Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Electric cars mass market: Nissan Builds Viral Excitement for Leaf Electric Car TNR.v, CZX.v, SQM, ROC, FMC, NSANY, F, TTM, TM, DAI, RON, BYDDY, WLC.v


The Next Big Thing - you never know for sure until it happen


Nissan Leaf Video

Nissan Builds Viral Excitement for Leaf Electric Car
By Jim Motavalli

If you know anything at all about how battery cars work, your knowledge base isn’t going to be significantly increased by this Nissan-generated video (recently posted to YouTube). You are, however, likely to be impressed by the fast-moving graphics, whose pace may remind some viewers of the very successful viral video “The Story of Stuff.” Maybe your pulse rate will increase slightly, especially if you’re less than 40. And that’s basically the idea.
The Nissan Leaf, to be introduced late next year, is the company’s first mass-marketed lithium-ion battery car. Nissan is working with the Chicago-based Zócalo Group to promote the Leaf through social media and, according to Katherine Zachary, a Nissan spokeswoman, “generate excitement.”
Beginning Nov. 14, a drivable version of the Leaf (in the body of the Versa compact) will be on tour in the United States. The battery video, one of several prepared by a New York-based agency, is designed to promote the visits through strategic use of sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. “It’s word-of-mouth marketing,” Jessica Reed, a Zócalo senior analyst, said in an interview. “We work with brands to drive conversations, online and offline, that lead to recommendations.”
Nissan is also enticing bloggers, which is why you see the video here before the big social media push later in the week. The whole video series will eventually be collected on Nissan’s Leaf site.

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