Is Nissan using the WRONG marketing strategy

[GPowers]

Should Nissan continue using the environmentalist/tree-huger/zero emissions marketing strategy or should Nissan be pushing the no-gas ALL electric theme?

I would think the NO-Gas all electric crowd is a much larger segment then the no-emissions segment.

 

[thankyouOB]

I would think the NO-Gas all electric crowd is a much larger segment then the no-emissions segment.

why would you think that?

 

[Boomer23]

I agree. I think that Nissan and its ad agency have put too much emphasis on the emotional aspects of environmentalism and not enough on the pragmatic benefits of owning and driving an EV. I'm a strong environmentalist, but I realize that EV makers must penetrate the market beyond the early adopter crowd (us!), and convince ordinary car buyers that they would benefit greatly by adding an EV to their garage. Even though I'm an environmentalist, I find the polar bear touchy-feely ads to be a very thin message and lacking in a story about what it means to me as a family man and a parent and grandparent to become an EV owner.

There are a lot of themes that they could exploit in their advertising; cost savings, the cleanliness of electric drive versus oil, even if the power plant is coal-fired, the fact that the grid can get cleaner every year, the domestic source of the fuel, the strategic value to our nation of getting off foreign oil, the perfect tie-in with solar power in the home, having a full "tank" every morning, time-of-use benefits to the electric grid, the exciting torque of an electric motor and the quiet of the drive experience, and there are a lot more themes to exploit.

 

[TomT]

I have to agree. The Eco theme is nice but it was secondary in my decision. Zero gas and all electric was a much larger consideration for me, and I suspect also for a good portion of main-stream consumers...

Should Nissan continue using the environmentalist/tree-huger/zero emissions marketing strategy or should Nissan be pushing the no-gas ALL electric theme
I would think the NO-Gas all electric crowd is a much larger segment then the no-emissions segment.

 

[kovalb]

Should Nissan continue using the environmentalist/tree-huger/zero emissions marketing strategy or should Nissan be pushing the no-gas ALL electric theme?

I would think the NO-Gas all electric crowd is a much larger segment then the no-emissions segment.

+1

I personally believe there are multiple avenues to more effectively market the Nissan LEAF.
1. What you said. No gas. No sending our hard earned money overseas to countries that may not wish us well.
2. Overall ownership cost is competitive with ICE (comparably equipped compact).
3. 5 seconds to plug or unplug vs. standing at a dirty smelly gas station.
4. Fun to drive. Silent and quick.
5. It's a tech wonderland. Carwings, navi, Bluetooth, USB, Sat, rear view camera, etc.

I would miss the polar bear though.

 

[TomT]

Probably want to minimize attention to this one... Almost any new car in the Leaf price range does these things at least as well and quite often better than the Leaf...

5. It's a tech wonderland. Carwings, navi, Bluetooth, USB, Sat, rear view camera, etc.

 

[thankyouOB]

my question was WHY you think that the eco-crowd is smaller than the no-gas crowd, not whether that opinion is right or wrong.

But moving on:

Consider: when you look at those two BF titles, they seem to be talking about the same thing. I get that you can distinguish the two if you argue it out, but it really falls apart. We had this discussion a few months ago, where folks kept insisting they were not environmentalists, and proving this by saying that they bought the Leaf to not-buy gas and/or to save money. You can call that not whatever you want, but it amounts to the same thing. It is a position that favors the environment.

Emotions are another thing, and when you are talking marketing pitch and sales program, you are really talking about how to touch consumers' emotions. Buying a car is famously emotional. Car marketing and branding are commonly based on surveys and polling, as well as focus groups, etc.
The surveys are analyzing emotions and purchasing power and interest. I think I can safely say that Nissan did allot of this.

Finally, advertising campaigns have arcs and they evolve. Looking at the first advts -- the ones out now -- only tells us where it is starting, not what is planned as more cars are on the road, they are more visible, they are being built in the US and there are more than 12k a year to sell and buy. Recall, we only have 7k in the US as of october 1.

 

[MrFish]

Funny you should bring this up. Although I believe in caring for the environment, I would not call myself and environmentalist per say. I generally follow the mantra, all things in moderation.

This is a sign I made for my Leaf that highlights what I feel is important.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68904972@N04/

 

[BlueSL]

If they were a new car company with no ties to the entrenched auto industry, I would think their broadest possible push (the one most likely to resonate with the largest percentage of the car buying public) would be against oil and, especially, foreign oil. But 99% of what Nissan sells requires the consumer to participate in the mass migration of U.S. dollars to the oil producing nations. So, Nissan is hornswaggled there.

The green thing got us those terrible cloth seats in that horrible color. Stay away from that.

I have to believe there are many hundreds of thousands of Americans who want to be first. Who want to have something really cool. I would try to sell the car as if it were the automotive equivalent of an iPhone -- at the moment that the iPhone was introduced. Because it is really cool!

 

[BlueSL]

Funny you should bring this up. Although I believe in caring for the environment, I would not call myself and environmentalist per say. I generally follow the mantra, all things in moderation.

This is a sign I made for my Leaf that highlights what I feel is important.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68904972@N04/

You beat me to it, Mr. Fish. My sentiments exactly!

 

[thankyouOB]

Funny you should bring this up. Although I believe in caring for the environment, I would not call myself and environmentalist per say. I generally follow the mantra, all things in moderation.

This is a sign I made for my Leaf that highlights what I feel is important.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68904972@N04/

nice sign. fine sentiment. but the result remains: Your Leaf, as with mine, makes the air cleaner and we use less energy to move ourselves around than if we drive a similar-sized ICE.

 

[MrFish]

Funny you should bring this up. Although I believe in caring for the environment, I would not call myself and environmentalist per say. I generally follow the mantra, all things in moderation.

This is a sign I made for my Leaf that highlights what I feel is important.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68904972@N04/

nice sign. fine sentiment. but the result remains: Your Leaf, as with mine, makes the air cleaner and we use less energy to move ourselves around than if we drive a similar-sized ICE.

I agree with you.
I have a friend who follows FOX news and started giving me a hard time about being a "tree hugger" since I was driving an electric car. He has 2 sons in the military right now and is fiercely patriotic. I showed him my sign and he responded " I never thought about it that way"
There is a large segment of the population that does not want to be a "tree hugger" but would drive an electric car for "patriotic" reasons. Now if I can only convert the FOX network.

 

[MrFish]

Funny you should bring this up. Although I believe in caring for the environment, I would not call myself and environmentalist per say. I generally follow the mantra, all things in moderation.

This is a sign I made for my Leaf that highlights what I feel is important.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68904972@N04/

You beat me to it, Mr. Fish. My sentiments exactly!

I have another I'm going to make.

"No soldier has ever fought to bring electricity to this country"

 

[Fabio]

While I am 100% on your side, I believe that the non-early adopters (i.e. not us on this forum) who can afford 25-35k (depending on tax breaks, etc) on a mid-to-small size car are mostly conservative and are much more likely attracted by either the patriotic/national security angle (100% American energy) or the cheap-to-operate angle.
I would argue that they may even be turned off by the environmental angle (as they tend to be AGW deniers).

nice sign. fine sentiment. but the result remains: Your Leaf, as with mine, makes the air cleaner and we use less energy to move ourselves around than if we drive a similar-sized ICE.

 

[thankyouOB]

While I am 100% on your side, I believe that the non-early adopters (i.e. not us on this forum) who can afford 25-35k (depending on tax breaks, etc) on a mid-to-small size car are mostly conservative and are much more likely attracted by either the patriotic/national security angle (100% American energy) or the cheap-to-operate angle.
I would argue that they may even be turned off by the environmental angle (as they tend to be AGW deniers).

as you said I BELIEVE.

it is really an unsupported string of statements.

 

[smkettner]

Lower cost fuel, lower cost of maintenance, convenience of filling up at home, avoiding the smelly dirty service stations, no imported oil. That is the angle I think Nissan should be shooting for.

What mom wants to leave the kid in the car while they go up and pay cash in advance on a cold and rainy night?

 

[EVDRIVER]

Agreed.

 

[lspooz]

What mom wants to leave the kid in the car while they go up and pay cash in advance on a cold and rainy night?

Whoa, great idea for a commercial...

 

[lonndoggie]

Supposing Nissan made a whole string of commercials, each about one of the outstanding things about the Leaf, then a current VW commercial might serve as a good model for one about how quiet the Leaf is.

This ad has several people signing along to Elton John's "Rocket Man", butchering the line "burning up his fuse up here alone" (which I'll admit I never could figure out), UNTIL a couple is listening to it in their new Passat, where they finally can hear it clearly and figure it out.

VW is touting the pristine sound quality of the Fender (!) sound system, but for the Leaf, it'd be how quiet the cabin is. As for the sound system...er...well, OK, maybe not. Next.

BTW, I agree that Nissan would do well to broaden the appeal of the Leaf by playing up all the coolness it embodies--not necessarily dropping the environmental angle, but making sure people realize this isn't a one-trick pony.

Funny commercial in any case:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWy-LCGDsd8[/youtube]

 

[LEAFfan]

Should Nissan continue using the environmentalist/tree-huger/zero emissions marketing strategy or should Nissan be pushing the no-gas ALL electric theme?
I would think the NO-Gas all electric crowd is a much larger segment then the no-emissions segment.

+1! For the general public, I agree. Tonight, some guy in an older big car pulled up beside us at a light and asked, "Does that use any gasoline?" And I told him no, that it was 100% electric. He said, "Wow! This f*****' gas guzzler is costing me over $40 a week! I'm going to check those out!" Then the light turned and he smiled as I left him in the dust! ( :lol: jk about the jr)