• by Karl Greenberg , December 8, 2015

Nissan has launched what it is calling an “interactive brochure hub,” a mobile app for both iOS and Android tablets — a smartphone version will come next — that lets buyers get detailed information about any current Nissan vehicle. 

Nissan says the app puts the brand's entire vehicle lineup on the mobile screen, with interactive content “that delivers an immersive digital experience.”

As Jeremy Tucker, VP of marketing and media at the Franklin, Tenn.-based Nissan North America, notes, Millennials are moving away from desktop, and these days are almost exclusively connecting on mobile devices when not chained to an office desk. “This new app helps us be wherever the buyers are, with the information they need to make informed purchase decisions,” he says, in a statement

The app, which launches as the automaker is heading into the high-stakes holiday selling season, organizes the process into “Why” and “Which” around choosing a vehicle. The “Why” section includes the full product story, covering the key features and innovations that help convince a shopper to consider a Nissan over the competition. The “Which” section guides the shopper through the trim levels, color and interiors, packages, accessories and full specs, per Nissan. It can be used for configuring their vehicle online or when visiting a Nissan dealership.

Said Tucker: “Particularly as a new generation of car buyers approaches vehicle ownership, this app transforms how consumers research and shop for a new vehicle, with the clearest, most transparent presentation of vehicle options and trim levels we've ever offered.”

The app also has videos and demos, and tools such as color selectors. Videos are  integrated into the product narratives, to get into features and benefits. There are also tap-and-click animations that get into vehicle technologies and components, and let users personalize different models — things like the Juke Color Studio.

Of course, once consumers spec out a vehicle, the app links to Nissan’s consumer site for pricing and lead generation to a local Nissan dealer. Auto and marketing consultant Jim Sanfilippo notes that automakers are motivated to find the holy grail in digital space for getting products in front of prospects on mobile devices. “There are 30 million people looking at PC’s and digital devices in some stage of shopping, and if you disrupt that somehow and get your product in front of their face, that’s the Northwest Passage for OEMs. The question, when it comes to apps, is what’s in it for the consumer.”