"The uniqueness of the cube gave us an opportunity to do something different, to veer off from our traditional launch formula," said Catherine Green, the advertising manager at Nissan Canada. "Our ultimate goal is to create a community of Cube advocates, to provide the content for the Cube community and ultimately become our advertising."
Seems to be working
When the month-long audition period ended on May 16, the hypercube.ca pages had garnered over 1.4 million hits.
Nissan was shocked at the high level of engagement and creativity (check it all out at hypercube.ca), but also the "tweet ups" and other "community" activities that sprang up, without any prodding or assistance from the automaker.
"Since we were giving away 50 cubes, they (the hypercube participants) didn't see each other as competitors," said Green. "They supported each other and even promoted each other, in the audition pages. It was absolutely amazing."
Leveraging the early adopters
The participants in both the Fiesta and cube programs are the classic "early adopters" -- those who pride themselves on being the first to grasp new ideas. In this case, they're hip to being seen in expressive, eco-friendly small cars.
Not only are they the type of leaders the automakers want in their vehicles, these early adopters are also very good at spreading the word, and doing it in very creative ways.
Didier Marsaud, Nissan Canada's corporate communications manager, noted that some of videos, music, and artwork created by the hypercube contestants are so good they could run, as is, as cube corporate advertising.
A hypercube fan favourite was Sean Williams of Thornhill (Ontario), who presented videos chronicling the adventures of Cube Man, which, truth be told, is actually Sean wearing a cardboard cube. On his hypercube.ca page you can watch Cube Man getting his oil changed on a dealership hoist and getting pulled over by a cop, among other adventures.
Affordable marketing
Off course social media marketing is also cheap, when compared to the mega bucks automakers spend on advertising campaigns created for television or newspapers.
Social medial also tends to drive more traffic to other automaker links, like a main web site, blog, or special promotion.
Customer service alternative
Another benefit is that it particularly suits the customer service responsibility. Some experts predict that social media sites will one day replace 1-800 numbers as the main way a company would communicate with its customers.
A conversation on Twitter allows for a very nuanced discussion, one that wouldn't be possible even with email. This is also good for customer research, as automakers quickly learn what customers (or potential customers) like or dislike about their products and services.
Show some personality
But the biggest opportunity social media provides to companies, according to Milstein at least, is its ability to allow customers to actually get a sense of the personalities of the people in your company. She notes it's by far the best way for customers to connect "with the humans that work for you."
Drawbacks?
Ford's Scott Monty: "There's the inevitable warning to companies that we'll 'lose control of the brand', when really, the brand has always been in the consumers' hands. Now we're just able to observe more accurately what they say and do online. It's a matter of marketers coming to grips with reality. The danger is if you're not paying attention to what's being said and responding when necessary."
photo:Jupiter images
Seems to be working
When the month-long audition period ended on May 16, the hypercube.ca pages had garnered over 1.4 million hits.
Nissan was shocked at the high level of engagement and creativity (check it all out at hypercube.ca), but also the "tweet ups" and other "community" activities that sprang up, without any prodding or assistance from the automaker.
"Since we were giving away 50 cubes, they (the hypercube participants) didn't see each other as competitors," said Green. "They supported each other and even promoted each other, in the audition pages. It was absolutely amazing."
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Leveraging the early adopters
The participants in both the Fiesta and cube programs are the classic "early adopters" -- those who pride themselves on being the first to grasp new ideas. In this case, they're hip to being seen in expressive, eco-friendly small cars.
Not only are they the type of leaders the automakers want in their vehicles, these early adopters are also very good at spreading the word, and doing it in very creative ways.
Didier Marsaud, Nissan Canada's corporate communications manager, noted that some of videos, music, and artwork created by the hypercube contestants are so good they could run, as is, as cube corporate advertising.
A hypercube fan favourite was Sean Williams of Thornhill (Ontario), who presented videos chronicling the adventures of Cube Man, which, truth be told, is actually Sean wearing a cardboard cube. On his hypercube.ca page you can watch Cube Man getting his oil changed on a dealership hoist and getting pulled over by a cop, among other adventures.
Affordable marketing
Off course social media marketing is also cheap, when compared to the mega bucks automakers spend on advertising campaigns created for television or newspapers.
Social medial also tends to drive more traffic to other automaker links, like a main web site, blog, or special promotion.
Customer service alternative
Another benefit is that it particularly suits the customer service responsibility. Some experts predict that social media sites will one day replace 1-800 numbers as the main way a company would communicate with its customers.
A conversation on Twitter allows for a very nuanced discussion, one that wouldn't be possible even with email. This is also good for customer research, as automakers quickly learn what customers (or potential customers) like or dislike about their products and services.
Show some personality
But the biggest opportunity social media provides to companies, according to Milstein at least, is its ability to allow customers to actually get a sense of the personalities of the people in your company. She notes it's by far the best way for customers to connect "with the humans that work for you."
Drawbacks?
Ford's Scott Monty: "There's the inevitable warning to companies that we'll 'lose control of the brand', when really, the brand has always been in the consumers' hands. Now we're just able to observe more accurately what they say and do online. It's a matter of marketers coming to grips with reality. The danger is if you're not paying attention to what's being said and responding when necessary."
photo:Jupiter images