacturing, and marketing of Nissan vehicles. In
1998, the two organizations merged operations under the Nissan North
America, Inc., name. Headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, NNA
coordinates all operations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico
including automotive styling, consumer, and corporate financing and
engineering. Nissan North America, Inc., markets eleven vehicle lines
through 1,100 dealers in the United States. In addition to the 370Z,
the vehicle lineup includes the Sentra, Altima, Maxima, Xterra,
Pathfinder, Frontier, Titan, Murano, Armada, and Quest. In 2010,
Nissan introduced the Nissan LEAF, which leads in zero-emission
mobility. The LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle
launched globally, is the best-selling EV in history.

In July 2013 Nissan USA sold 101,279 vehicles, a 16.8 percent
increase from 86,722 in July of 2012.

Total sales also increased, so far this year Audi has sold 673,755
vehicles, a 10.4 percent increase from 610,066 in 2012.
No matter the model, Nissan’s brand personality remains playful in
spirit. Nissan is not afraid to design a new type of vehicle exterior or
interior that pushes boundaries. At the root, Nissan’s brand personality
is bold and thoughtful. Although Nissan believes innovation is crucial
to the automotive industry, they also feel that innovation is a catalyst
for excitement and exploration.
Platforms:
The three main platforms Nissan USA uses to distribute their website
is through their desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. The desktop version
of the Nissan website received an A-. Overall, the navigability, findability, functionality, and usability made for an easy and clear
experience. The Nissan website on the tablet received a B+. The format
was exactly the same as the desktop version. Although it had great
find-ability and navigability it could improve on usability and
functionality a little more. Some pages and photos were slow to load.
There is also an Espanol version of the tablet website.
The mobile version of the Nissan website received an A-. The findability, usability, functionality, and navigability were easy to use and
clear. Although it had the key elements of the desktop site, the mobile
site was modified to include only the most important information for
users. The home page features a slideshow of the Bottom Line model
year-end event, and new Nissan models. However, the mobile site does
have a link to the full site version at the bottom of the home page. The
navigation bar includes options to look at vehicles, find dealers based
on the user’s zip code, look up offer, and shop. Additionally, users can
click to get a quote, inventory based on their zip code, look for
accessories depending on the car model, and build a vehicle. The
mobile site also has direct icon links to Nissan USA’s Facebook, Twitter,
Google+, and Youtube page. Lastly, the mobile site home page has a link
to join the mailing list.
Positioning:
Nissan’s six-year (2011-2016) global campaign titled “Nissan
Power 88” is aimed at accelerating growth across new markets and
segments worldwide. They intend to introduce more than 90 new
advanced technologies, averaging 15 per year. The first strategy of
Nissan Power 88 is “Strengthening Brand Power”. The report states “To
strengthen Nissan’s brand power, the company will expand its strengths
in engineering and production to the sales, marketing and customer
value creation fields.”
The landing page of the Nissan USA website features around the
“Bottom Line Model Year-End Event: Get the bottom line on the best in
comfort”. It encourages customers to enter their zip code to receive
special offers, join the mailing list, and find a nearby dealer. In order
to build any Nissan model, the site requires that you enter your zip
code.
The Nissan landing page also promotes choosenissan.com for other
Nissan offers. Nissan is also focusing on college graduates buying cars
based off of the Nissan College Graduate program featuring the Versa
Note. The 370Z model is also featured on the landing page having
“legendary performance” and “heart-pounding deals”. Lastly, the
landing page promotes the GT Academy, a competition that allowed
Gran Turismo players to enter into a competition to attend a driving
academy for the Gran Turismo 6. Additionally, a television show was
created documenting the training and competition for the final GT
Academy competitors.
The main models Nissan promotes on their website are the Versa
Note, 2013 Altima, 2013 Sentra, and the 2014 Pathfinder. The
majority of the photo gallery of cars are CGI, in the city, and do not
feature people. However, the 2014 Pathfinder does feature a picture of
a young active family outside of their upper-middle class suburban
home. The other 2014 Pathfinder pictures are taken in the woods,
snow, and mud. Nissan clearly wants this to be seen as the ideal car for
safe family vacations.
Nissan recently launched their “Keep Summer Rolling” campaign,
which promotes servicing your Nissan. Participants are required to
enter a pin or VIN to register to win prizes such as services or a new car.
This campaign has set up a separate website for entries and information
at keepsummerrolling.com.
The top of the landing page has an option to enter your zip code
and find a nearby dealer, giving the potential customer convenience of
a nearby dealership. There is also a Spanish option for the website on
all platforms, clearly being flexible for a range of ethnicities.
The Nissan USA website landing page also has a Twitter feed on
home page of the most recent tweets as well as a Follow button. In
addition, there are videos on the home page that are linked from the
Nissan USA Youtube page.
The Nissan US tagline is currently “innovation that excites” yet
getting to a clear brand identity has been a struggle for Nissan in the
past. Most recently, Nissan had a “Shift” campaign, encouraging drivers
to “Shift the way you move”. However this was not as well received as
intended. Yet, the root of shift (“rethinking the ordinary, pushing
boundaries, exceeding expectations, and anticipating the needs of an
ever-changing planet”) has been somewhat translated into a variety of
innovation taglines. Nissan’s first global brand campaign titled “What
If, Innovation that Excites” supports their six year business plan. Nissan
strives to be the “Ambassadors of Excitement”. The intention is that
their innovative and unique automobiles inspire something more than
a car ride. Additionally, Nissan sees their core customer values being
people who set standards and maximize life. By being an efficient,
unique, and beautiful brand of cars, Nissan fuses advanced technology
with design for human benefits. An example of Nissan trying to meet
the personality type of its target market(s) is the Xterra. This car focuses
is a perfect fit for adventure loving and rough living people.
TBWA creative executive Rob Schwartz working on the Nissan
account says that Nissan’s goal is not to play up “innovation for
innovation’s sake,” but to concentrate on “human-centric innovation,”
conveyed through displays of new products such as the Leaf and
highlighting certain features found on Nissan products. Schwartz added,
“Demonstration of technology and good car thinking is where the magic
of the brand comes through.” Nissan aims to show consumers their
commitment to improving products. The Nissan car design plays a huge
creative force in this brand element. Nissan acknowledges that creating
distinctive products is a difficult task and they openly accept this
challenge.
The Nissan Foundation is one of Nissan’s primary philanthropic
efforts founded in 1992 as a thoughtful response to a societal need.
Following the civic unrest that occurred in Los Angeles earlier that year,
Nissan established the Foundation with a $5 million endowment to
meet needs of communities making up South Los Angeles. The essence of
its founding has remained at the heart of its mission today. Over the
past 20 years the Foundation has disbursed over $6.4 million to more
than 100 nonprofit organizations throughout the United States.
Another philanthropic program that Nissan developed was the Nissan
Green Program. Nissan's philosophy toward the environment, "Seeking a
symbiosis of people, vehicles and nature," describes an ideal for a
sustainable mobile society, now and in the future. Nissan states that
The Nissan Green Program was launched with specific objectives to
realize this goal. Lastly, the Nissan Mobility Assist Program is designed
to support the needs of drivers and passengers with physical disabilities.
It is “committed to making every Nissan vehicle accessible.” Nissan
offers up to $1,000 of reimbursement on the purchase and installation
of qualified adaptive equipment. The separate website
NissanMobilityAssist.com allows the driver to fill out and submit a
form that will be a cash back request.
One-to-One rewards is a loyalty program for Nissan owners.
Drivers can earn points at dealerships depending on how much money
they spend. The website to login is nissanonetoonerewards.com. There is
also a Rewards + Plus program where drivers can earn points by
shopping online for certain Nissan products and also earn bonus points.
Nissannews.com is the official Nissan USA newsroom. This site
includes photo galleries, corporate information, press kits, and news
about models or the company in general. It also links the Nissan’s
Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube pages.
NissanConnect is a mobile application offered in some Nissan
models. It includes with navigation, hands-free text messaging assistant,
Pandora® radio capability, 5.8-inch touch screen color display,
NavTraffic, NavWeather, streaming audio via Bluetooth, POIs powered
by Google, and Google Send-to-Car.
The Nissan Live Chat offers an online chat service with Nissan
representatives. The first request from the representatives is for a name
and if you are already a Nissan owner. They encourage you to join the
“Nissan Family”. Next, the representative asks for more personal
information such as last name, zip code, or email address in order to
answer your questions. The Nissan Live Chat also has a separate direct
chat system for their Leaf model.
Social:
Nissan USA utilizes numerous social media platforms to engage
and connect with its target market(s). These include: Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Google+, Youtube, and Pinterest. Although Nissan is active on
all of these social media platforms and has a varying number of fans
on each one, there is no predominant social media platform that
Nissan uses the most. There is a specific social media page on the
desktop website for Nissan offers and overview of what has happened
the last week with Nissan on social media. It gives posts, tweets, new
likes by Facebook fans, and retweets on Twitter.
The Facebook page encourages fans to use #Nissan and also follow
their Instagram account. The Facebook page offers options to explore
Owner Resources, Do’s and Don’ts of the page, Videos, Nissan GT-R, Leaf,
Like Our Models, and This is How I Roll sweepstakes. The campaign
links to keepsummerrolling.com in which participants can enter in
order to win.
The Nissan Twitter account features the All New Nissan 2014 Versa as
the background photo. The Twitter account @Nissansupport is the
Nissan Twitter account for customer service questions. Most tweets by
Nissan are different from their Facebook posts. The common hashtags
that Nissan uses include models such as #VersaNote and other related
brand awareness hashtags including #VersaVid, #ThrowbackThursday,
and #tbt.
The Nissan USA Google+ page features daily posts accompanied by
photos. Some posts are replicas of the Nissan USA Facebook page. There
is also a video and photo gallery. On the About page Nissan says they
look forward to “experimenting on this new social media channel to
offer a multi-dimensional look at the Nissan brand and products –
Nissan Plus…We hope to share in innovative ways including hangouts
with executives, exclusive photo content and spur collaborative
conversations on our vehicles.” Clearly Nissan USA is making a
conscious effort to provide a strong social media presence on sites used
by their potential and current customers.
The Nissan Youtube account includes videos from TV commercials,
the Nissan GT Academy, Project 370Z, Accessories, Pathfinder,
Performance, and Innovations. The Pinterest page features 17 boards
including Heritage, Line Up, Concept Cars, Summer Road Tripping, Ads,
Pathfinder, and Auto Shows. It gives followers a visual representation of
the brand’s depth.
Nissan recently launched a combined Instagram and Vine contest
which requiring participants to enter a video of why he or she loves the
Nissan Versa, using a cutout of the car supplied on the website. Entries
are required to be shared using #VersaVid on Instagram and Twitter.
Three winners will be featured in a commercial, and six will receive a
$1,000 Amazon gift card. This campaign seems to be inspiring the
awareness of the Nissan Versa as well as the variety of social media
channels that Nissan utilizes.
Social Profiles
Connections
Facebook
6,472,967
Twitter
133,487
Instagram
1,497
Google+
3,059,877
Youtube
14,791 subscribers 9,350,674
views
Pinterest
1,978