Leeds Beckett University

Contemporary Brand Management

Nissan

C3289835

5/12/2015

BA(hons) Marketing

Word Count: 4392

Dr Kenneth Henrie

Table of Contents

1

1.0 The Brand........................................................................................................................................3

1.1 What is a Brand?..........................................................................................................................3

1.2 Brand Versus Product..................................................................................................................3

1.3 Nissan Background......................................................................................................................3

1.4 Market Insight.............................................................................................................................3

1.5 Brand Architecture......................................................................................................................4

2.0 Brand Positioning.............................................................................................................................4

2.1 What is Brand Positioning?..........................................................................................................4

2.2 Nissan’s Brand Positioning Statement.........................................................................................5

2.3 Nissan’s Perceptual Positioning Map...........................................................................................6

3.0 Brand Analysis.................................................................................................................................8

3.1 Brand Identity..............................................................................................................................8

3.1.1 What is Brand Identity..........................................................................................................8

3.1.2 The Brand Identity Prism......................................................................................................9

3.2 Brand Image...............................................................................................................................11

3.2.1 What is Brand Image...........................................................................................................11

3.2.2 The Brand Love Curve.........................................................................................................11

3.2.3 Self-image and Image Congruence Hypothesis...................................................................12

3.3 Brand Equity..............................................................................................................................13

3.3.1 What is Brand Equity..........................................................................................................13

3.3.2 Nissan’s Brand Equity and The Customer-Based Brand Equity Pyramid.............................14

3.4 Brand Loyalty.............................................................................................................................16

3.4.1 What is Brand Loyalty.........................................................................................................16

3.4.2 Percy and Elliott Brand Loyalty Model................................................................................16

3.4.3 Rosenbaum-Elliot, Percy and Pervan (2011) Steps to Brand Loyalty..................................18

3.4.4 Nissan’s Brand Pyramid (De Chernatony, 2010).................................................................18

4.0 Special Interest..............................................................................................................................20

4.1 Corporate and Ethical Branding.................................................................................................20

4.2 The Aim of Corporate and Ethical Branding...............................................................................20

4.3 Nissan as a Corporate and Ethical Brand...................................................................................20

4.4 Nissans CSR Model.....................................................................................................................21

4.4.1 Carroll’s (1991) CSR Pyramid vs Nissan’s CSR Approach.....................................................22

4.4.2 Schwartz and Carroll’s (2003) Intersecting Circles Model vs Nissan’s CSR Model...............23

4.4.3 Quazi and O’Brien’s (2000) Two-Dimensional Model of CSR..............................................23

2

5.0 Recommendation..........................................................................................................................25

5.1 Rationale....................................................................................................................................25

5.2 The Recommendation................................................................................................................25

Bibliography.........................................................................................................................................27

Appendices..........................................................................................................................................30

1.0....................................................................................................................................................30

2.0....................................................................................................................................................30

3.0....................................................................................................................................................30

4.0....................................................................................................................................................31

5.0....................................................................................................................................................31

6.0....................................................................................................................................................32

Contemporary Brand Management – Nissan

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1.0 The Brand

1.1 What is a Brand? There are two main perspectives when looking at the definition of a brand, the financial perspective

and the legal perspective. The financial perspective defines a brand as “a set of mental associations

held by the consumer, which add to the perceived value of a product or service” (Keller, 2013). This

definition highlights the gain in perceived value to the consumer due to the brand values. The legal

perspective, cited by Kapferer (2008) defines a brand as “a sign or set of signs certifying the origin of

a product or service and differentiating it from competition“. The key point in the legal definition is

that brands, once registered, can be defended against infringements and counterfeiting. This

definition focuses on clearly identifying and differentiating itself from competition. It creates value in

the mind of the buyer through building a reputation for the producer or distributor (Kapferer, 2004).

1.2 Brand Versus ProductKeller’s (2013) definition differentiates the product or service from the brand, which is important in

truly defining what a brand is. The brand itself provides the product or service with intangible

dimensions that add value, in Nissans case the brand adds value through their reputation for

innovation. A strong brand is created when the product and brand are effectively aligned. This is

summed up by Batey (2008); “a product becomes a brand when the physical product is augmented

by something else- images, symbols, perceptions, feelings- to produce an integral idea greater than

the sum of its parts”.

1.3 Nissan BackgroundNissan is a Japanese automotive manufacturer, established in 1993. They manufacture automobiles

in 20 different countries and have an alliance with Renault whereby both companies work as

partners, however keep separate brand identities (Mason, 2015). Their mission is; “to provide

unique and innovative automotive products and services and deliver superior measurable values to

all stakeholders in alliance with Renault” (Nissan.co.uk, 2015).

1.4 Market Insight The UK automobile market can be segmented into four sectors; Mini/Supermini, Lower

Medium/Upper Medium, Dual/Multipurpose, Exec/Luxury Sports (Mason, 2015). Nissan competes

within all four segments, however their two key segments are Lower Medium/Upper Medium and

Dual/Multipurpose (Nissan.co.uk, 2015). Their product range stands them in good stead for the near

future with the market seeing a “rising demand for Dual/Multipurpose cars” (Mason, 2015).

Nissan is the sixth most popular car manufacturer with a 5.6% market share of the UK automobile

market. The market leaders are Ford and with a 13% share (Mason, 2015). Nissans competitors are

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listed in Fig 1.1 below.

Figure 1.1 - Nassan's competitors and their market share % (Mason, 2015)

1.5 Brand ArchitectureNissan’s brand architecture strategy is ‘source’. It is a two-tier structure, similar to umbrella brands

where there is a house brand, Nissan, but the products contain their own distinctly different product

names (Dahlen, Lange and Smith, 2010), for example, Nissan Micra, Nissan Note or Nissan Juke

(Nissan.co.uk, 2015). Being a source brand creates depth of customer communication for Nissan as

certain things are associated with the source brand and others from the product-brand-specific

communication (Moss, 2014), for example the new Nissan Juke has connotations to do with style

and fashion with their colour personalisation options (See appendix 1.0), whilst the brand Nissan

carries an image associated with being eco-friendly, innovation leaders.

2.0 Brand Positioning

2.1 What is Brand Positioning? Brand positioning introduced by Ries and Trout, cited by Parameswaran (2006) they defined it as

“the mental position occupied by the brand in the minds of consumers”. This definition however is

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basic and ignores the ‘segmentation’ and ‘targeting’ stages of brand positioning, by using term

‘consumers’, implying there is no differentiation between them. It also fails to emphasise the

importance and value of the ‘place’ or ‘position’ occupied by the brand in the consumers mind.

Kotler and Keller (2012) recognise this and develop the definition to include these by stating that

brand positioning is “the act of designing the company’s offer and image so that it occupies a distinct

and valued place in the target customer’s minds”. Keller (2013) develops this even further to include

why we use brand positioning. He defines brand positioning as “finding the proper “location” in the

minds of a group of consumers or market segment, so that they think about a product or service in

the “right” or desired way to maximise potential benefit to the firm”.

Brand positioning is competition orientated as its primary concern is attacking competitors’ market

share (Kapferrer, 2008). However, there are different interpretations as to what brand positioning

actually aims to do. For example, Rosenbaum-Elliot, Percy and Pervan (2011) put the focus much

more so on the brand benefit to the target audience; “in the eyes of the target audience, the brand

must be linked to a benefit that provides a motivating reason to consider it”. However, Chernatony

(2006) states that its purpose is to “identify a brands differential advantage” which Kapferrer (2008)

agrees with this and adds that it aims to identify, take possession of and communicate a ‘strong

purchasing rationale’.

2.2 Nissan’s Brand Positioning StatementA positioning statement is a specific and brief statement that lays out what you want consumers to

think about a brand or product. It summaries strategy and acts as a guide for strategic marketing and

brand management (Temporal, 2010). A positioning statement describes how your brand differs and

is superior to competitor brands, and gives reason as to why consumers should buy your brand

(Shimp and Andrews, 2007). Kanzler (1998) argues that it is also beneficial to employees as it defines

a company’s direction and creates synergy between departments.

Rosenbaum-Elliot, Percy & Pervan (2011) put forward a model or format for creating an effective

positioning statement. The basic format is as follows;

“___ is the brand for (target audience) that satisfies (category need) by offering (benefit)”

(Rosenbaum-Elliot, Percy & Pervan, 2011)

Nissan’s proposed positioning statement:

For environmentally conscious, urban drivers, Nissan satisfies the need for affordable,

reliable and trustworthy products whilst offering the most innovative and exciting

automobiles available.

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Nissan’s previous campaigns have focused predominantly on their “innovative and exciting” product

range which is conveyed through the imagery and messages in their communications for the Nissan

Juke, for example (See appendix 2.0) (Nissan, 2015). However, when looking at factors considered

when buying a car, price was the single most important criteria, followed by reliability (Mason,

2014). For this reason it is important that Nissan position themselves to be affordable and reliable

whilst highlighting the ‘benefit’ of being innovative and exciting (Rosenbaum-Elliot, Percy & Pervan,

2011). Points of difference (Keller, 2013) can be communicated through the ‘innovative’ features

that Nissan’s current product range offers, for example, ‘lane departure warning’ and ‘blind spot

warning’. This would be advantageous as safety was ranked the 3rd most important factor to

consider (behind price and reliability) when buying a car (Mason, 2014).

2.3 Nissan’s Perceptual Positioning MapBefore a brand positioning strategy can be implemented it is important that the market’s

perceptions are understood (Dibb and Simkin, 1996). To do this, a perceptual map can be used. This

is a “two or three dimensional display of customer perceptions of competing alternatives in a

market” (Lilien, Rangaswamy and De Bruyn, 2013). A brands position in the market is determined by

the comparisons made by consumers, of the brand against its competitors (Johansson and Carlson,

2013). It is therefore vital that we consider Nissan’s position in the context of its competitors.

The functional attributes chosen for the axes could include functional, physiological-emotional, and

personality characteristics (Johansson and Carlson, 2013). In Nissan’s case ‘Overall Satisfaction’ and

‘Trust’ will be used. ‘Trust’ gives a good indication of brand integrity and stature and ‘Differentiation’

gives an insight into the perceived energy and vitality of the brand (Mason, 2015), something that

Nissan is looking to communicate in its positioning.

The data in Figure 2.1, which has been plotted in Figure 2.2 was gained from Mintel’s report, UK Car

Review (Mason, 2015)

Ford Volkswagen Fiat Nissan

% % % %

Trust 35 30 12 20

Differentiation 28 42 18 19

7

Figure 1.1 Perceived levels of trust, perceived levels of differentiation gained from Mintel (Mason, 2015)

Figure 2.2 - Nissan's Perceptual Positioning Map

The distance in between brands indicates similarities in the minds of consumers (Lilien, Rangaswamy

and De Bruyn, 2013). From Figure 2.2 it is clear that customers perceive Nissan to be alike to Fiat in

terms of trustworthiness and differentiation. Volkswagen holds a unique position in on the

perceptual map. They are perceived to be more differentiated in comparison to its competitors; this

could be due to its premium positioning that gives them a point of difference (Keller, 2013). Ford are

perceived to be more trustworthy than Nissan (and the other competitors) possibly due to their long

history and many years leading the automobile industry (Mason, 2015). Ideally Nissan would like to

position themselves where the green dot is placed. Their ‘innovative and exciting’ position suggests

that they want to be seen as energetic and differentiated.

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3.0 Brand Analysis

3.1 Brand Identity

3.1.1 What is Brand IdentityChernatony (2010) describes brand identity as the “distinctive or central idea of a brand and how the

brand communicates this idea to the stakeholders”. Kapferer (2004) agrees with this and adds that

brand identity stems from the brands heritage, and all factors that give it its “unique authority and

legitimacy within a realm of precise values and benefits”. The key assumption of the identity

approach is that all activities and communications should be “integrated, aligned and elevated” from

a product and tactical level to a strategic and corporate one (Heding, Knudtzen and Bjerre, 2009).

Figure 3.1: Hedging, Knudtzen and Bjerre (2009) state that Brand Identity is a bridging facet to

induce a relationship between the corporation and consumer.

Nissan’s brand identity can be categorised into five components, highlighted by Keller (2013) shown

in Fig 3.2 below.

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Fig 3.2 – Keller’s (2013) Five components of a brand applied to Nissan

3.1.2 The Brand Identity PrismKapferer (2005) identifies the Brand Identity Prism, in which he states that brand identity is

composed of 6 facets; Physique, relationship, reflection, self-image, culture and personality (Fig 3.3).

The prism itself communicates that all six facets are inter-related and are an echo of one another

(Kapferer, 2005). This means they must communicate a consistent message in order to create an

effective brand identity that will create brand equity, the end goal of building a strong brand (Keller,

2013).

There are several facets of the prism that Nissan use more than the others, for example the

‘personality’ facet. Nissan aims to be exciting, urban, innovative and stylish. They do this firstly

through the products they create; Nissan is one of the UK’s leading brands in, in-car technology with

an 83% score for their innovation within their vehicles (Auto Express Driver Power, 2014). This is also

conveyed in their 2014 television adverts for the Nissan Juke for example (Youtube, 2014), where

the in-car technology is used in different and exciting ways in order to overcome certain obstacles,

usually within an urban environment. It is also possible to personalise a new Nissan Juke (Nissan,

2015). You can do this by choosing the vibrant colour you wish for interior and exterior features of

the car. This is all aimed at building a personality to the brand. These features are incorporated

within the brand and help define who the ‘sender’ is (Kapferer, 2005).

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The ‘self-image’ facet is also prominent in the case of Nissan. Nissan’s communications are focused

on projecting the emotions you feel when driving your Nissan. They do this by centring the

campaigns around the word (or feeling) ‘thrill’, for example ‘Built to Thrill’, ‘Tested to Thrill’ and

‘Personalise your Thrill’ (See appendix 3.0) (Nissan, 2015). The communications aim to encourage

the viewer to visualise themselves driving the Nissan and build an image of what this might be like.

This form on brand communication builds a recipient, who belongs to the brands identity (Kapferer,

2015).

The ‘culture’ facet of the prism can also be applied to Nissan, this form of communication builds the

gap between the sender and receiver. Each product should derive from the brands culture, be a

representation of their culture and a means of communicating this too (Kapferer, 2005). Nissan

draws heavily on their Japanese heritage, not just with the brand name ‘Nissan’ (which is a

combination of its Japanese parent company’s abbreviated name, NiSan (Nissan, 2015)), but with its

innovation and business vision, a pillar of Japanese business culture; Nissan has partnered with NASA

in order to create a driverless car by 2016 (Mason, 2014). This is reinforcing their identity as

innovation leaders, which is one of the pillars within Nissan that guide its outward signs (Kapferer,

2015).

Fig 3.3 – Kapferrer (2005) Brand identity prism applied to Nissan

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3.2 Brand Image

3.2.1 What is Brand ImageThe AMA defines brand image as “the perception of a brand in the minds of person”. Franzen and

Moriarty (2009) support this however elaborate to describe brand image as the “mirror reflection of

the brand personality or product being. It is what people believe about the brand- their thoughts,

feelings and expectations”. Creating a positive brand image involves linking the brand to strong,

favourable and unique brand associations (Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy and Pervan, 2011). These brand

associations are ‘brand attributes’ and ‘brand benefits’. The aim of developing a positive brand

image is to create customer-based brand equity, built by inducing a differential response in the mind

of the consumer. In order for this differential response to occur, the brand must make sure that the

brand associations held, are not only favourable but unique, and not shared with competing brands

(Keller, 2013).

3.2.2 The Brand Love CurveNissan are the 6th most popular car manufacturer in the UK, with 14% of respondents stating either

Nissan is ‘their favourite car brand’ or they ‘preferred Nissan over others’ (Mason, 2014). Mason

(2014) also states that although Nissan does not have a brand image as well established as Audi or

Volkswagen, their reliability score means that consumers are likely to consider them when

purchasing. For this reason, Nissan can be placed at the ‘Like It’ stage of The Brand Love Curve (Fig

3.4). The strategic suggestion at this point is “drive rational and emotional benefits to close the sale”

(Robertson, 2015). This is something that Nissan is already doing; its new campaigns are emphasising

the emotional benefits of driving a Nissan, for example, “built to thrill” and “innovation that excites”

(Appendix 3.0). The target in this model is to get to the ‘Beloved Brand’ stage, at this stage “demand

becomes desire, needs become cravings, thinking is replaced with feelings and consumers become

outspoken fans” (Robertson, 2015).

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Fig 3.4 – The Brand Love Curve (Robinson, 2015)

3.2.3 Self-image and Image Congruence Hypothesis The concept of a brand image is discussed in Section 3.2.1, however, it is developed further to

include the notion of ‘self-image’. This is the thought that an evaluation of Nissan for example, might

not be the result of just the brand image, but also of the consumer’s self-image and the image they

hold about the type of person who buys a Nissan (Harris, 2009). Lantos (2011) describes self-image

as “how consumers view themselves or think they really are”. De Chernatony and McDonald (2011)

state, the sole purpose of buying and using particular brands is either to maintain or enhance the

individuals ‘self-image’. This is supported by Franzen and Moriarty, 2009) who adds, consumers are

naturally drawn to brands that have a similar self-image to themselves (Franzen and Moriarty, 2009).

The Image Congruence Hypothesis postulates that “an evaluation of a product will be influenced by

the degree of congruence between brand image and self-image (Harris, 2009) .This can be achieved

by either creating an image that consumers can identify with (actual self-image) or one that

consumers can aspire to (ideal self-image) (Lantos, 2011).

The Nissan Qashqai brand for example, is said to be economical, classy and refined (What Car, 2015)

and was voted WhatCar? Car of the Year 2014. It achieved 5 stars for ‘quality and reliability’ and a

top 20 place, with an 80% score in JD Powers customer satisfaction survey (Auto Car, 2013). The

combination of the above ratings demonstrate the achievement of Nissan in the crafting of a close

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relationship between the Nissan Qashqai brand and the consumer which has led to a positive brand

evaluation; this is depicted in Fig 3.5 below.

Fig 3.5 – Image Congruence Hypotheses – Adapted from Heath and Scott (1988)

3.3 Brand Equity

3.3.1 What is Brand EquityThere are many differing opinions on the definition of brand equity (Keller, 2013) however, a widely

accepted definition is “the set of assets and liabilities linked to a brand’s name and symbol that adds

to or subtracts from the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or that firm’s

customers” (Aaker, 1996). Brandt and Johnson (1997) agree with this and develop it further to

specify the range of assets that make up brand equity, highlighted in fig 3.6. The aim is to create

positive customer-based brand equity, which Keller (2013) describes is when consumers react more

favourably to a product when the brand is identified than when it is not.

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Fig 3.6 – Brandt and Johnson (1997) “Brand equity is the unique set of real or perceived

distinctions attached to a brand by consumers”

3.3.2 Nissan’s Brand Equity and The Customer-Based Brand Equity Pyramid

Full line automotive car brands have been benefitting from an improved economy, pent-up demand,

attractive loan rates and easing credit restrictions, and as a result, brand equity is at an all-time high

for the industry (Chadsey, 2015). Nissan placed in 5th in the Equitrend Brand Equity Index for all full

line automotive brands (Harris Interactive, 2014), shown in Fig 3.7 They have shown sustained and

improving brand equity and have ranked above the category average for nine of the last ten years

(Harris Interactive, 2014). This could be as a result of marketing activities such as their LinkedIn

Sponsored Updates campaign, which aimed to reach a high-value audience by appearing in

members’ news feeds alongside organic content. The campaign reached a senior-level audience

across the globe, gained instant feedback on which content gained the most engagement and

created broad global impact for brand messages. It drove engagement and built relationships with a

key audience (Nissan Case Study, 2015) which is a vital part of building positive customer-based

brand equity (Keller, 2013).

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Fig 3.7 Harris Interactive (2014) Equitrend Rankings

Nissan is currently ranked 56th biggest (revenue) brand in the world and over 2014 has earned the

title of a ‘top riser’, increasing profit by 23% (Global Brands, 2014). This coupled with Nissan’s brand

equity ranking (Harris Interactive, 2014) places them at the ‘customer brand resonance’ stage of

Keller’s (2001) customer-based brand equity pyramid, shown in Fig 3.8. At this stage Nissan are

achieving loyalty, attachment, community and engagement also (Keller, 2001).

Fig 3.8 – Customer-Based Brand Equity Pyramid (Keller, 2001)

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3.4 Brand Loyalty

3.4.1 What is Brand LoyaltyA still widely accepted definition by Jacoby and Chestnut (1978) defines brand loyalty as “the biased,

behavioural response, expressed over time, by some decision making unit, with respect to one or

more alternative brands out of a set of such brands, and is a function of physiological (decision-

making, evaluative) processes” (Anandan, 2009). Kotler and Pfoertsch (2010) agree, however

simplify this as; “brand loyalty generally entails a strong commitment to a particular brand on the

part of the consumer”.

3.4.2 Percy and Elliott Brand Loyalty ModelThis model is effective in assessing the loyalty of Nissans customer base. It is based upon how

‘involved’ a person is with a brand and illustrates the ‘perceived risk’ in switching brands

(Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy and Pervan, 2011). Involvement with a brand is a key dimension in

determining brand attitude and in turn, brand loyalty (Rosenbaum-Elliott and Percy, 2007).

Plotted on the model is Nissan 1 and Nissan 2. Nissan 1 represents the majority of Nissan customers

(approx. 65%, shown in the larger bubble) and Nissan 2 represents the minority of Nissan customers

(approx. 35%).

This has been approximated based on the research conducted in the UK Car Review (Mason, 2015)

states that 72% of customers who have ever used a Nissan automobile would recommend it. It also

found that 63 % of Nissan owners rated their satisfaction with the products from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’

(Mason, 2015). Due to the price paid for a car, the perceived risk in switching is naturally going to be

higher (Rosenbaum-Elliott and Percy, 2007). It is for these reasons that ‘Nissan 1’ (Fig 3.9) has been

plotted as ‘Loyal’. For these customers Nissan have to do very little other than maintain a positive

brand attitude. Nissan must be alert to shifts in positive brand attitude to competitor brands that

could lead to a change in brand attitude towards Nissan (Rosenbaum-Elliott and Percy, 2007).

In another survey, Mason (2015) found that 30% of respondents rated their satisfaction towards

Nissan as ‘average’, along with another 75% of respondents stating they have no preference for

Nissan over other brands (Mintel, 2015). In this situation, it could be assumed that although they are

not dissatisfied with Nissan, perceived risk in switching is lower as they show little preference

between brands. These customers are classed as ‘vulnerable’ (Rosenbaum-Elliott, Percy and Pervan

2011) and represented by Nissan 2 (Fig 3.9). For this group it is important to reinforce the already

positive brand attitude, this should strengthen brand equity, reducing the likelihood of switching to

other brands (Rosenbaum-Elliott and Percy, 2007).

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Fig 3.9 – Percy and Elliott Brand Loyalty Model (Rosenbaum-Elliott and Percy, 2007) applied to Nissan. Plotted using Mintel (2015).

Aaker’s Brand Loyalty Pyramid can also be used to asses Nissans customer base, however identifies five levels of brand loyalty. This is shown below in Fig 3.9.1, highlighting where Nissan 1 and 2 are positioned currently.

Fig 3.9.1 - Aaker Brand Loyalty Pyramid applied to Nissan

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3.4.3 Rosenbaum-Elliot, Percy and Pervan (2011) Steps to Brand Loyalty This model (Fig 3.9.2) sets out the steps that a brand goes through in order to create brand loyalty

(Rosenbaum-Elliot, Percy and Pervan, 2011). The underlying message the model carries is that a

strong, positive brand attitude (after the brand awareness stage) is essential in building brand loyalty

(Rosenbaumn-Elliott, Percy and Pervan, 2011). The Brand Loyalty Model (Rosenbam-Elliott and

Percy, 2007) has been discussed to a greater degree as it is an effective way of assessing Nissans

customer base and offers a basic strategic outcome, depending on where the brand is plotted.

Fig 3.9.2 – Rosenbaum-Elliot, Percy and Pervan (2011) Steps to Brand Loyalty Model.

3.4.4 Nissan’s Brand Pyramid (De Chernatony, 2010) The brand pyramid describes the ‘essence’ or the ‘core’ of the brand (De Chernatony, 2010). It

summarises the identity and the positioning of a brand by relating, values, personality, benefits,

emotional awards and attributes (Kapferer, 2004). This “enables effective internal communication

and encourages staff within the organisation to pull together in the same direction” (De Chernatony,

2010).

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Fig 3.9.3 – Nissan’s Brand Pyramid (De Chernatony, 2010)

Nissan begin building their brand with products that have ‘attributes’ such as being technologically

advanced, or eco-friendly. They convey this firstly through the products they produce and also

through their advertising they use for example, demonstrating the various different types of

technology within the car (See Appendix 4.0). However, customers are less concerned with the

attributes, than the benefits. As they experience the brand, the benefits the customer is

experiencing (as a result of the attributes) lead to emotional rewards (Baker, 2003). Applied to

Nissan, customers may be ‘safe’, as a result of some of the safety technology within the car

(Appendix 5.0), which then lead to a feeling of ‘confidence’. Nissan’s aim is that this eventually may

lead to a feeling of being ‘tech- savvy’ for example (See Fig 3.9.3).

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4.0 Special Interest

4.1 Corporate and Ethical Branding Wolf, Issa and Thiel (2015) define corporate branding as “developing and managing the relationship

between the organisation and its customers, its stakeholders and the general public”. It is important

to recognise the distinction between a corporate brand and a product brand. Keller (2013)

distinguishes between the two by saying corporate brands can carry a much wider set of

associations, for example, “associations of common products and their shared attributes or benefits,

people and relationships, programs and values, and corporate credibility”.

The field of corporate branding involves concepts of morality, ethics and social responsibility

(Podnar, 2015). These issues are becoming increasingly prominent for organisations to address due

to relative prosperity in developed countries, affording the consumers the luxury of worrying about

these such issues, coupled with the ease of communicating their approval or disapproval to a wide

audience (Proctor, 2008). Their ‘corporate reputation’ being a primary concern (Keller, 2013).

4.2 The Aim of Corporate and Ethical Branding As with product branding, one of the main aims of corporate branding is to create ‘corporate brand

equity’ this time as oppose to ‘product brand equity’. This occurs when a “relevant constituency

responds more favourably to a corporate ad campaign, a corporate-branded product or service, or

corporate-issued PR release, and so on, than if the same offering were attributed to an unknown or

fictitious company” (Keller, 2013). Morely (2009) agrees with this and states also that a strong

corporate brand allows for expansion with new products, variations and sub-brands, which is

particularly beneficial in Nissans case when releasing a new car model for example.

As a result of corporate branding, a corporate brand image, personality and reputation is built

(Keller, 2013).

4.3 Nissan as a Corporate and Ethical Brand Firstly, when discussing corporate branding, it is important to acknowledge Nissan Motor

Corporation as a whole brand that includes ‘Nissan’, ‘Datsun’ and ‘Infiniti’.

“Blue Citizenship” is Nissans corporate social responsibility strategy. Its main aim, along with

generating sustainable profits, is to contribute to the sustainable development of society (Nissan,

2015). Nissan describes sustainability as a cornerstone of their business and a driver for innovation.

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This is shown firstly and most obviously in their product offering, for example the Nissan LEAF 0%

emissions electric car (Nissan, 2015). According to Keller’s (2013) corporate image associations,

Nissan is achieving ‘common product attributes or benefits’ such as innovativeness through

promoting their Safety Shield technologies and their vision of bringing the first autonomous

automobile to market (Nissan, 2015). They achieve “values and programs” (Keller, 2013) such as

concern with the environment by prioritising ‘the environment’ as 1st in their three sustainability

strategies (Nissan CSR Report, 2014), the other two being ‘safety’ and ‘philanthropy’, both aimed at

achieving “corporate credibility” (Keller, 2013).

4.4 Nissans CSR Model Nissans CSR model (Fig 4.1), guided by their corporate vision, “to enrich people’s lives”, aims to

“contribute to sustainable societal development through all its activities, globally” (Nissan CSR

Report, 2014). Nissan is uniquely positioned in order to pursue actions under three strategies,

‘Environment’, ‘Safety’ and ‘Philanthropy’. The five strategies placed at the bottom of the pyramid,

‘Quality’, ‘Value Chain’, ‘Employees’, ‘Economic Contribution’ and ‘Corporate Governance & Internal

Control’ are strategies aimed at ensuring Nissan remain “trusted and needed by society” (Nissan CSR

Report, 2014), which Proctor (2008) highlights as one of the primary goals of corporate and ethical

branding.

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Fig 4.1 – Nissans Eight Sustainability Strategies aimed at achieving the CSR vision (Nissan CSR

Report, 2014)

4.4.1 Carroll’s (1991) CSR Pyramid vs Nissan’s CSR ApproachCarroll’s (1991) Pyramid of CSR (Fig 4.2) highlights the ‘Economic’ layer as the base, and the

foundation for the three other layers to be built. It states that these layers should not be fulfilled in

sequential fashion but each layer is to be filled at all times (Madu and Kuei, 2012). The model

generally agrees with Nissan’s CSR strategy (Fig 4.1) as it holds ’Philanthropy’ and the ‘Ethical

Responsibilities’ at the heart of its CSR approach. However, it differs in the sense that Nissan do not

agree that everything is built from a platform such as ‘Economical Responsibilities’ in Carroll’s (1991)

model. Instead, Nissan has five strategies placed at the bottom, of equal importance that aims to

build trust around Nissan as a corporation.

Fig 4.2 – Carroll’s (1991) CSR Pyramid (Madu and Kuei, 2012)

4.4.2 Schwartz and Carroll’s (2003) Intersecting Circles Model vs Nissan’s CSR ModelThe Intersecting Circles model of CSR (Fig 4.3) would agree with Nissan’s CSR approach in a sense, as

it rejects the hierarchical structure of importance that Carroll’s (1991) model emphasises, and

highlights that the different CSR domains are interrelated (Zu, 2009). Nissan agree and place

importance on these interrelationships by stating that the separate strategies they employ need to

be pursued together in order to achieve maximum efficiency (Nissan CSR Report, 2014).

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Fig 4.3 - Schwartz and Carroll’s (2003) Intersecting Circles Model of CSR

4.4.3 Quazi and O’Brien’s (2000) Two-Dimensional Model of CSR Quazi and O’Brien’s (2000) Model of CSR (Fig 4.4) may argue that Caroll’s (1991) Pyramid takes a

‘classic view’ of CSR as its main focus, or its base is ‘economic factors’ that hold profit maximisation

as its primary goal (Zu, 2009). It could be argued that Nissan on the other hand takes a ‘modern

view’ to CSR, as it holds society at the heart of its operations and focus largely on the benefits of CSR

action rather than the cost (Zu, 2009).

Fig 4.4 - Quazi and O’Brien’s (2000) Two-Dimensional Model of CSR

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5.0 Recommendation

It is recommended that Nissan create an online, impartial customer review platform in order to improve customer service quality, to in turn build brand trust.

5.1 Rationale

It has been highlighted in this report that Nissan’s brand trust is low in comparison to some

competitors. Clarke and Flaterly (2005) state that improving customer satisfaction is an effective way

of building brand trust. Currently Nissan’s customer service ratings are very poor, with only 3.9% of

overall comments being positive (Customer Service Scoreboard, 2015), see appendix 6.0 for full

report. This could be a reason that Nissan’s brand trust is lower than its key competitors (20% of

customers trusted Nissan – See appendix 7.0). Davies (2015) found that customer reviews have been

shown to be extremely important when looking at purchasing products, for example, 30% of

consumers write online product reviews while 50% read them regularly before making a purchase

decision (Mintel, 2015).

5.2 The Recommendation

It is recommended that Nissan create an online, impartial customer review platform. This would be

platform where customers can leave uncensored reviews categorised by the different products

Nissan offer, with no intervention from Nissan themselves. The reviews should be correlated with

each other and presented in an easy to read format, car-by-car. It is imperative there is no

intervention from Nissan as this suggests transparency and honesty, a key driver of brand credibility

(Bergh and Behrer, 2011).

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Through the platform, a customer service team should be available to respond to customers with

problems regarding Nissan’s products which should improve customer service ratings. Studies show

good quality customer service leads to favourable customer responses such as repurchase

intentions, positive word of mouth, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, brand trust, and price

insensitivity (Zhang, 2009). These responses would be extremely desirable to Nissan.

Dues to Nissan’s products being classed as large ticket items, an ‘Ask An Owner’ section will be

included where potential customers can ask current Nissan owners questions about their car. Since

88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (Bright Local

Consumer Review Survey, 2014), this will be an effective way of alleviating some of the insecurities

associated with the purchase decision and encourage sales (Clarke and Flatherly, 2005).

A disadvantage to uncensored customer reviews is that Nissan have little control over the ratings, or

what is being posted. However, Kia Motors implemented a similar activity in 2013 where they

created a platform that aimed to provide verified and authentic customer reviews via a platform on

the Kia website (The Drum, 2015). It gained 10,000 independent reviews within the first 12 months,

monthly visits to the Kia website exceed 1 million and car sales rise 8% year-on-year (E3, 2015).

26

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Appendices

1.0Nissan emphasise style and fashion through their colour personalisation of the new Nissan Juke

2.0 Nissan uses innovative and exciting imagery in their communications such as the Nissan Juke advert

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3.0The majority of Nissans communications are centred around the word the word ‘thrill’.

4.0 Nissan’s communications highlight the different technology contained within the cars.

5.0Communications demonstrate different types of safety technology within the cars, aimed at making the user feel safe.

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6.0 Nissan’s customer service scores (The Customer Service Scoreboard, 2015)

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