2014 Winners & Shortlists

Results and Effectiveness

In March 2013, TNS conducted an SBIS survey to measure the outcome of the first 6 months of the Nissan brand campaign. The results were as follows: •The BrandIndex scored 44% (25% above objective) and Nissan was ranked second most innovative automotive brand (compared to direct competitors) •Although the bulk of the budget was invested in digital media, the campaign earned free media exposure across all platforms (TV, print, radio and online). The total earned media value in the first six months alone was around USD 350,000.

Creative Execution

Our media approach was to live up to our brand promise by using every medium innovatively. We created fresh new communications that stopped, surprised, and engaged young people across the region. Our brand campaign: 1. Used innovative messaging by selecting key models and state-of-the-art Nissan products. 2. Spoke the language of youth by focusing 70% of efforts on digital and the remainder on branding the region’s most innovative airport: Dubai International. 3. Engaged and excited youth with a series of rich media (we were the first automotive brand to transform YouTube’s masthead into an engaging game) 4. Engaged youth by bringing the GT Academy to the Middle East for the very first time. 5. Exceeded their expectations by taking down an existing billboard at Dubai airport and creating the world’s largest indoor illuminated advertising sign – breaking a Guinness World Record along the way.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Although the brand has built deep roots in the region, it was starting to be viewed as an ageing brand that lacks excitement. In a region heavily populated by a young audience (60% are under the age of 30), Nissan had not produced any brand communication or dedicated youth activation in more than 20 years. What’s more, it was getting more and more difficult to get the youth’s attention through traditional media. A few points about our young audience: • Innovation becomes obsolete in their eyes fairly quickly. • They constantly require innovative methods of entertainment. • Their attention span is short; communication needs to be engaging to captivate them. • Traditional media does not resonate very well with them With a new brand promise, “Innovation that excites”, we saw an opportunity to prove that through its many new innovations, Nissan is actually more youth-relevant today than ever.