Sexy. Elegant. Stylish… Words one might describe a super model with. However I was of course referring the newest range of Nissan cars. Yes one might usually look at a car and describe the horsepower, suspension and whatever else petrol-heads discuss in their free time, however due to Nissan’s partnership with the FOX8 show Australia’s Next Top Model, one could be forgiven for comparing cars and beautiful women.
Nissan, being a major sponsor of the Top Model, is cleverly using the “aesthetics” of the show to give viewers and customers something to associate its brand with.
Pretty girls = Pretty cars
(And hopefully not for Nissan)
Silly girls = Silly cars
So how have they been successful in achieving the former equation? Well on the show’s website http://www.fox8.tv/shows/australias-next-top-model it is possible to interact with the brand and show in two innovative ways.
Firstly, Nissan is emulating the show by pitting the different car ‘models’ against each other. Online, viewers and potential customers can vote for their favourite Nissan car for the chance to win it. They can see pictures and stats on the cars and really judge 
them as if one of the judges on the show. It’s a great way to engage viewers with information on the vehicles as well as gather valuable information on consumer preferences.
The second way that Nissan and Top Model use online marketing to increase exposure and engagement is by offering a ‘Car Cam’ on the website. This is behind-the-scenes footage of the models travelling inside the Nissan cars on the show. This engages the consumer by making them feel like they are on the show and getting to know their favourite models in more detail. Whilst doing this Nissan gets great exposure and the occasional model chat about the car. Below is a sample of Car Cam (keep your eyes open at 1:50).
I believe that this eMarketing campaign is a great way for a brand like Nissan (who doesn’t really have a very strong brand in my opinion) to redefine itself as something cool, sexy and young. However I believe that if they really want to pull off this campaign they would need to actually make sexy cars! I don’t believe that there is anyone out there that is as ugly as the Nissan Micra, and that’s coming from someone with a ginger beard!
Let me know what you think about 
Nissan’s relationship with Australia’s Next Top Model. Also do you think there is a car out there that is uglier than the Nissan Micra?
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