Nissan Global
Moving Towards Brand-Oriented Decision Making
I moved to Japan to work at TBWA\Hakuhodo, exclusively dedicated to the Nissan brand. They operate an impressive global marketing machine from their Yokohama headquarters; the Global Team ensures that communications in several countries are globally aligned. As a Global Planning Director for Nissan, I have the responsibility to oversee and provide guidance for the Asia-Pacific Region strategy.
But there was once a challenge more significant than the daily strategic oversight: to make Nissan’s decision-making process more brand-oriented.
This is a challenging feat, considering how product-driven automakers are. They see a brand as a sum of the price, product, and service level they bring to consumers. Although this view isn’t wrong, it ignores the potential of the brand to drive a unique narrative to consumers and stand out according to its personality.
So, my work consisted of tasks less reminiscent of a traditional planner and more of a consultant. I worked with the global team on projects where we slowly but surely brought more of a brand-oriented approach to the marketing activity, including where it overlapped with other Nissan departments. This shift involved:
Re-writing the global guidelines, bringing conciseness and clarity to the brand.
Holding workshops to discuss brand fundamentals and how we should evaluate creativity produced worldwide.
Redefining the role of research to identify if consumers were understood the brand narrative.
Defining consumer-friendly communication positioning statements for global vehicles.
Learning to be a global strategist… in Japan
Working in a global setting differs from operating in a single country, which is even more valid for such a large company. Through trial and error, I collected some key learnings:
Leveraging international collaboration. “Global Team” evokes ideas of decisions being hammered down to the local markets tyrannically. In reality, that’s rarely the case; most of my successes came when we included as many local partners as possible in the creative and decision-making process. This requires hard work, planning, and improvisation skills, but it pays off. Consequently, people feel ownership over their decisions, and their commitment grows with execution.
Using data strategically. Being in a global position allows me to see patterns that somebody in Europe or Australia, for example, could not see. It is vital to gather evidence from multiple markets and build a cohesive story from those data points to build a compelling case for change to global leadership.
Language, language, language. Although it sounds like a no-brainer, I must keep reminding myself that, in a global environment, English isn’t everyone’s mother language, me included. In addition, we work with abstract ideas in this environment, building a bridge to ideas that originated in Japanese. I learned to double and triple-check that everyone agrees on the exact meaning of certain words. This is one of the most essential factors in reducing confusion and increasing efficiency.
Make information flow. Even in the digital age, the number of things one assumes everyone knows is surprising. Ensuring that information flows and teams everywhere have simultaneous access to it puts everyone on the same page. This dramatically improves the quality of the work.
Bring the outside perspective. By that, I do not mean the one from a foreigner in Japan. I am referring to other brands and categories; the auto industry is incredibly hermetic, and the people working in car marketing usually remain there for their entire careers. It is refreshing and helpful when you explain your ideas by using examples from wildly different businesses and brands.
This has been quite a journey and hasn’t ended for me yet. I’m honored to have played an essential role in a transformation that will continue to evolve for years to come.
Impact
Successfully lead the strategy for the Nissan re-brand.
Made strategic work to be awarded one of the highest client evaluation scores.