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.
Nissan sells its cars trough their network of partners and dealerships.
I went to the Nissan dealership on Northern Blvd. in Queens to get a feel for their way of approaching retailing.
Based on the material read in the book, although it can not apply 100% to my experience, my visit to Nissan showed me that the world of the car dealerships is similar to the one of speciality stores.
The level of service is the first thing that you notice and the level at which it is performed it is one of the highest ones. From the greeting to the level of attention that they offer you to the test drive everything revolves you in the opinion of the sales person. The product assortment is narrow; the Nissan dealerhsip was only featuring 7 vehicles that the company is currently offering to the US market. The price of the products offered although it ranged from $18.000 to $145.000 it was a high.
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.
