Title	NISSAN NISMO WATCH
Brand	NISSAN EUROPE
Product/Service	NISMO
Category	D02. COSTS/CREATIVE PERFORMANCE PR CAMPAIGN
Entrant Company	TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
Advertising Agency	TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
Advertising Agency 2	TBWA\G1 Boulogne, FRANCE

Name	Company	Position
Sami Thessman	TBWA/Helsinki	Executive Creative Director
Rudi Anggono	TBWA/G1	Executive Creative Director
Daniel Julier	TBWA/Helsinki	Designer
Sami Viitamäki	TBWA/Helsinki	Executive Strategy Director
Celina Eude	TBWA/G1	Account Director
Juhana Hokkanen	TBWA/Helsinki	Creative Technologist
Eva Gotteland	TBWA/G1	Account Supervisor
Nana Paija	TBWA/Helsinki	Project Director
Altti Sjögren	Freelance	Video Editor
Ewan Veitch	TBWA/G1	President
Millie Ahlskog	TBWA/Helsinki	Account Director

The Campaign

NISMO (Nissan Motorsports) stands for Nissans range of technically advanced and innovative sports cars. But unlike the competitors Mercedes AMG or a BMW model M, they're not talked about, much less considered for purchase. We set out to create something that would connect the larger audience with the NISMO brand. Media coverage would not be enough. we needed to be in the consumers thoughts and conversations. Tell a story to the likings of gearheads and also common people. The strategy was to launch a product concept to be the center of communication an PR for NISMO. By combining car related performance and technology driven wearable tech we could tell the story of NISMO. The NISMO WATCH concept is a unique approach to the sports car segment. The smart watch was first prototyped and then became the star of the PR push. The launch video, the product shots and press releases all talk the same language: the story of a new kind of smart watch, the NISMO WATCH that links the Sports Car to its Driver. PR elements of the campaign: - NISMO WATCH Concept launch video - NISMO WATCH Concept beauty shots - Concept reveal at Frankfurt Motor Show - Seeding plan The campaign was created using Concept Car principles of all Car Manufacturers — to awaken media attention and enter conversations of a broader audience and interest of potential buyers. For a total investment of € 50.000, we gained a whopping $82.7 Million worth of earned media.

The Brief

The main goal was to elevate NISMO into the target group's focus of discussion in social media, and thus have NISMO enter the considered group. This was measured by social media activeness, media appearances, consumer created content and overall discussion of the NISMO brand using Nissan's social and traditional media tracking tools. Nissan's NISMO sports cars target groups have been defined globally by Nissan as Passionate achievers and Modern seekers. We identified a strong interest and affinity for wearable technology, that is, smart watches, activity bracelets and other solutions of measuring oneself, which fall under the quantified self category.

Results

The NISMO WATCH blew all expectations out of the ballpark. Brand awareness went through the roof and social media was taken by storm. Discussion around the NISMO brand grew by 2969% compared to the same time period in 2012. (Measured using Nissan's media tracking tools) Nissan's brand promise " Innovation that excites " was given a wholly new meaning. It generated a huge positive PR peak for Nissan and strengthened the awareness Nissan's brand, which grew 9 % Globally from 2013 to 2014. During the campaign: 15 345 268 Twitter impressions 312 010 YouTube views. 6980 written media mentions in which 98% were POSITIVE. 50.000 Euro budget turned in to Global Earned Media Value of 82 702 454 UDS — 63,7 Million Euro According to media mentions, Samsung and even Apple were strongly suggested to learn from the NISMO Watch concept in the design of their own smart watches.

Execution

We started by making a prototype of the NISMO WATCH. We worked closely with Nissan R&D team to create the concepts features and pair the features with the car. Prototypes for concept device were made together with technology manufacturers for design and component verification. We then created beauty shots of the NISMO WATCH and a launch video for seeding and for media to report on. The NISMO WATCH was revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in september 2013. It was the buzz of the show and the conversation on and off line went viral. We then monitored the conversation online and responded according to plan to many enquiries about the device and its plans to enter production. The campaign went according to plan and conversations exceeded our campaign period (9.9-23.9.2013) by far and the NISMO WATCH became a global phenomenon in the industry and among consumers.

The Situation

Nissan's NISMO Sports Cars have proven their performance to be of the highest level in many tests and independent comparisons. Technically, they're very innovative. Still, the NISMO cars are almost unknown outside of Japan, with just 1% of the awareness of Mercedes AMGs or BMW Ms. They just weren't as desirable and our target group (Passionate achievers and Modern seekers under Nissan's segmentation) wasn't talking about NISMO at all. Nissan had a clear need for something to push up the conversation and the desirability of NISMO and we had an opportunity to create something truly unique.

The Strategy

To achieve the goals set we planned to use a familiar mechanisms of the auto industry but in a new way. The strategy was to launch a product concept that enhances the performance of the drive, not the car. The campaign was created using the Concept Car principle of all Car Manufacturers. We wanted NISMO to captivate a larger audience. By combining car related performance and technology driven wearable tech we could tell the story of NISMO. This story would continue living stronger than a conventional PR execution due to the interest of both car enthusiasts and consumers talking about technology. The plan was simple. Launch a NISMO smart watch in order to put NISMO cars in the audience's focus of discussion.