• by Karl Greenberg , July 8, 2009

Back when Carlos Ghosn took over Nissan marketing, one of his goals was to make the brand an alternative for people who wanted more power, style and general chutzpah (or the Japanese equivalent) than what Honda and Toyota was offering.

The company's latest campaign continues that theme, but tweaks it to include talking points about the quality and durability of Nissan vehicles. And the Nashville, Tenn.-based Nissan North America is also trying something new with the effort, which extends the "Look Closer Nissan Delivers" program: Directly comparing Nissan Altima to Toyota Camry and, by extension, the rest of the mid-sized segment. The new push also pulls in third-party endorsements from the likes of AutoWeek and Car and Driver, and from J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study to make the point.

One ad has a voiceover saying: "AutoWeek raves, 'Toyota Camry is a perfectly boring automobile.' Car and Driver gushes, 'It's dull as dishwater.' Good thing quality doesn't have to be boring -- Nissan Altima undergoes over 5,000 quality tests and beats Camry in horsepower without sacrificing fuel efficiency. Some also say it's a whole lot of fun." The Altima enters the frame, appearing to wipe the quotes off the screen while a voiceover says: "Good thing for you, quality doesn't have to be boring."

The other ad says "Car and Driver says Nissan Altima delivers a level of fun missing from other midsize sedans." The campaign also talks up the car's power and torque versus the competition and Altima's No. 1 ranking in J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study. The ads also include Nissan's value positioning and financing availability.

Erich Marx, director of Nissan marketing, tells Marketing Daily the campaign represents an effort to create a hybrid tier-two/national effort. "We have some 250 [gross rating points] in network and are also in 35 to 40 spot markets, but it is all funded nationally." The campaign, he adds, is also something of a hybrid in terms of Omnicom agency participation: Zimmerman created the ads using LA-based TBWAChiatDay's (Nissan's AOR) video assets from a campaign about Nissan's quality and durability testing center.

"We think advertising should always be branded and have a price position. It isn't easy to unite value and brand; we acknowledge that. But in this marketplace it is imperative we incorporate both messages into everything we do," says Marx. He says the directly competitive approach -- new for Nissan -- came from research on consumer responses to Internet competitive ads. "We have talked with online partners and companies we advertise with online who have told us that the click-through rates for ads that draw direct comparisons far exceed those for less directly competitive ads, so the question internally was, is there an opportunity to test this in other media?"

Marx says the effort reflects a shift in theme, which reflects market realities. "For many years Nissan focused on style and performance rather than quality; now we are saying we are a quality brand, but just because we are doesn't mean you have to be boring. We never want to lose that," he says.

As for the agency strategy, Marx says that also represents the economic climate. "We have asked them to work hand in glove, closer than they ever have," he says. "Zimmerman helped put this together, but it's with footage Chiat shot, so it's breaking new ground for these agencies. But this is the new playing field. Who has the luxury to run tier one and tier two with different agencies? Rather, let's take the best of what each puts on the table."

He says next up for Nissan will be a sales event later this summer and fall.