CMO Roel De Vries on Nissan Marketing

[Nissan] chief marketer [Roel De Vries] on making sense of myriad marketing technologies, platforms and channels.

Positively bland in speech and demeanor, De Vries speaks thoughtfully and persuasively nonetheless about how Nissan approaches marketing.  It's quite a boon for a CMO that Nissan has a solid foundation across established and emerging markets.  He's been with the company at least 20 years, so I imagine he's had a hand in building that foundation.  While social media consultants and business people alike herald content as king, De Vries clarifies Nissan perspective on this matter: It's about putting out less content, but focusing that content on story lines that matter most to the brand.  So, in their case, the king is purpose and the queen is the brand, while content is the loyal subject that abides by whatever may be the royal decree.

It agency partnerships abide by a particular perspective, too.  De Vries understands the range of specialties that different agencies provide, but Nissan does not want dispersed relationships across all of them.  He wants what he calls agency agnostics that can pull it all together to serve Nissan purpose, which is to convey a consistent, integrated message to consumers.  So more than just a single point of contact, De Vries looks for agencies that can think laterally, work collaboratively, and deliver in concert.  He emphasizes that Nissan doesn't want to do everything (i.e., no 360°).  Instead, it's about cross-channel and cross-agency debate on what makes the most sense to focus on.  This is Nissan United.

The following screen shots speak to the clever, thoughtful way that the carmaker works at design, engineering and marketing:

There is definitely a lot to learn by studying schools of fish: The advent of the smart car, which puts more information and analytics at our disposal and ensures the safest, best possible driving experience.

Finally, we can buy the Versa Note on Amazon:

www.Amazon.com

I don't know if it actually arrives on our driveway in a traditional, but much bigger Amazon box, but how awesome is that?

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD