NISSAN SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN HAS THE RIGHT ATTITUDE
Using sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest has brought the virtues of the New Micra to a huge pan-European audience
- Nissan leads the industry on social media engagement
- 30 million people reached by the #MicraAttitude campaign
- Campaign proves women love cars as much as men
- Most switched on countries are UK, Portugal and Hungary
- Comprehensively enhanced New Micra on sale in September
ROLLE, Switzerland (19th August, 2013) - A pioneering new media campaign promoting Nissan's new Micra city car via social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, has reached an incredible 30 million people in just six weeks.
The pan-European #MicraAttitude campaign, aimed primarily at women, invited participants to create pin boards celebrating ‘Micra Attitude' and promote them via the three leading social media sites.
Run across 16 countries, 25.5 million people were reached via Facebook and 4.1 million via Twitter with almost half a million views of 5,000 photos ‘pinned' by participants on Pinterest.
With a surprise ‘goodie box' worth €200 on offer for 45 winning entries, the #MicraAttitude competition asked entrants to post images that reflected their attitude to life with themes including gorgeous gadgets, kick-ass accessories, inspirational quotes and people, daring destinations and energising activities. Every entry was tagged with #MicraAttitude, ensuring followers were alerted every time a new photograph was posted.
"We wanted to discover what constitutes ‘The Micra Attitude'... and we were overwhelmed by the response," said David Parkinson, General Manager Social & Digital Engagement for Nissan in Europe.
"We were blown away by the response to the competition and the level of engagement from some of the participants. We were delighted to see a number of committed influencers who effectively took our campaign and made it their own, extolling the virtues of new Micra to their friends, followers and fans. When it comes to cost effective promotion, there's nothing to beat social media."
The campaign was also designed to discover how women regard their cars and learn about their aspirations and expectations. The messages coming back showed that it's not just men who regard cars as objects of desire but that women can be inspired by them too.
"For today's woman, a car is an expression of their individuality, a reflection of their personality and, of course, gives them the freedom to be independent," said Helen Perry, Micra product manager.
"We discovered they love accessories and to personalise their car and that they are totally in tune with technology. They find the connectivity offered by New Micra really makes their lives easier allowing them to tackle the day ahead with style, intelligence and confidence."
The countries which engaged most strongly with the campaign were UK, Portugal and Hungary, but there were hundreds of entries from right across Europe.
New Micra arrives in showrooms at the end of this month. It has a brand new exterior design and an enhanced interior plus smart technologies including the latest NissanConnect system with a larger touchscreen. It also incorporates Google Send-To-Car technology that allows an owner to plan a journey on their PC or tablet at home or in the office and then send the instructions to the car ahead of the journey.
"Social media is an exciting, new and largely misunderstood form of engagement with potential customers. Nissan was one of the first car companies to appreciate its potential, however, and the success of the #MicraAttitude shows how far ahead of the game we are," said Parkinson.
Although the figures for the campaign's reach, page impressions, shares and likes are hugely impressive, perhaps the most important element is the hundreds who have been inspired by the campaign to go directly to the Nissan product website to find out more about New Micra.
"If just a small percentage of those interested become New Micra owners, then the power of hugely cost effective campaigns using nothing but social media - the modern day equivalent of word of mouth - is beyond doubt," said Parkinson.
"The success of this campaign proves beyond doubt that companies should not be afraid of letting customers get directly involved with their brand, even if the comments and content on social media sites is ‘unregulated'. The worst that can happen is that the brand in question will get a true insight into how customers view a campaign... and that can only benefit the next campaign," he added.
About Nissan in Europe
Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 14,500 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 695,000 vehicles including mini-MPVs, award-winning crossovers, SUVs and commercial vehicles. Nissan now offers 24 diverse and innovative products for sale in Europe today, and is positioned to become the number one Asian brand in Europe.
