Ask The Best And Brightest: What Does The Nissan Brand Mean To You?
Nissan was the fifth best-selling brand in the first half of 2010, but with nine new model rollouts planned for the next two years it’s looking for something its marketing team calls “breaking the mold” improvement. To do that, Nissan is leading its product blitz with distinctive products like the Leaf EV and t he Juke “sportcross,” but it’s also working to bring more attention to its brand as well as its vehicles. Marketing boss Jon Brancheau explains the problem to AdAge
If you look back over the course of the last 18 months at our creative, a lot of it has been focused on individual models and there hasn’t been an overarching idea that held everything together, laddering to Nissan. That’s what’s different about this work. It’s focused on the vehicle lines supporting the Nissan brand rather than just focusing on individual launch activity. The Leaf is the most recent example to believe that Nissan is an innovative company and that’s how we want to transmit our message to consumers, we want to turn it around a little bit — Nissan is the brand, and here’s the reason you should believe in it.
Unfortunately, the vehicle for Nissan’s latest bid at brand awareness is based on the tagline “Innovation For All,” a bon mot that is unfortunately reminiscent of the ill-fated Chevrolet tagline “Excellence For Everyone.” For a brand that is respected by many but loved by few, that’s a dangerously vague approach to a marketing push, and it hardly seems like the message to propel Nissan out of its perennial also-ran status. On the other hand, it’s tough to put a finger on what exactly Nissan should stand for because it’s brand has almost always been poorly differentiated in this market. So we’re curious: what does the Nissan brand mean to you, and what are the strengths it should build on as it seeks to improve brand awareness? Or are they on the right track already?
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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When I think of Nissan, I think about my family first brand new car, 97 Forest Green Pathfinder LE, all other cars of ours were used. Over 310,000 miles and still going, got T-bone cause my dad thought it was smart to run a stop sign, and it kept on going. The interior quality was crap but that engine wow. Edit: I just remember the Pathfinder got rear ended too! We ended up fixing the body and the T-bone accident. Right now, the suv shake a bit when my dad go from a stand still but meh it ain't dying. Nissan is the only brand that tries to add sportiness into their cars out of the 3 Japanese brand. Although there are some failure, they do make some great cars out there. Their Z, Altima, & Xterra are pretty good. Sentra fail hard so does the Versa but last time I check, they've manage to sell lots of Versa. Their 1st gen Murano was a risk taker and it was great. Their Juke will be the same. The GT-R is a technical marvel. What I will always remember is their VQ engine. Got Wards Top Ten engine streak for a long time, and oh how durable it is. I think it was the first V6 to hit the 300 hp. All I know is Nissan makes great V6 and they take risks. It's great to have a company that is willing to take risk on technologies and style. Now bring back the Silvia/240sx and fix the Versa and Sentra style!
A Nissan is a Japanese Pontiac. It is an overstyled OK car that a lot of folks like because of it's style. It kinda looks sporty, and then takes that sporty look over the cliff. Forty years ago, it was just Nissan and Toyota, and they weren't Toyota. Now, I'm not sure what they aren't. The cars I've had that were Nissans weren't as good as my Toyotas or Hondas. They were always sport-aspriring, but had really sad gas mileage and nothing to brag about interiors. Sporty Japanese? I think Mazda. Senior Japanese? I think Toyota and Honda Everyday Japanese? Well, maybe Nissan. Today, I prefer Ford over any of them.