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Infiniti: tapping charisma from TV
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INFINITI is using popular television shows as a channel to create name brand charisma.
The luxury brand owned by Nissan has been the biggest success story in China’s premium car segment in the past six months, with more than 130 percent sales growth. Not by coincidence, it is also the brand that has been making the biggest marketing splash.
Once a minority player in the market, with a logo often jokingly mistaken for the more downscale domestic brand Chery, Infiniti seems to have become the talk of the town overnight by riding the coattails of popular TV programs it sponsors.
It all started with sponsorship last year of a local reality show called “Where Are We Going, Dad”. The show dwelled on touching episodes of celebrity dads and their kids enjoying jaunty excursions together. Now in its second season, the show has linked Infiniti’s name to the concept of “love.”
Capitalizing on its success, Infiniti is now co-producing the adventure show “Amazing Race” with Shenzhen TV. This time the concept being peddled is “dare.”
Infiniti’s decision to invest heavily in branding via TV programs also includes its sponsorship of the blockbuster documentary “A Bite of China” Season 2.
Will the marketing blitz transform the bottom line? Although Infiniti sold 13,954 units in the first half of this year, that’s a relatively small figure in China’s car market.
Vincent Liu, head of marketing and public relations of Infiniti China, said the company will continue its focus on trying to attract buyers through emotional resonance.
After all, that’s the essence of most reality shows.
In the “Amazing Race,” eight pairs of celebrities with intimate relationships compete in an around-the-world race. Their success depends on trusting partners in the fact of physical and mental challenges along the way. Infiniti’s Q50 sedan is the star of the show, and a bit of a challenger itself in its own segment.
“The celebrities embark upon this journey because they dare to share their moments as ordinary people, and the biggest treasure they will find along the way is love,” Liu said.
A general decline in television viewing in this digital age is beyond debate. But TV ratings are no longer the sole yardstick in measuring the success of products advertising.
“TV program evaluation today is based on a combination of factors that include audience ratings, rankings, online traffic and whether the buzz resonates with a target audience,” said Yi Hua, producer of the Amazing Race at Shenzhen TV. “The latter two factors are often the most important.”
Targeting precision lies at the core of successful marketing. For Infiniti, that means urban professionals aged between 25 and 40, with a preference for foreign culture. They comprise just a slice of TV viewership demographics, but they are dedicated visitors to portals for American TV series, such as Sohu TV, which has been chosen as the exclusive online channel for the “Amazing Race.”
This isn’t just about passive television watching.
To spice up the “Amazing Race,” Infiniti is recruiting three pairs of contestants from the public, which is generating great interest among dedicated fans. Qualifying matches have just begun.
As follow-up to its sponsorship of “Where Are We Going, Dad” Season 2, the company launched a “Dare and Love Season” marketing campaign to support family driving tours, children’s fashions, cartoons and sports education. Infiniti is also sponsoring cultural trips based on the popular “Bite of China” show.
“Branding is about improving and differentiating all the customer touch points,” said Liu. “These customer engagement programs are a long shot. They require seamless cooperation from all of our dealerships. Every campaign we do is an opportunity to synchronize our approach.”
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