Both social network and media were leveraged to create a huge buzz and contribute to achieving Nissan’s goal to raise brand favorability.

Raising Nissan’s brand favorability using SNS; a tweet by a Japanese actress Kazue Itoh “It's been 30 years this month since I started driving a CIMA …” became a huge buzz on October 3rd 2020. Many viewers voiced their approval of her wish to drive it until she surrenders her license. Nissan struck while the iron was hot to develop a plan on SNS and capitalize on this buzz.

Instead of releasing news on new cars and new technologies, Nissan showed its technological prowess by showcasing the restoration of old cars. The company shared all of the processes involved in restoring an old car on SNS to keep users interested over the 8-month long project.

By showing to the world that Nissan takes responsibility for all cars they sell, not just new ones, it was possible to elicit from consumers the brand message of “Nissan Technology” and “Yacchae Nissan”. Restoration processes were regularly shared on SNS to raise brand favorability. At moments when more exposure was required, media were invited to broadcast the information to consumers.

Announcements on release, processes, delivery and return of restored cars were shared to the world through the media. By linking with SNS to disseminate information, the strategy of creating a synergistic effect between SNS and news has heightened public interest and boosted Nissan's favorability.

Throughout the lengthy eight-month period between the announcement of the restoration and its completion, it was continuously picked up by numerous media outlets, both TV and online, amassing more than 3.4 billion yen in exposure. More than 90% of comments on SNS were positive, including: "Nissan is right on point," "Nissan's technological prowess is second to none," and "I've never felt so excited about a project before.” It also ranked No. 1 in Yahoo Trends on the day of its completion and announcement. This love for old cars - as opposed to new cars or concept cars made a huge leap in favor of the Nissan brand.