The B2B marketing when it comes to the Nissan Leaf is being directed mostly towards rental car companies.
The first company that came into their marketing circle was Zip Car. The appeal of the car was immediate due to the fact of the great milage and of the actual cost of maintaining the car when in their fleet.
Another important client in the US have been corporations looking to add benefits to their employees in the form of tax deductible incentives towards the purchase of a Clean Air car. For example in California, Evernote is offering $250 towards such a vehicle. For californians, the advantage of having an electric car derives from being able to use the HOV lane and significantly cutting down your commute time.

In New York, Mayor Bloomberg and Nissan have joined together in creating the taxi of tomorrow. Based on the concept of the Leaf but adapted for the street of NYC. Here are some videos presenting the new B2B concept especially developed for the city of NY.

According to Nissan, the average Nissan Leaf owner is a young Baby Boomer, at around 45 years old.

His average income is 125.000 dollars a year and he owns his own home and has at least one garage space reserved for recharging their electric car at night. He has a college education and his daily comute is around 50 miles a day.

When it comes to the customization that they preffer, the model that most customers preffer is around 35.000 dollars and includes an all electric panel on top to provide electricity for when the car is parked and using the ac or the radio.

The Nissan Leaf`s biggest target segment is among the Baby Boomers who already own an electric or hybrid vehicle and are looking for a more eco friendly version then their Toyota Prius or Honda Insight. Nissan Leaf is the car that best appeals to a client that feels the need to become even more greener.

The process of developing the Nissan Leaf was presented in the form of the Nissan Altra in 1997. The Altra EV was produced for four years, time in which only 200 vehicles were produced and their main customer was companies that needed fleet vehicles such as electric utilities.
After the Altra, the Hypermini was another vehicle produced by Nissan. It was sold only to government agencies.
After that in 2009, the EV 11 was the first prototype created by Nissan based on the Nissan Versa.
It featured a all electric drive train and it had a 100 miles range. After its successful test marketing the Nissan EV 11 started to be produced and sold as the Nissan Leaf.
On the introductory stage, the Nissan Leaf had a hard time coming to become a success. In the first two years sales of the Nissan Leaf barely topped 50.000 units sold. The years to come, due to aggressive marketing and strategic partnerships, the Nissan Leaf started to reach is growth stage. The car is now in its maturity and the idea of the electric car and the Nissan Leaf is very closely related.

For the marketing communications, Nissan uses all elements as part of their promotional mix:

Advertising : Being that is a new product, the Nissan Leaf has been very strongly advertised by Nissan. The advertising campaigns included magazine, bilboards and TV ads, being the nature of the product.
Here are some examples of it :

When it comes to the Nissan Leaf the car is the product of my blog.
The Nissan Leaf fits in the category of speciality product. In the buying part of this product: research and habit are two important elements. When it comes to advertising , Nissan uses precise advertising to keep a product image.

For the Nissan Leaf, the product line is limited due to the fact that is a speciality product. The options that are available are related to the consumer preference profile and include color and interior specifications.
The Nissan Leaf`s product line extension includes applications and web designated games.

The Nissan Leaf is an example of co-branding . It benefits from two names : Nissan and Leaf. These two names form a trademark.
Included with the Nissan Leaf there is a included warranty of 100.000 miles or 10 years as well as  a 5 year warranty for the battery.

Example of the branding:

For sampling, "The Test and Drive" is one of the examples that Nissan as a corporation uses to promote their cars in general. The Nissan Leaf was also offered at college campuses as part of their sampling campaign. Being that is such a novelty product for their entire category of cars by sampling the Nissan executives are trying to attract the focus of environmentally friendly persons towards the electric alternative.

Point of purchase is being used by Nissan by promotional materials supplied to the car dealers that feature the Nissan Leaf. They include everything from billboards to brochures and magazines.


For their personal selling, Nissan uses the seven steps in the following manner:

Nissan uses newspaper and online advertising to generate their leads. The qualifying leads are represented by individual sales persons that approach you and are starting to find out their specific needs and see if the Nissan Leaf is a good fit. The solution are developed and proposed at the time of the initial sales meeting as well as the objections being handled. The closing of the sale is made usually at the same time after the negatiation is completed. The following up is done mostly via emails and letters trough the post office.

Nissan Leaf advertising and public relations are based on the major idea of green driving and the advantage that an electric car will bring to its owner and the environment as well.

The commercials that Nissan is bringing to us are directed to the person that already has or is considering moving to an alternative source of energy vehicle.
As seen in my previous post, "hugging the environment" is the main theme throughout the campaign that they have in 2013.
The Nissan Leaf`s advertising is now between the pioneering and the competitive stage of the ad. They are promoting the advantages of this new product as well as presenting the difference to their main competitor the Toyota Prius.

As far as PR, the Nissan as an corporation is sponsoring races in the Formula 1 and Formula 3000 and being a part of other sports. They are structured per regions being that their business is multi national.

By being such a unique product in the market, the Nissan Leaf is a unique product that offers zero emissions by using an electrical engine as its source of power.
Although inovative, the people that are the customers that buy the Nissan Market go trough the process of decission making in their way of purchasing this vehicle.

The customers that purchase the Nissan Leaf and in fact any car goes trough a high involvement process that includes an extensive information search and a thorough evaluation of the possible alternatives. Alternatives such as Toyota Prius or the Chevrolet Volt are just some of the alternatives.

The social factors that influence the process of purchasing the Nissan Leaf are some on which the company based their marketing mix. The product itself is being presented to people that want to be environmentally aware and that is why one of the most weighting factors is the green thinking.

The individual and psychological factors that influence the purchase of the Leaf are connected to the social status that owning a eco friendly car offers you nowadays. The eco friendly cars and the general thinking green offer to their owners personal confidence and well being.


I wanted to include a video with a post purchase review offered by two of the actual owners of a Nissan Leaf.

The Nissan Leaf is the world's first 100-percent electric, zero-emission car designed for the mass market.

That is the headline that Nissan is presenting us as far as their electric car goes: world`s first

Nissan with their product have created a global vision in by encompassing a few important elements in their marketing and production strategies. The Nissan Leaf is being sold primarily in countries that are developed and that is why the car is available to the United States, Japan and Europe.
By having such a defined target market Nissan fully understood where they need to sell their product and they have fully directed their attention to that specific market.
In 2012, Nissan Leaf exceeded the 50.000 market cap that was their primary target. The car has been sold at around 7000 units in Europe, 20.000 units in the United States and 23.000 units in Japan.

Being that their product is doing so well in so many different markets , Nissan created for the leaf in early 2012 a global ad for their product.



In a new ad due to be aired globally, Nissan has left behind Polar Bears, gas-powered office equipment, and strange art installations in favor of a much simpler message based around one question. “What if you could drive with zero emissions, and you never had to stop for petrol ever again?,” is the message that Leaf owners are receiving.
The video even touches on some of the best aspects to owning an electric car, from never having to visit the gas station to having your car recharge while you do something else--like grab lunch.

Apart from this, the Nissan also added to their way of becoming global in september 2012 when the company opened a battery plant in Tennessee. This is their third plant with two more in Zama, Japan and Sunderland in the United Kingdom.

For any automaker, defining their target market is just as important and the number of horsepower or how many gallons the trunk it will be. Their process begins within the development process and every decision made revolves around who will be a part of their target market.

According to Nissan, the average Nissan Leaf owner is a young baby boomer, aged around 45 years old. With an income of around $125.000 a year, the average owner owns his own house, is an educated persone with a minimum of a college degree, drives around 50 miles per day and are happy with plugging their car in their garages.

Being that the Nissan Leaf usually is being sold at a trim level that is at around $33.500, the average buyers are pretty well endowed when it comes to cash. So the question arrises, what will it replace ? Something expensive like a MERCEDES C Class or maybe a high end sedan such as a TOYOTA CAMRY or a NISSAN ALTIMA ?

It seems that the Nissan LEAF is actually appealing to the young baby boomers that are looking to get the experience of owning a ecologically responsible car.

Of those who actually purchased the Nissan LEAF most of them already own a Toyota Prius or a Honda Civic or a hybrid of sorts. The color that they are going for is mostly the blue as seen in their advertisements.

All these information tell us that Nissans marketing department has made a fantastic job in identifying their potential buyers. Environmentally conscious, middle age owners who where looking to move away from hybrids.

By being an electric car and operating on a zero emission profile, the Nissan Leaf is putting a large part of its marketing strategy on the one thing that is presented in this chapter: social responsibility.


At Nissan, the company is creating more and more “green” technologies, including clean diesels, efficient internal-combustion engines, hybrids and the centerpiece of our product strategy: zero-emission vehicles, such as electric cars and fuel cell vehicles.
 The key driver of Nissan's passion is captured in the word “zero.” They are preparing a lineup of cars that will be totally neutral to the environment, beginning with the electric car.
With zero carbon-dioxide emissions and zero particles, the Nissan Leaf, as an electric car will be the most environmentally friendly mass-produced car on the market. As well, they are developing a range of high-quality electric vehicles that are safe, well engineered, attractive, affordable and fun to drive. Through the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the Nissan Leaf is more than just a new car.
Creating a zero-emission society will involve mass production, supplying thousands of cars to markets around the world. Collaboration with countries, local governments, electricity providers and many other specialists will be required to help develop the necessary infrastructure and to make the whole system work.

To quote the marketing president of Nissan: " Zero-emission mobility is our passion, a true breakthrough and a key to our future."

Apart from spending time and efforts towards the zero-emission concept from and ethical perspective, Nissan as a whole is also trying to educate and grow kids into thinking more green trough their website call Planet Green. On Planet Green , Nissan is presenting how the introduction of electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf, can improve our planet from the perspective of reducing pollution and minimizing our carbon footprint on this planet.

Find more info at : http://the-planet-zero.com/

Competitive advantages give a company an edge over its rivals and an ability to generate greater value for the firm and its shareholders. The more sustainable the competitive advantage, the more difficult it is for competitors to neutralize the advantage.
 There are two main types of competitive advantages: comparative advantage and differential advantage. Comparative advantage, or cost advantage, is a firm's ability to produce a good or service at a lower cost than its competitors, which gives the firm the ability sell its goods or services at a lower price than its competition or to generate a larger margin on sales. A differential advantage is created when a firm's products or services differ from its competitors and are seen as better than a competitor's products by customers.
In the case of the Nissan Leaf, we see a combination of the two advantages with the differential advantage dominating the scene.

By committing to an electric-only solution, Nissan gains six important competitive advantages:

• The Nissan Leaf became the first true Zero emission vehicle. The Leaf isn't a hybrid car, it's completely electric, it has no gasoline or diesel powered engine to supplement for power. Electric vehicles (EV's) utilize no fossil fuels, so there are no emissions whatsoever.
• Nissan power source, the battery, will bring the cost of the vehicle on a down slope. With their partners at NEC, Nissan can control the price of the most expensive component of the car while keeping the quality of it. 
• By using electricity to power its vehicle, Nissan has put themselves in a place where they will be at advantage compared to traditional gas powered vehicles. The developments of battery technology will most likely outpaces the ones related to combustion engines.
• The all electric Nissan Leaf`s cost of running will be much smaller than the one of a vehicle running on gas. The engine system for EV's is simple. Compared to regular automobile engines, EV engines have less moving parts, which translates to fewer visits to a garage for repairs over the life of the car as there are fewer things to break.
• By demonstrating range, performance and reliability, Nissan Leaf is starting to establish its leader position in the hybrid market in the detriment of vehicles such as Toyota Prius.
• Global Brand: According to business Week Global Brand Scorecard, Nissan is the fastest growing automotive brand and trough the Renault-Nissan Alliance, they can move into new markets faster and with lower costs because they don't have to build new plants. (Renault builds cars in Nissan's Mexico plants and Nissan uses Renault's Brazil plant and distribution networks)

• 2011 European Car of the Year
• 2011 World Car of the Year
• 2011 - 2012 Japan Car of the Year