Nissan & TBWA

Nissan and TBWA work to drive global consistency and improve brand value globally. Openness, mutual respect and shared ambition are the key pillars to the success and longevity of this relationship. The nature of a global relationship is 24/7, and Nissan United is seen as a trusted and critical partner to Nissan. When there are issues anywhere in the world, they are addressed head-on in a transparent and honest manner. The global CMO and the agency lead are the ultimate “throats to choke” on both sides of the business. The strength of the partnership between client and agency is what ultimately drives the success of the business.

TBWA drives a team of diverse Omnicom agencies, called Nissan United, to work with global clients in Yokohama as well as local Nissan marketing executives in countries around the world. Their cadence of communication is as engineered as Nissan cars themselves. Because of time zone differences, they are committed to set times for communications. They also meet with all market and agency leaders bi-annually. They developed NURVE (Nissan United’s Real-Time Vision for Engagement), a first of its kind team and tech stack to drive content creation and social engagement at scale.

Working with the agency resulted in two key changes: a more consistent global approach for all Nissan regional marketing that utilized the TBWA and Omnicom global network in each market, and a Brand Campaign that was developed by TBWA and Nissan Global and run in key airports throughout the world. The Nissan Global Brand campaign launched in airports in February 2012, and has continued to run in 21 global airports through 2016. The core objective is to build Nissan brand awareness and long-term ownership of innovation and excitement brand association amongst the “Influentials” target audience

From 2011 to 2015, Nissan’s brand value has climbed from #90 to #49 on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands, from $3.9B to $9.1B. The Nissan Global Brand campaign saw a 65% lift in awareness, with 85% of the viewers finding the ad to be appealing and eye-catching. The relationship has been recognized by several awards all over the world, including Cannes, Obies, Andys and EFFIEs.