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Nissan
Revolutionary Digital Launch: Nissan's
Key New Brand
and Vehicle
Overview
Despite pioneering with the Nissan Leaf, Nissan's vision for electric vehicles remained essentially unchanged for over a decade. Launching the Nissan Ariya and a concurrent new brand initiative marked a pivotal moment, propelling Nissan towards its ambition to be perceived as a leader in the EV space. The Ariya, a beacon of modern design and Nissan's first 100% electric crossover symbolised the company's renewed commitment to innovation and sustainability.
The challenge
Originally planned as a hybrid of digital and physical experiences, the Ariya's launch faced an unprecedented twist: the global pandemic of 2020. The launch pivoted to digital, with the Tokyo Olympic Village's physical venue no longer viable. This wasn't just a product launch; it was Nissan's declaration of a new era, all amidst the backdrop of a world in lockdown.
The task was to transcend traditional digital car launches and ignite excitement for the Ariya and the Nissan brand in a purely virtual environment.
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The Ariya ‘War Room’ - an essential collaborative environment for the whole team.
Approach
We developed the following approach to meet those challenges
- Engagement Through Utility: A focus on translating Ariya's features into tangible benefits, ensuring they were relatable and compelling.
- Interactive experience: Embraced a "learning by doing" philosophy, mirroring car functionalities in the digital interface to educate and engage.
- Brand Language Translation: The digital space was to be a canvas for "Timeless Japanese Futurism," blending Nissan's heritage with forward-thinking innovation.
- Narrative-Driven Engagement: The experience should be compelling, incorporating game-like elements that invite interaction without feeling contrived.
Defining a clear strategy and approach for the project, that integrated the many facets of the client asks, was key to ensure close alignment and advocacy for all the teams involved in the project.
A key step was creating clear product parameters for the two main areas of the Nissan Ariya discovery and research/purchase experience.
Early iteration of storyboard approach and initial ideas.
Exploration and development of interactive moments
Adding fidelity and detail to the experience
Developing and iterating the interface design elements
Design system developed for the Ariya launch paved the way for an overall reimagination of the Global Nissan Brand System
Go-to-Market Strategy:
Nissan Next evolved into a digital platform, bringing users together for live events and explorations of new technologies. The Ariya's digital World Premiere allowed attendees to experience the Yokohama event virtually, offering a seamless journey from the broadcast to a virtual tour of the pavilion exhibition. Beyond the launch, the strategy included lead capture, sustained engagement, and integration into Nissan's broader ecosystem, ensuring the digital excitement translated into real-world anticipation.
Translating physical lighting motions, tempos and patterns and integrating within interface elements
Outcomes :
The digital-first approach yielded impressive results: one million global views within the first week and 14,000 potential customers expressing purchase interest. It demonstrated the successful pivot to a digital strategy and marked a new chapter for Nissan in the digital customer journey.
Personal reflection
Leading a talented team at Publicis Sapient on this ambitious project was profound. My role was more than Creative Direction; it involved fostering a space for innovation. I am passionate about leadership in high-stake/reward situations. Seeing the team produce such a successful project was a career highlight.
600K
Visits in first24 hours
97%
Organic visits
350k
Leads generated
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RHS product information page on the App Store
