SLIDING NISSAN NEEDS BRANDS TO STAND APART; LOST IN SHUFFLE: Move to Nashville a distraction, but carmaker sticks with 'Shift' tagline and targets 'next generation' of drivers.(Nissan North America Inc.)

Advertising Age, April, 2007

Byline: JIM HENRY

Nissan north america has a fuzzy-image problem.

"People are hard-pressed to come up with three or four words that tell you why you should buy a Nissan instead of a Honda or a Toyota,'' says Charlie Hughes, president of Brand Rules and one of the analysts who weighed in for this Special Report.

Despite the unfocused image and a sales slump that reversed a four-year positive trend in market share, Advertising Age's panel gave Nissan North America an overall grade of B- for 2006, a decent showing compared with those of its rivals.

The carmaker also got a B- for its advertising/communications. TBWA/Chiat/Day, Playa del Rey, Calif., handles both the Nissan brand and its upscale sibling Infiniti. Measured media spending...

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