NISSAN

The Blue Man Group

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The automotive industry is extremely competitive, so each car company must
have a strong brand in order to survive. In the case of Nissan, brand awareness
and favorability are especially low when it comes to one particular segment:
multicultural millennials. Nissan has inconsistent branding, and its position
in the marketplace is unclear. By strategically positioning Nissan cars in ways
that Hispanic, African American and Chinese millennials will find appealing, the
companys sales will increase by two percent across each segment by March 2016.
Several factors contribute to Nissans poor positioning in the marketplace. An
internal factor is that Nissan doesnt have clear branding, and the companys voice
is overshadowed by its competitors. An external factor is that the car industry is
extremely fast paced, and competitors Honda and Toyota are particularly difficult
to compete with due to their size, established branding and consumer trust.
Another external factor is that the target market has many facets. Multicultural
millennials are mostly college educated, and along with that comes student
loan debt. With average incomes of $66,000 to $78,000 per year, multicultural
millennials are more hesitant to make big purchases, such as buying cars.
In order to overcome these factors, The Blue Man Group proposes two new
positioning strategies for Nissan. These two positions will appeal to the target
audience and will establish a stronger brand for Nissan. The first campaign,
The Road to Home, will use product user positioning that is geared toward
consumer emotions. The second campaign, With Science, We Go Further, will
use product class positioning that is geared toward technology and innovation.

PROBLEM/OBJECTIVES

POSITIONING PROBLEM
Nissans current position, Innovation for All, is not translated through its
current advertisements. The brand has different voices throughout media
platforms, which can confuse consumers. Overall, the brand is weak and is
easily overshadowed by its competitors.
Nissans target audience is multicultural millennials ages 18 to 29 in the United
States. Within this group, Nissan is focusing on African Americans, Chinese
and Hispanic ethnicities.
Multicultural millenials are living budget-friendly lifestyles. They look for the
best quality for the least amount of money. This audience also values strong
brands and looks and appearances are critical in their decision making.
Nissans primary competitors are Toyota and Honda, car manufacturers that
also target multicultural millenials. Both companies have established strong
and easily identifiable brands. They also have consistent branding across all
platforms and are more innovative in utilizing the digital space.

STRENGTHS
Nissan offers more unique and exclusive technology than its competitors (zero-gravity seats and self-cleaning car)
Partnerships with widely known brands such as NCAA and Innovation for Endurance
Carries the best in class fuel economy compared to its competitors

WEAKNESS
Brand is less defined amongst competitors
Advertising is inconsistent across media platforms
Social media presence is inconsistent with brand positioning

OPPORTUNITIES
Unique technology in vehicles could lead to a more distinguished brand
Nissan has had a neutral branding history, which leaves The Blue Man Group
a cleaner slate to work with.
Targeting to multicultural millennials can create the ideal environment for
Nissan to introduce a new and better brand
Primary competitor Honda is having a soft year in sales

THREATS
Competitor Honda dominates the digital space
Millennials have student loans, may not be interested in buying cars
Prices of competitors are very similar creating more competition (Accord, Altima, Camry are all priced starting at $22,000)

DEMOGRAPHICS
African Americans
Single, college-educated mothers
More receptive to ads targeted specifically to their race
Consume more traditional media (national cable and print)
Chinese
Extremely educated males with fewer children
Highest population in CA, followed by NJ, then NY
Greatest potential market based on audience size and its inclination for buying Nissans
Like staying connected to rootsChinese media consumed in-language and
in-culture (mostly print)
Hispanic
College-educated parents with multiple children
Highest population in CA and TX
Consume both English and in-language media
Mostly watch network TV

ECONOMIC FACTORS
Salary
Ranges from $66,000-$78,000
2008 Recession
Nissan pulled out of AA marketing
Competitors took large amount of Nissan
sales volume

COMPETITIVE FACTORS
Automobile advertising still traditional, relying heavily on print, TV and radio
Honda and Toyota have stronger, more consistent and more defined digital
presence

BUDGET
Both positions will be heavily weighted toward TV and digital, platforms in
which Nissan can promote its brand most clearly. Chinese millennials use
print media frequently, while Hispanic millennials use radio and TV.

Promotion $25 million

TV $40 million

Print $25 million

Radio $5 million

Digital $10 million

POSITIONING

The Road to Home

PRODUCT USER POSITION

The Road to Home campaign will use advertisements with emotional appeals
to form a connection between multicultural millennials and their heritages. Each
advertisement will convey feelings of comfort and belonging. Artistic imagery
will enhance the fact that multicultural millennials are unique and enjoy paving
their own ways in life. Advertisements will reach the highest frequency around
the summer and winter months due to increased travels and the holidays. There
will also be a spike in advertising during Nissans promotions in the spring.

EXPENDITURES BY MONTH

FIND
YOUR
HOME
WITH
NISSAN

Click here to win

DIGITAL
Millennials live in a digital world. Pop ads on homepages
and social media sites that convey messages of finding your
home with a Nissan.These ads will be reminiscent of the
comfort of home TV spot in style, and will feature the same
messaging.

FIND
YOUR
HOME
WITH
NISSAN

TV
Sunrise Safe Haven-:60

FIND YOUR HOME WITH NISSAN

Opens to a scenic view of an open meadow, sounds of birds chirping and

morning breeze rises. The scene slowly extends to a wideshot view of a group
of friends sitting on a hill with their Nissan, enjoying the sunrise. In the last
20 seconds, copy appears on the screen, Find you home with Nissan. Then
appears the Nissan logo and slogan: The Road to Home.

TV
The Comforts of Home With Nissan-:90
The commercial uses a very artistic, sketched Van Gogh-like imagery. It begins
with an Asian man and his family leave for the United States, leaving his Nissan
behind. In US, the man doesnt feel at home without his Nissan, and his skin color
fades to black and white. He struggles through everyday life until his Nissan is
returned via ship. The color returns to his skin while hes driving his Nissan with
his family in their new country.

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RADIO
For product user, the Blue Man Group thought of a radio ad featuring a 60
second spot with spa music, and will allow listeners to meditate for those 60
seconds. The 60-second spot allows consumers 30 seconds of meditation
brought to them by Nissan.

This moment of meditation during traffic is provided to you by Nissan. Your

car is your safe haven when you drive with Nissan.

Mountain Breeze

Place Me in
Your Car and
Create Your
Escape

PRINT
This carries along with the theme of comfort and escape with the product user repositioning. The
print advertisements will contain a detachable car air freshener, which people can tear out and
hang in their cars. The scents will be specifically homey scents, such as fresh laundry and justbrewed green tea.

PROS
Creates more engagement and interaction between Nissan and multicultural
millennials
Multicultural millenials will associate Nissan with their heritages

CONS
Could unintentionally include racial stereotypes
With a strong emphasis on certain cultures, the campaign may alienate other
audiences for Nissan

EXPECTED OUTCOME
The emotional appeal of the campaign will create a personal connection
between multicultural millennials and Nissan. This will strengthen Nissans
brand awareness among this target audience and will increase Nissan sales.

With Science, We Go Further

PRODUCT CLASS
In the With Science, We Go Further campaign, a larger-than-life, intelligent
and sophisticated tone will be conveyed throughout each advertisement. Using
astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who took the first selfie in space, as a spokesperson
for Nissan will do just that. Aldrins youthful spirit embodies the innovation,
intelligence and passion that the campaign will project. The ads will focus on
the quality and unique technology that Nissan products have to offer. This will
appeal to multicultural millennials, who are mostly college educated. Similarly
to the product user strategy, advertisements will reach the highest frequency
during the summer and winter months due to increased travels and the
holidays. There will also be a spike in advertising during Nissans promotions
in the spring.

EXPENDITURES BY MONTH

DIGITAL
Nissan will host an open contest for ideas about new appliances or improvements
to be included in specialty versions of next years Nissan models. The contest
will encourage applicants to think outside the box, and people will associate
Nissan with the advancement of technology and science. People will submit
their ideas through Nissans Facebook page.
Social Media: Buzz Aldrin will test Nissans most impressive features and will
tweet and post about them on Facebook. Buzz Aldrin will be the main content
producer for Nissans social media, to keep it consistent across all platforms.
Additionally, we will utilize Vine to show off Nissans technology with mobilefriendly, six-second clips. For example, we can open the hood of an Altima and
match the moving of the parts to the notes in a piece of classical music.

TV
The TV spot will appear in muted, serious colors to specifically highlight the
spokesperson and the unique Nissan products. This commercial will depict
Buzz Aldrin beneath a spotlight, explaining Nissans outstanding product
features, such as its zero gravity seats and self-cleaning car. Aldrin will
introducing himself as the second man on the moon and the first selfie-taker
in space, to make himself a credible yet modern spokesperson for the Nissan
brand. His personable, witty appeal, similar to that of TED Talk Speakers,
will create a connection with multicultural millennials, who again are highly
educated, and will appreciate this sophisticated and intriguing approach.

RADIO
A radio ad will feature a spokesperson telling the audience facts of about Nissan
car while it is in motion. The radio spot will emphasize the science behind
Nissan with a witty tone that appeals to multicultural millennials. This radio
ad would be perfect since we described our product class as groundbreaking,
intelligence, bold, and pioneers. It gives the target audience a scientific way of
describing the aspects of the Nissan brand that would fit their personalities.

You wish you were driving a Nissan car. If you are driving one, then right now
your cars piston at 7000 rpm is running 116 revs per second, fast enough to kill
a herd of armadillos. Nissan VQ engines have topped many of the best engines
around the world. Experience Nissan. With Science, We Go Further. Nissan.

YOUR CAR IS A WORK OF SCIENTIFIC ART

DONT LOSE IT
Detach the Nissan logo sensor, place it in you car, and you
never will. Download the app here and trace the location of
your car at all times.

PRINT
Print may seem like a thing of the past for millennials, but not when the pages
hold a device you can actually use. Full page ads will include a tear-away
section that has an embedded location-sensor chip. Consumers can download
the Nissan app and leave the sensor in their cars. They can then use the app
to locate their cars in busy parking lots and garages when they forget where
they parked.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT: TOMORROWLAND

Up and coming Disney movie, Tomorrowland, takes place in a futuristic
setting with a strong focus on technology and science. Nissan will design a
futuristic car that will be featured in the motion picture. This product placement
will not only create buzz for Nissan amongst multicultural millennials, but also
will associate the brand even further with science and innovation.

CONCLUSION/EVALUATIONS

CONCLUSION
The Blue Man Group recommends Nissan to use the product class positioning
strategy. Using the product class positioning strategy will distinguish the
high quality and uniqueness of Nissans products amongst its competitors.
Multicultural millennials value individuality and quality within a brand
and will be intrigued by advertisements that highlight sophistication and
value. The emphasis on science within the With Science, We Go Further
campaign will appeal to multicultural millennials, who are highly educated.
When compared to the product user strategy, the product class strategy
will appeal to multicultural millennials without isolating other ethnic groups.
Google Analytics and focus groups will evaluate the effectiveness of
the campaign and will also evaluate multicultural millennial sentiment.
Halfway through the fiscal year, Nissan will present members of its target
audience with surveys that will evaluate consumer sentiment. By the end
of the campaign period, Nissans multicultural millennial market share
should increase. At this time, Nissan will present another survey and
hold focus groups to measure audience sentiment more in depth. If the
campaign proves its success, it will be extended in six month increments.

REFERENCES