THE AUTOEXTREMIST

March 2, 2011

Nissan's "Hail Mary" pass to boost Infiniti.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

(Posted 2/28, 1:00 p.m.) Detroit. In breaking news from the Geneva auto show, Nissan has entered into a marketing partnership with the Red Bull Formula 1 team in a focused attempt to jump-start the Infiniti brand, not only here in the U.S. but more important, in new markets where the F1 schedule is vectoring (Russia, China, etc.).

The two-year deal is comprised of two main components: First of all it's a marketing partnership that will attempt to elevate the credibility and visibility of the Infiniti brand, particularly as Nissan starts introducing it to new markets. Secondly it will be a technical collaboration, offering a forum for the Red Bull team and Nissan engineers where they can exploit ways of developing new materials and technologies together, including the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery) system and anything else that can be created in preparation for the major rules redirect expected in the 2013 F1 season.

(It should be noted here that the Red Bull F1 team will continue using Renault engines, this deal doesn't change that. But I wouldn't be surprised, given the two main components of the deal as it stands, that there could conceivably be a third dimension to this deal if it continues, which would include re-branding of the team’s Renault engines to Infiniti power sometime down the road.)

Why is this significant news?

The fact that Nissan didn’t go the NASCAR route is worth noting, because clearly the company has global designs for Infiniti and a regional series like NASCAR – even though it’s still the most popular form of motorsport in America by far – does nothing to quench that thirst. Neither does the IndyCar Series, which Nissan has had a previous lengthy relationship with and which is gaining momentum under Randy Bernard’s enthusiastic leadership.

No, the real significance of this news is that Nissan is admitting that it is nowhere with its Infiniti brand and this is, for all intents and purposes, a “Hail Mary” pass to fix the Infiniti brand once and for all.

To put this deal in context, it helps to remember that Infiniti has struggled here in the U.S. as a luxury brand almost since its introduction. While Lexus was emphasizing the precision and quality of its hardware in its introductory advertising, Nissan marketers focused instead on the mentality that one should use to approach the Infiniti brand. Commonly referred to as the "rocks and trees" campaign for showing everything but the car while focusing on scenes of nature, the introductory ads for Infiniti were all about perspective, feelings and attitude, and though it found favor with some who appreciated the esoteric nature of the appeal, it failed miserably as a launch campaign, establishing Infiniti as a second-tier luxury player right from the get-go. And even though that was more than 20 years ago, the brand has never recovered from it.

Think about that for a moment.

In 20 years time Nissan has basically failed to move the needle in establishing Infiniti as a first-tier player in the luxury auto business in this market. Twenty years. In that time we’ve seen Lexus achieve first-tier status, we’ve witnessed the continued success of BMW and to a lesser extent Mercedes-Benz, even though both perennial German luxury powerhouses have stumbled flamboyantly on occasion, and we’ve seen the explosive resurgence of Audi, which continues on its path of upward trajectory. We’ve even seen Cadillac pull itself up by the bootstraps and at least give it a serious go.

But Infiniti? It is present and accounted for but it’s not a high visibility player and it’s not on the same level with the stars of the genre. It has been all fits and starts and missteps for Infiniti, ultimately leading to a distinct invisibility in this market.

I’ve written about the importance of brand image on this website since its inception, and it goes without saying that it is absolutely critical to any auto company’s success. It also goes without saying that talking about brand image without having a first-rate product to begin with is a non-starter, because image alone can never make up for an inferior product. But even if an auto company has the serious product chops it can still take years and years to hone, enhance and nurture a brand image. And then once that brand image is established it takes a focused consistency in managing it before it can begin to sink in with the consumer public.

Does Nissan field some excellent cars for its Infiniti brand? Absolutely. But Infiniti as a brand has never captured the hearts and minds of the American car-buying consumer. Certainly not to the degree that Nissan needed it to or wanted it to.

So given all of this will this marketing/technical partnership foray into Formula 1 help Infiniti? I think Nissan has reached a critical juncture with its Infiniti brand, which has led them to this decision. With Infiniti basically stagnant in this market, Nissan has an opportunity to create a new image for Infiniti in emerging markets. And if it helps the U.S. market climate for Infiniti at least indirectly, well, even better.

I would hope Nissan looks beyond the obvious advantages of this new marketing partnership with the Red Bull F1 team and endeavors to mine the technical aspect of the relationship for all it's worth. Because I believe the technical aspect of this new partnership could pay huge dividends for Nissan as a company.

And my final words of advice for Nissan and this deal?

While it’s nice to attach yourself to F1, don’t forget that it comes with a price. And that price is that what you’ve been doing up until now with your Infiniti brand isn’t good enough, as a matter of fact “good enough” as a concept in this business went by the wayside a long, long time ago.

So if you’re going to play in this new arena then you better make sure each and every new Infiniti model is exemplary in every detail. While you’re at it you need to remind yourselves that just “showing up” in a segment doesn’t necessarily mean that you belong. And Nissan has been “showing up” with its Infiniti brand in this market for far too long now.

With this announcement Nissan is not only admitting it needs a new idea for its Infiniti brand, it’s suggesting that they are committed to finally fixing things once and for all.

I certainly hope so because with Hyundai about to break out in the luxury segment in a big way, it might just be Infiniti’s last chance.

And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.

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