The Dodge Challenger is a performance car made for strong acceleration and a sporty driving feel. It’s known for its big, traditional muscle-car style and rear-wheel-drive setup. It may come up in conversation when people talk about bringing back a simpler, classic kind of car.
Nimawashi is a way of getting everyone on board before you commit to a plan. Instead of deciding quickly, you talk to the right people first so there’s agreement.
They’re talking about Nissan as a company—what went wrong in the U.S. and what they tried to fix. A big theme is rebuilding how people think about Nissan cars, not just making the cars better.
“Decentralization” here means shifting decision-making and leadership closer to the U.S. market rather than running everything from elsewhere. The guest says the U.S. is the most important market for Nissan globally, so they wanted the strongest U.S.-based marketer to drive strategy.
“Consideration set” is the shortlist of brands or models a consumer seriously thinks about when shopping. The guest says Nissan “fell off” that set, meaning fewer shoppers were actively considering Nissan vehicles, which is often driven by brand awareness, messaging, and market timing.
Supply chain shortages are disruptions that limit the availability of parts and materials needed to build vehicles. The guest links Nissan’s brand/marketing challenges to the post-COVID environment, where shortages and timing issues can affect inventory, sales momentum, and brand visibility.
Concept
battlefield fatigue
“Battlefield fatigue” is a metaphor for consumer and industry burnout—people becoming less responsive due to prolonged stress and constant negative news. In automotive, it can translate to reduced enthusiasm, slower decision-making, or less brand loyalty during turbulent periods.
“Perception gaps” refers to the difference between what a company believes about its products (e.g., quality) and what consumers think or know. Here, the guest argues Nissan has “incredible quality,” but people don’t recognize it, so marketing and communication need to close that gap.
The guest describes visiting Nissan’s research and development (R&D) headquarters in Michigan to meet engineering leadership. This highlights how automakers validate and prepare vehicles before they reach consumers, including engineering sign-off and testing.
Farmington Hills, Michigan is where the company says it has testing facilities. The point is that they test cars in controlled conditions before customers ever drive them.
Initial quality is basically how “problem-free” a brand’s new cars are right after people buy them. If lots of owners report issues early on, initial quality is considered lower.
J.D. Power is a company that surveys car owners and publishes rankings. When a brand says it’s “number one” with J.D. Power, it means owners reported fewer problems than competitors.
Crash testing is controlled testing used to evaluate vehicle safety performance in impacts. Automakers use results to validate structural integrity, restraint systems, and overall occupant protection before vehicles go on sale.
Extreme off-road testing means driving the car where it’s really not meant to go—rough ground, bumps, and uneven surfaces. The goal is to see if the car can take the abuse without breaking.
Audio testing is when engineers check how good the car’s sound system is. They test things like how clear the music sounds and how much outside noise gets in.
Smyrna, Tennessee is mentioned as the site of Nissan’s manufacturing facility. The “secrets of Smyrna” framing suggests the episode is focusing on how the plant’s processes support quality, durability, reliability, and safety.
They’re basically saying the cars are built to last, work well, and keep people safe. The speaker is connecting those goals to the testing and factory processes.
“Quality rankings” are basically scores or lists that rate how good a car brand is. If the rankings improve, more people may trust the brand and be more willing to buy.
“Sentiment shift” means people’s opinions about the brand changed—like moving from mostly complaints to more praise. It can happen quickly when lots of people are talking and reviewing online.
Google is referenced as a partner or internal stakeholder providing observations about consumer sentiment trends. In automotive marketing, Google’s ecosystem (search, reviews, and ads) often plays a major role in how brands are discovered and evaluated.
“Brand metrics” are numbers marketers track to see how people feel about a brand. They can include things like positive vs. negative comments and how often people look up the brand.
Concept
generative AI and agintic AI
The speaker mentions “generative AI” and “agentic AI” (transcribed as “agintic AI”), referring to AI systems that can generate content and/or act as semi-autonomous agents. In automotive marketing, these tools can influence how consumers discover brands and how information is presented across digital channels.
“Digital retail” means buying a car through online tools instead of only going to a dealership. It includes things like browsing and comparing cars on the internet.
The speaker breaks down performance by “ad type,” specifically mentioning Instagram formats like stories, reels, and carousels. This is a data-driven approach to marketing where different creative formats can produce different engagement and conversion results.
e-Power is Nissan’s hybrid setup where the gas engine doesn’t directly drive the wheels. Instead, it mainly makes electricity for electric motors, so you get quick acceleration like an EV but still have gas for longer trips.
In a series hybrid, the gas engine mainly makes electricity rather than pushing the car directly. The electric motor does the driving, which is why it can feel responsive like an EV.
The speaker emphasizes two common buyer priorities for electrified vehicles: fuel efficiency (how little gas is used) and range (how far you can go before refueling). In e-Power’s case, the system aims to combine EV-like drivability with gasoline-based practicality.
They’re comparing electric vehicles to regular gas cars. The idea is that e-Power can feel more like an EV when you accelerate, but it still uses gas to help with range and efficiency.
The Toyota Prius is a hybrid car, meaning it uses both a gas engine and an electric motor. The speaker is referencing it as part of the early “EV/hybrid” lineup people associated with the category.
“EV momentum” just means more and more people are buying electric cars. The speaker is saying Nissan already had experience as that trend started building.
This means a company sells cars with different kinds of engines. Some are electric, some are hybrids, and some use gas—so they can fit what different drivers want and what rules require.
The speaker is saying the rules for cars are likely to change. That can affect what kinds of cars companies need to sell, so they want options instead of one approach.
The Nissan Xterra is a tough, off-road-oriented SUV. Here, they’re saying Nissan is bringing it back because it fits the brand’s more rugged, adventurous roots.
Body-on-frame means the car has a separate “truck-like” frame underneath it. This usually helps with durability, especially if you drive off-road or on rough roads.
ICE just means the car runs on a traditional gas or diesel engine. Here, they’re saying Nissan will still sell regular engine versions, not only electrified ones.
Autonomous features are systems that can help the car drive more on its own. AI is the “smart” software that helps the car understand what’s happening around it.
They’re describing this as a “turnaround” moment for the company. The idea is that Nissan is trying to change how people see the brand and come back stronger.
Concept
Detroit three brands
“Detroit three” is a nickname for the big old-school American car companies. The speaker is saying that even the biggest brands go through rough patches and then recover.
Company
Heisman House
Heisman House is a branded hospitality/marketing property tied to the Heisman Trophy, used by sponsors to connect with college football audiences. The segment highlights Nissan’s long-running relationship with the Heisman brand as part of its sports marketing strategy.
Naming rights means a company pays to put its name on a stadium or arena. The goal is usually more than just a logo—it’s about building a long-term relationship with fans and the local community.
A “20-year agreement” here refers to a long-term contract for Nissan’s stadium naming rights. The speaker emphasizes that such deals are carefully evaluated as major investments, reflecting confidence in the partnership’s long-term value.
“365 days of content and programming” describes a strategy to keep the venue active year-round, not just during football or concerts. For a car brand, this kind of continuous local presence can translate into ongoing community engagement and brand touchpoints.
Formula E is a racing series where the cars are electric. Nissan uses it to show off its electric-vehicle technology and brand image.
Concept
marketing opportunities
They mean the ways Nissan can get noticed and promote its brand through racing. It’s basically about advertising and audience reach.
Concept
traditional motorsport
“Traditional motorsport” refers to conventional racing categories that aren’t centered on electric powertrains. The speaker contrasts it with Formula E to highlight how Nissan’s messaging opportunities change when the racing platform is electric.
Racers and regular drivers are using the same basic technology, just under different stress. Companies try to use what they learn on the track to make road cars better, and sometimes they bring new ideas from road cars back to racing.
Battery management refers to the control systems that monitor and regulate an EV or hybrid battery’s temperature, voltage, and charging/discharging behavior. In racing—especially electric series—battery management strongly affects performance, efficiency, and how long the battery can sustain high power.
Performance management is the broader strategy of controlling how power is delivered and limited over time—often through software that coordinates battery, motor, and thermal systems. In electric and hybrid racing, it’s crucial for balancing speed with reliability and battery life.
The speaker contrasts fully electric powertrains with hybrid powertrains, emphasizing that both rely heavily on software and control systems to manage energy flow. This includes coordinating the battery, electric motors, and (for hybrids) the engine to deliver consistent performance.
Concept
family type race
They’re saying this kind of racing seems to attract more families and everyday fans, not just hardcore gearheads. That affects how the series is promoted and what kind of content people respond to.
The speaker credits the team’s social media strategy for making racing feel more accessible to broader audiences. In modern motorsports marketing, social media is often used to translate technical and competitive content into culture-friendly storytelling.
Concept
Coachella
Coachella is a big music festival where lots of celebrities and pop culture moments happen. The speaker is using it to show that cars show up in everyday culture, not just car events.
A “classic car” typically refers to an older vehicle that’s valued for its design, history, or collector appeal. In the transcript, it’s used as a cultural reference point to illustrate how cars connect with mainstream entertainment.
“GTRs” here means Nissan’s GT-R sports cars. It’s a fast, performance-focused car that’s popular with enthusiasts, so seeing a whole line of them is a big deal for car culture.
Brand loyalty is when people stick with a brand because they like it and trust it. The speaker is saying younger buyers may still care, but they may decide based on how the brand engages with them rather than just tradition.
The speaker is asking whether young people still want to drive cars. The idea is that interest might be different depending on where you live, but many young people still care about cars.
“Transparency” means the brand should be open and clear instead of keeping things vague. The speaker is saying younger people want to understand what’s going on and feel like they’re part of the conversation.
Authenticity means the brand feels real and consistent, not fake or just trying to sell you something. For car brands, it usually shows up in how the cars are built and how the company treats customers.
Brand dilution is when a brand tries to please everyone and ends up confusing people. In car marketing, it can mean losing the clear reason you’d buy that brand in the first place.
Edginess is basically the brand’s attitude—more bold or daring than a typical “safe” image. It’s how the company tries to feel different and memorable to buyers.
A challenger brand is a newer or less-dominant car brand trying to compete with the big names. The idea is to stand out with a clear attitude and a reason to believe the cars are worth buying.
Personalized marketing means the ads or messages you see are more tailored to you, not one-size-fits-all. In car shopping, that could be showing content that matches what you care about—like safety, style, or performance.
She’s saying marketing money isn’t growing as fast as the workload or opportunities. So brands have to use new tools and tech to get better results without spending dramatically more.
“Ivory tower” is a way of saying someone is out of touch. Here it means marketing that just broadcasts messages instead of listening to what customers want.
CMO means Chief Marketing Officer. It’s the top person in charge of how a company promotes its cars and communicates with customers.
LIVE
The automobile is one of the most important inventions that revolutionize the modern world.
In America, the rich history of car culture runs deep as technology continues to shape
the future of the industry. Jason Stein is here to share the stories of people passionate about
cars from industry leaders and innovators to car obsessed celebrities. Buckle up as Jason takes
you inside the boardroom, onto the track and around the bend on Cars and Culture on SiriusXM
Business Radio. Welcome into episode 247 of Cars and Culture with Jason Stein here on SiriusXM
Business Channel 132. Great to have you along for the ride again this week from the Nashville
Studios. It's been a while since we saw today's guest five years and a lifetime ago in some sense.
Alison Witherspoon was guest number 17 on this program and her world has significantly changed
since that first recording in 2021. Much has changed for her including a stint in Japan and
much has changed for Nissan now working its way up with consumers and positioned as a challenger
brand. It's back to basics in the U.S. and she's helped leading that marketing effort.
Alison's learned a lot along the way. One of the most interesting parts of leadership in a global
company is how much time and context matters, how the same decision can look and feel very different
depending on where you are in the world, what the company is going through and what stage of change
it's in. And since we last met Alison has spent a significant part of her career inside that kind
of complexity. Now in year 12 at Nissan she's the CMO leading marketing with a brand leadership role
but it's her kind of experience that gives her a deep understanding of how organizations actually
operate not just in theory but in practice across markets cultures and leadership structures.
She returned to the United States about a year ago bringing with her a perspective
shaped by that global experience and long-term view inside of Nissan. Today we catch up with her
from her home in Nashville. We talk about the opportunities in front of Nissan as well as the
challenges and we talk about her path one filled with significant twists and turns and much success.
It's Alison Witherspoon on Cars and Culture. Hi everybody I'm Alison Witherspoon and this is
Cars and Culture with Jason Stein, Nashville edition. It's hard to believe that it's been
a little more than four years since we were together. I know. And yet here COVID we got through all of
that and I am so happy to be in your hometown to be in Nissan town here at Sirius XM Studio.
What a pleasure. Alison welcome to the program. Thank you. You know that you were guest number
17 I think. Really? So you're so we're 240 or so later. Wow. Welcome back. Thank you. What took
you so long? I don't know. I think I I think I I think I lived in another country at one point
so that that was a little bit of maybe that reason but. You had a couple of changes happened in the
in those in those four years. Yes. You went back and forth. We're going to talk about that. Yep.
But you are nicely settled here back in North America. Yes. It's gone really really fast but
also some like time slows down sometimes when I think about you know a year ago I was living in
a different country and a completely different country than Tokyo. But yeah Tokyo and Japan
specifically and it's you know like I see things all the time from you know Japan culture is just
super hot right now and you know you see that and it feels like a dream that I actually live there
and I think you know I think we've talked about this before but I lived in Japan for four years.
I did two tier assignments and so it's just wild to think that you know that's life actually.
What was let's catch up a little bit. What was the biggest adjustment going to Japan.
Yeah to me the biggest thing is it's an incredible magical country. I remember the first time that
I had traveled there. You just get this sense of and I had lived abroad. I had lived in Amsterdam
before and I had traveled quite extensively that I thought and the first time I ever went to visit
Japan I just remember it felt like it was the upside down world and that it was just kind of this
alternate universe where things are just slightly different or completely opposite from where you
were. And so I think when you when I moved there especially the first time but it happened again
when I moved back you just get this sense that you're in a really special place. You don't know
all the rules and you definitely don't want to you know kind of make mistakes when you're there
and so I think getting through that adjustment and how do I do this as a foreigner and you know
be very respectful of the country and the culture you know but at the same time you know there's
a job to do and so I think you know all of that trying to figure out and navigate that environment
that I think that's really what is the most difficult part. They sat you down before you left
and they said listen everything that you knew leading up to this forget it. Yes. Right. From a
business standpoint. They did. The way that you operate the way that you're successful in North
America it's not going to work here. Yeah that was a week before I moved to Japan the first time
and I Nissan and I am forever grateful for this. They actually had me spend an entire day with a
sociologist and she told me whatever has made you successful up until this point it's not going to
work and so you're going to need to have new tools and she started to kind of work through
you know what was so different. It's a completely different corporate culture than
what I've experienced in the U.S. and even when I was living in Europe and you know that so I was
you know when she told me that the first my first reaction was I'm moving next week so you
got to give me the Cliff Notes version of what I have to completely change. I'm already packed here
and now you're telling me that what I'm bringing with me mentally and my background is irrelevant.
Absolutely and I you know and I think the biggest thing is you know you have in western culture
you can go in you can have hallway conversations with your teammates with your peers and you can
work through things very quickly. In Japan it's a very hierarchical process. It's very formal.
You have to do what's called Nimawashi and Nimawashi is when you go kind of stakeholder by
stakeholder to get buy-in into whatever it is that you're doing. I think the other thing is
working with your team in western culture you have team members that you know they want to
they want to kind of prove they want to like kind of drive things in Japanese culture because
it's so hierarchical they're very very respectful and it's very much you respect the levels above
you and so direction has to come top down whereas in western culture ideas and direction can come
from anywhere and adjusting to that was was also a bit of a process as well. How long did that take
to get used to that? I would say the when I first moved there and I it was it was similar when I
lived in Amsterdam but there were extremes but I would say the first six months you're not sure
what's happening and you're you know it's so exciting everything is brand new and then kind
of the next six months are where you really start to feel the walls and where you don't understand
things and you know kind of the novelty of it has worn off a little bit. I think by the time I had
lived there a year that's when I started to really feel like I could start to navigate it and I was
becoming more productive at it but it was it took it took probably about you know six to 12 months
of actually getting comfortable with that and I think knowing where to go and what friends to
phone to work through some of those things and you know I had I had a really great boss at the
time and he told me you know what's really helpful and and the Japanese when they're bought in on
something things move very quickly and incredibly smart incredibly driven you need that upfront
direction which a lot of times in Western culture you don't need and so he he would tell me he's
like just set out the vision and push from the side just keep everybody on track you don't need
to be super prescriptive be flexible and how you get there but just push the teams from the side
and let them tell them where they need to go but they can figure out how to get there and I think
once I really started to see that and like see it working then I started to be a lot more productive
I think and um and really start to gel with the team as well because communication is a big piece
and I had you know I had I had teams and my the largest part of my team was in Japan I had team
members in London team members in the Middle East and then managing all of the regions around the
world as well so it's you know you're constantly kind of working through different cultural things
but I think the the key thing that I learned and I think I brought this back when I came back to the
US is the importance of communication and the importance of thinking about managing which
you hear this in business school and it makes sense intuitively but when was the last time you ever
sat down and spent time about thinking about managing something right and so I actually
kind of started to train myself I've always been athletic my whole life but I started to really
think about every morning I would think about what do I need to communicate what are the key
priorities how do I cascade this or how do I kick this off with the team members and then at the
end of the day and you know it's usually on my commute in and out of work and on the way home
I would kind of go through and like what worked what different what didn't work and then how
do I apply that the next day and so I really adjusted from being you know kind of trying to
just be the leader and to much more about just being better and trying to get better every
single day and I I've kind of come to this can I've kind of come to this thought might for myself
is that you know there's no ultimate best leader and I I'm a very competitive person
athletic competitive um like I always want to be the best at something and I really started to
cut myself some slack and give myself some grace and actually just start to think about how do I
be better every single day how were you better when you came back after that I think how did it
apply to yeah what you're doing now in America communication style I think that's where I really
again like that idea of how do I communicate with my team members how do I communicate with
my peers with my boss I really started to think about those things instead of just reacting in the
moment and so I became a lot more strategic I think when I came back I was giving much clearer
direction than kind of something that would be ambiguous and things like that and I remember
when I came back the first time to the US that that was a big piece of feedback that came from
my team at the time they're like you're really clear on on what we need to do what you're looking
for but you also give us enough space to be flexible and if we have ideas you're open to those
ideas and I would say that was that was you know there were some painful learnings in that process
I failed a lot when I was in Japan but you know when I came back you know I started to be more
productive and successful when I was there and then when I came back to the US I still carry
that forward with me so I didn't snap back to just the automatic way of working in the US
or in western culture but once an expat always an expat yes something that you and I have discussed
that it just lives with you in some small way on a daily basis applies to business applies to
personal things now you're 12 months in did it take six months to reacclimate to some extent too
yeah I would say so because I think it changes you living abroad changes you you see the world
with different colors suddenly and you you've had experiences that are really unique sometimes it
feels like a dream sometimes it feels like a fever dream but you just and you'd have a different
toolbox to work from and to work through things and so I would say you know you you come back in
I think that the challenging part about living abroad and especially in Japan is that everything
you do is about 10 percent harder because of the language barrier and the culture barrier and one
thing at a time is totally manageable it's all of these things compounding so every single interaction
is 10 percent harder that becomes emotionally and mentally exhausting training yeah and it
does and then kind of like how do I be successful how do I deliver for the company how do I deliver
for my teammates you know all of that just starts to compile and so I think the first thing that I
realized when I came back was I had a level of anxiety probably or a level of expectation that
suddenly wasn't there anymore and I felt like I could be a lot more freer in things I think
then there's there's little things like and I remember when I moved back from I moved from
Amsterdam to Nashville I had never lived in Nashville before I had never even been here
and I remember I had lived in Amsterdam for two years came back and I was on a target and you're
just in the deodorant aisle being like why are there so many different options for deodorants
like what is this and you know I was used to my world in Amsterdam where it's you know you have
two or three products same thing with the grocery store you know I would go food shopping every
couple of days because it's all about fresh food right and so it's little things like that and then
on top of the management and the leadership pieces of it so you start to kind of I guess I don't know
if it's rewiring or dewiring yourself but it's more about kind of I feel like when you live abroad
you get like a software upgrade kind of that's a good way to say it like sure I feel like you get
that and then you just kind of keep building on it actually you're you're on uh allison 3.0 4.0
you know um you not only get a software upgrade but you also get an upgrade in in the number of
experiences and challenges and things of that nature so you take the assignment you're you're
you're told to come back yes I'm assuming yes and and you come back to a situation that needs
a little TLC yes a brand you know we've had Christian Mounier on the show already talking
about Nissan's challenges from his perspective going back to the brand you came back to America
with the brand what did you perceive as the challenges that you could tackle and the opportunities
to frankly turn some things around yeah to me I think you know being in Japan and and seeing
what was happening globally and seeing what was happening in the U.S. you know it became very
clear to me what needed to be done specifically on the brand and marketing side and so we went
through a decentralization the U.S. is the the most important market for the company globally
and that's from a volume standpoint and from a profitability standpoint and so they wanted
the the strongest marketer in the company to be back in the U.S. and that that's me
the biggest thing I realized that we need to do is we we started to fall off the consideration set
and this was coming out of COVID and I think the end supply chain shortages and I just saw
this headline about battlefield fatigue that's happening in the automotive industry and that's
definitely that's definitely been happening and I think we just lost a little bit of being on our
front foot and so to me coming back it was about how do we start to get back on the consideration
set for consumers how do we start to rebuild our culture to be much much more faster and responsive
to the market and so there those are all things that I wanted to come back and and start doing
and I think one of the key things and we've been working with you know perception gaps and we have
incredible quality in our vehicles but people don't know about that and I think there's some
legacy things that have happened there but those are many many years in the past but we haven't
done enough work on really establishing the quality of our products and also the accessibility
and affordability of our products and so you know one of the first things I did was go to our
R&D headquarters in in Michigan and right outside of Detroit Michigan and meet with our head of
engineering which is Chris Reed and he's this amazing you know kind of just this amazing person
and this amazing spirit in his team and we spent two days there and they just took us through
everything that they put the vehicles through to get them ready for consumers and it was so
inspirational to just see you know how they beat up the cars how they put it through cold weather
testing heat testing all within you know the facilities that we have in in Farmington Hills
Michigan and we were so inspired by that they were like this these are the stories that we need to
tell so that set the benchmark for and that set the the glide path for us to really focus on quality
durability reliability and safety back to basics to some extent right and I think that you know
because sometimes you have these discussions with people and they're like oh well you know like
quality isn't a differentiator it isn't a differentiator but is a cost of entry for
consumers it's the number one thing that consumers you know feel that that is important
and so for us it's about how do we make sure that they start to see us as quality we we know
that this was where the gaps were and so we wanted to hit on that we knew that we're doing a great
job it's proven we have the JD power number one in initial quality so those are all things that
we wanted to highlight and so we set out really establishing how we are building these vehicles
for our consumers best days and best experiences and so we set out on that you know starting
last year right as I was getting back and we also wanted to create a lot of I I feel like
marketing is moving in a place of it's less about campaign by campaign and it's much more about 365
days of content and you know it's not the start stop that used to be pretty prevalent in the
marketing world and the other thing that we wanted to do was start to develop a lot more
longer form content of telling these stories of all the testing that we go through so we we did
the crash testing we did all of our you know testing that we do in Arizona kind of the extreme
testing extreme off-road testing that we do all the audio testing that goes on in the car to make
sure that you have a great audio experience when you're in your car and then we're getting ready
to launch just kind of a we're calling it the secrets of Smyrna and really talk about and go
behind the scenes of our our manufacturing facility in Smyrna Tennessee and these are all
things that we have that we're really hitting on this quality durability reliability and safety
and it's just this constant drumbeat of everything that we're doing you're changing two significant
things consideration set yeah and rebuilding a culture yeah with the consumer I mean those are
those are not small endeavors no especially in a field that is so crowded with product
with new entrants all the time with extreme attention to quality rankings at all at all times
do you feel you're making progress we're definitely making progress and I think it's starting to show
through and I completely agree because I think this isn't just one campaign this is something
that we need to be touching on for several years actually um to really embed that and so what we
the first thing that we started to see is and this was in discussion on you know a lot of the
content that we have lives on youtube and youtube can be a place of you know there's a lot of feedback
there's a lot of comments and we started to see a very rapid and significant shift in sentiment so
really shifting into positive sentiment from what was negative sentiment and quality started
to really pop and I think in discussion with the team at google they said that they've never seen
this type of sentiment shift that quickly from a brand and so I think again this started in the
summer we started to see all the brand metrics so we're starting to kind of climb up the ranking
quality is starting to be recalled a lot more frequently we're also working on because you
know generative AI and agintic AI is driving a lot of how consumers are discovering brands
and making sure that all of the infrastructure for us to be discoverable and our quality to be
discoverable that's all embedded in this as well and so I think we're starting to see that it's not
something that is just a one and done but it's something that we're going to be hitting on for
a few years where's the strongest return is it traditional media digital retail live events
partnerships or a combination of all the above it's a combination I would say digital media has
the strongest return you know we have measured we're we're able to really get into very solid
measurements so we're able to get into digital marketing even by ad type and so if you so for
example on Instagram you know is it stories or reels or is it a carousel things like that
so we're able to get down to the ad type of what those types of returns are but where we're seeing
the strongest is really in digital media it's in this video content is the strongest performing
partnerships are also right there as well you know Nissan Heisman house has been one of the
most successful and highest you know ROI media ROI drivers that we've had over several years
and so it is a combination of all these things it's not you know kind of one thing doesn't live
in isolation but we are seeing the strongest performance in digital you're going to have a
lot of different product to market yes going forward I saw the headline this morning that your
CEO basically unveiled the roadmap his roadmap and his vision for for what's to come you have a
slew of new product talk a little bit about that if you don't mind and you what's to come
what's most exciting what will change that maybe folks aren't aware of listening to this program
yeah I mean in this this is what's so exciting and you know that's the beauty about being in the
automotive industry is that you you start to see these plans a few years back and it's so incredible
and it's just I'm just so excited for us as a as a company and I'm excited for us as as all of our
team members to see the product start to be announced but we have the rogue hybrid e-power
which is going to be coming out later on this year that's the product that I'm the most excited
about in the kind of in the very near term future in the very near term so I think it's it's our
proprietary hybrid system it's a series hybrid what I love about it and it's actually been
sold in different parts of the world it's never been in the US and I actually had this I had an
X trail which is the which is rogue in Japan and I had the e-power system it is an exciting hybrid
which you don't often hear about hybrid so you get kind of the acceleration you get the torque
you get all of that benefit that you get in an EV that is what people love about EV versus ice engines
you get all of that but you also get the fuel efficiency and the range of a very fuel fuel
efficient vehicle and I think you know living in Japan and driving to Yokohama living in Tokyo
driving to Yokohama every day I think we filled up probably every three weeks of gas so you have a
get you have a gas engine that is operating as a generator to the electric motors that we have
and I think that combination of it just creates a great driving experience but it also creates a
really fuel efficient vehicle timing couldn't be better no it's all this right now and a bottom
line is that you also have other options and we talked about this last time you were on the program
I've mentioned it with numerous Nissan executives through the years but it's like you were on EV
before EV was cool with the leaf and it was like frankly it was leaf and Prius and Prius and leaf
forever and then all these other entrants came around so you still have you not still have you
have that bedrock you have that foundation and all of those learnings of the what was the
um really the starting point yeah on on the EV momentum nationwide EVs hybrids ice you're
going to market everything aren't you all of it is that yeah yeah and I the key for us is that
consume you know it needs to be driven by consumers and I think that's where I think that's why we
want to make sure that we have diversity of powertrains to meet whatever the needs are of the
consumer that creates you know it has historically created complications to as an OEM at an OEM level
because it's obviously there's a lot of investment that goes into something like that but
now we're able to we have these engine platforms now it's about making sure that we have the right
types of powertrains for what consumers are looking for regulation is going to change we know that
so we need to be flexible and we need to have diversity of powertrain it's hard to market
around changing regulations I can imagine yes yeah you know it's a it's a dartboard that's
that's you know constantly moving after the break I'll continue my conversation with Nissan CMO
Allison Witherspoon to see more cars and culture interviews visit the cars and culture youtube
channel subscribe comment check out hundreds of conversations with the creators collectors
and culture makers who are driving the industry forward the automobile is one of the most important
inventions that revolutionize the modern world in America the rich history of car culture runs
deep technology continues to shape the future of the industry Jason Stein is here to share the
stories of people passionate about cars from industry leaders and innovators to car obsessed
celebrities buckle up as Jason takes you inside the boardroom onto the track and around the bend
on cars and culture on Sirius XM business radio welcome back to cars and culture from the
Nashville Sirius XM studio I'm your host Jason Stein now the continuation of my conversation
with Allison Witherspoon CMO at Nissan to see more cars and culture interviews visit the cars and
culture youtube channel subscribe comment check out hundreds of conversations with the creators
collectors and culture makers who are driving the industry forward when you consider where Nissan
is going and what you already know that you cannot share but that your CEO has outlined as a vision
what excites you the most about this brand now I I mean I feel like we're we're back to we're
back to the days where we were the challenger brand that's that's how I feel and I think
I think yesterday we announced or overnight we announced about XTERRA so XTERRA's coming back
it's body on frame massively you know kind of cult like vehicle for us and so I'm excited for our
frame vehicles I'm excited for the new technology that we're going to be bringing with with our
hybrid e-power system I'm also excited about the ICE variants that we're going to have and so to me
I think we're getting back to much more of the Nissan that people have known and loved and that's
what is really really exciting for me I think it's it's about being passionate about the vehicles
it's a being about being accessible to our consumers and affordability has never been
more important and we've always been a very affordable brand and we're going to continue with
that and then it's also bringing the innovation and I think you know our hybrid e-power is an
example of that we're doing a lot of things with autonomous and AI all of that's going to be coming
in over the next few years and so I think those are all areas that I'm excited about I'm excited
that we're back and we're back to kind of our roots and you're you're now one of the executives
with the longest tenure I mean right yes are you a dozen years is it I'm a dozen years yes I'm a
dozen I mean this is a business that unfortunately has a lot of churn and a lot of people leave for
various positions and usually within the industry but you've you've stayed exactly where you are
and now you've you've layered in this global experience as well so you kind of have the whole
picture don't you you know where you were when you first came in oh yeah you you dealt with
a couple of things while you were overseas a couple some serious management shuffles that we
don't need to get into again here but um but now now you're bringing this brand back in America
yes and I that to me is you know when I when I look at our team and you know about I think it
was last January we wrote a letter because there was a lot of negative things that were being said
about us in the press and I think as employees we we felt you know it was difficult for us as
employees we also wanted to make sure that we that we weren't just kind of taking it and just
being the brunt of you know a lot of negative feedback so we we wrote this letter we published
it and a lot of a lot of different publications but you know we kind of tease like just wait
till you see what we have coming you know like it's go time basically and I think the response of
that and having you know all of our employees around the world just really rally around that
that's what I'm excited for I'm excited for the hunt you know the over 100,000 employees that we have
I'm excited for that I'm excited for all of our technicians that we have in Smyrna and in Canton
and in Deckard because there are going to be Nissan's on the road in people's driveways
and that's the ultimate comeback story you know to me that that is what we will be that's what
we're writing right now is going to be the ultimate comeback story well and everybody in this business
there used to be a phrase around the Detroit area about various one of the Detroit three brands
always being one of them was always in the barrel as they said if you've ever heard that before I
think I have heard that it's kind of like well it's their turn in the barrel and eventually
one would come out of the barrel and another one would enter the barrel this is a cyclical business
it is a business that goes through massive leadership changes massive structural changes
and brands go up and brands go down right so not a unique story in that way yeah
you've stayed consistent in a couple of different areas and you just mentioned earlier so I just
want to hit on it your your sports marketing and and and what you've done Nissan has been in the
college football forefront for a long time now how long has your relationship been with Heisman
House 15 years okay so that's right it predates you yeah 15 years what an incredible you know
you and I were talking about it a little bit last night it what an incredible collection
of individuals you have on there each season and what I said to you was that you're able to draw
from those that are the hottest recent college football stars as well as now pro stars because
they've gone on to the next level so you get you get actually get two audiences at the same time
yes so I would venture to say that most consumers don't care about the headlines that you just
referenced earlier they really love Heisman House and they want to know what you have coming for
Heisman House so what's coming for the next edition of Heisman House yeah so and I think the amazing
thing about Heisman is you know one and sometimes I'm asked you know well you know you don't not
necessarily see sponsorships that that last for 15 years you see them in some in some areas
very very very and they're always very successful the ones that stay I think for me the reason why
we continue to work with Heisman is that it delivers very very strong shifting in consideration
it's a key audience obviously the college football fan it is culture it is culture for
you know the entire fall season and it also delivers great media ROI and great marketing ROI
for us and so that's why we continue with it last year we wanted to shake things up a little bit
we wanted to get the Heismans out of the house so we've been you know we have the niece on Heisman
House we wanted to give them a road trip because that felt really natural of course it felt like
it's you know like who wouldn't want to see the Heismans on a road trip and what are the different
you know kind of things that can happen on that and so we did that last year it also gave us a
great way to talk about the vehicles in a much more natural way so we're gonna we're gonna push
I can't we're still in concept team mode right now so I can't share too much about it but
we are constantly pushing ourselves so you're gonna see a little bit more of that
and naturally we want to make sure that the competitive nature that that happens when you get
Heismans in a room or in a car you know those are all things that are gonna happen so
more exciting things to come and I think the great thing about Heisman is that every year
you can start with brand new stories because you have someone new that's coming into the fold on
that yeah so there's just there's there are endless stories that we can do you'll have a
CFP national title winning quarterback yes we will from Indiana yes we'll also there and
they're already a Nissan family which is great yeah is that the most fun you have in this job
I mean I know there are degrees of fun but is this the most fun my tea I have a lot of fun with
my team but yes I mean it's you you know you walk in and it's the it's these pinch me moments because
you're just around these legends I mean any any George's in your phone I mean you told me that
last night that you were at an event and he texted you said what you were here yeah yes I have a
there are a few Heismans in my phone no one's ever said this to this program exactly I think the
thing is we've kind of it's become this you know we're just this we're this team now together
and so I think that's what's really cool and when you're at the shoots or when we're doing events
with them you know there isn't this wall between the Heismans and and those of us that are you know
kind of they're working or even when you're on the shoot it's now you know now we're kind of all
together it's less of you know here's the green room and then everyone is over here in production
we're all kind of together and you know I think last summer we had we were filming and and Baker
was coming in he left his vacation early Baker Mayfield Baker Mayfield he came in and you know
he didn't he was just hanging out with us in video village and just you know we were close to wrapping
everything and you know you're just those are the pinch me moments that I think are really unique
and I I think also the interaction between the players they have so much respect for each other
they have so much respect for what they've done you know whoever's playing everyone's trying to
kind of get the scoop on what's going on but it's just a really unique environment to be around
no you're you're you're forcing and creating a reunion of a class of Hall of Fame players
on an annual basis yeah nobody does that no and I and it's also it's fun for us because
you get to know them over time and and obviously they it's not the same group of people every year
so you get to meet new people you get to see them and you get to see ones that you know we've we've
worked with in the past but it's also cool because it gives us a way to introduce our vehicles and
sometimes they've seen products that have not even been announced yet and so they get some of those
sneak peeks and you know it's great to see their reaction to actually sit in and experience and
you know kind of walk around our vehicles as well and so it's just you know it just it feels like
it's they're like we're part of the same team yeah Nissan has a long association with the Titans
with Nissan Stadium here in Nashville it's it's just going up here just across the river yes
and now that relationship continues um and and will continue and when you look at something like
naming rights what do you want that asset to do for the brand beyond just simple visibility
because you have a lot of opportunity with that stadium yeah and I think it's it's an incredible
stadium I'm so excited it's gonna it'll open next year to me and we're in a 20-year agreement with
them for our naming rights you know you don't enter into a 20-year agreement lightly that's
something that is very much you know it's an investment it's highly evaluated things like
that to me the biggest thing in discussing with the Titans and again we we've been partners with
them for several years now it was really being about how do we celebrate the community and I
think we are one of the largest employers of Tennessee Nissan is one of the largest employers
in Tennessee this is our hometown team we are right down the road our plan is right down the road
and this is you know like this is our hometown and so we wanted to celebrate that
and I think the other thing in in discussion with them it's it's not just about football season or
the concert season which is more in the kind of spring and summer they really want to develop
365 days of of content and programming for the community and to me when I was evaluating that
with the team that was what was really really interesting is that it it gave us a way it's
not just about the signage that's there but we can create experiences that are in the actual
stadium in and around the stadium anything around our association you know with the Titans
we're able to really embed ourselves into the community and this is our community where we
operate and so and that that's why it's you know again like I said you don't enter into a 20-year
agreement lightly and I think it's it shows the strength of a partnership it shows the strength
of what we've been able to do over the last several years with the current stadium but also
what the potential looks like in the future because I think the stadium is going to be
incredible it's actually it's going to be incredible and to work and build that with the
Titans from the ground up was it's a really unique experience will we see unique elements of Nissan
inside yes yeah so you're going to see there there's kind of obviously you have hospitality spaces
we also want to make sure we have elements that are outside we're going to have some
you know kind of like you know kind of ruggedness to road type experiences we're going to do some
interesting ways of highlighting the vehicles and maybe you're going to see them in some unexpected
places throughout the stadium but yes they're going to be great experiences with them well and
there's a not so insignificant rumor that a certain big game may land here as well that won't hurt
the yes the big game that has been discussed I think you know nothing has been confirmed
obviously I think it's it's probably more a matter of when than if um but but obviously
something like that you know you know when you go into these types of agreements that's that's the
potential and and that's you know that's a great experience and that's great exposure that we have
but I think what's what's really cool is to see how national has just absolutely exploded and it's
where people want to come more and more conferences are coming here you're going to start to see you
know not just that big game but you're going to start to see you know other championships both
football and basketball you know there's the potential for those to be here you have you already
have big name concerts and things that happen here but you know I was talking to a you know a
peer of mine that's at Marriott and he was telling me that he had their entire sales force was here
for a big conference and I think that just shows the strength of Nashville and the community here
and how we've we're continuing to kind of build up the community here to do business in and have
people come and visit and see what the city has to offer motor sports Nissan's active in Formula E
and that opens up a very different set of marketing opportunities um more than just traditional
motorsport what does Formula E do for Nissan from a brand standpoint Jamie for me the important
thing about Formula E and we've been involved with Formula E since 2017 I think it was the
it was the December of 2017 actually is when we had our first race but it's really about taking
track to road and road to track and it's about getting that transfer of technology from what we
have in the race cars into our road cars and vice versa and so and I think it's not sticker on a car
which sometimes you've seen but it's really about that transfer of technology and I think you know
when you think about an electric racing series it's all about battery management it's all about
you know kind of that performance management piece of it and that's the same exact thing that we
think about with our electric powertrains and with our hybrid powertrains I think it's also it's
unique it's cool it's a different type of racing what we've seen in the demographics is that
it's actually a much more family type race than what we see in some of the other motorsports
and so it helps us to to get you know to gain kind of a following with with different types of
consumers and what you see in traditional motorsports how do you market around racing in a way that
makes it feel accessible instead of niche yeah to me it's all about social media and the social
media team for our Formula E team they're absolutely incredible I think they were they're
probably one of the best social media teams I'm going to go ahead and say it across any manufacturer
actually because they're really setting the tone for what's happening in culture what are the trends
that are happening in social media and I think that makes it much more accessible than some of the
other racing series that you have that can feel more enthusiast focused I think it's it's a much
more accessible race and we try to do that by creating really engaging social media content
just in the time that we have left with you a couple of final things this is your you're one
of the few guests who's actually been on twice on cars and culture what does cars and culture now
mean to you personally after living in another corner of the world and coming back and all the
things you've done to me cars are the connector and I it's been like that since I was young I mean
it's the it's what connected me to my dad it's what connected me to my brothers it is the connector
and even I saw at Coachella this past weekend you know you have Sabrina Carpenter driving off in a
classic car it cars are the canal or the connector and there is such a connection to culture that's
happening so to me the two aren't mutually exclusive they exist together yeah and the cultural
relevance that you picked up while in car culture crazy japan must be it's shocking isn't it it's
wild I you know living in Tokyo and seeing on the weekends there would be an early morning
kind of tour that would be all GTRs and it was the coolest thing to be walking down I lived in
the Shibuya area yeah be the coolest thing to be walking down the street and just see this whole
line of GTRs and you know you're first of all the cars are amazing and it's kind of every
generation so you're seeing that and then you know you're just you're as an employee and a
member of the company you're just so proud that there's an actual cult that's being you know
and culture that's being established for this and we had um we had a lot of content creators
that came to Japan we did a big brand trip with them a couple years ago and Emilia Hartford is
one of them she's been on this program yeah she's amazing she's wonderful and we were we were all
having dinner and we were kind of walking back and I think we were probably going to a karaoke
bar if I'm being honest but I'm sure you were and we saw all of these GTRs kind of pull into
this garage and it was the secret garage for where this this tour was and so we all just kind of like
just sat there drooling and just watching all these incredible cars going to this garage
brand loyalty especially with younger consumers is it changing is it weaker than it used to be
is it just earned differently I think it's earned differently um I think of you know I I think it's
earned differently I think there's a lot of discussion about do you know do younger um
younger generations want to drive you know I think you're going to see it in pockets obviously
this is going to vary depending on what parts of the country that you're in but you are going to
we are still seeing people that are very interested in cars um my husband has teenage sons they could
not be more interested in cars yeah and so I you know and I think to the point that his oldest is
16 and you know the day that he turned 16 he got his driver's license and so I think again it's
going to vary I think how you earn that is going to be different they want to see much more engagement
they want to see a lot more transparency from brands they want to feel like they're not being
talked at they want to be part of a conversation and I think that's how you engage with younger
customers consumers today I mean they really want a lot from brands though don't they they want that
what you just they want authenticity they want utility yeah values yes entertainment experience
how in the world do you prioritize all of that without diluting the brand yeah to me you can't
be everything no we can't and I I think the key things are really understanding who you are as a
brand so for us you know this quality durability reliability that's our foundation we have been
this challenger brand over the years how do we lean into that edginess that we have those things
are all consistent how we reach people and the different channels and the different stories that
they that we tell you know the messaging is going to be consistent it's the how that kind of varies
depending on who the audience is and what the channel is and so again I think you have to really
understand who you are as a brand know who you are as a brand and then how you reach consumers
that's where you start to get a little bit more of the diversity in that but I you know to me
and technology has really opened up a different way for us to can be communicating with people
because there are things that we can do now and be much more personalized to different people
based on their individual interests than we have ever been you know in the past in marketing and so
I don't get I'm not afraid of it at all that we have to do so many different things and you
know by the way the budgets aren't exponentially growing either but we have that technology that
becomes a huge enabler for us you've been incredibly successful and had a multi multi-layered path
in terms of your direction when younger women in the industry look at what you've done
what do you hope they take from it I I'm not sure anyone's ever asked me that question
I think that I think they will take from it somebody that is took a lot of chances
and took some big bets on herself and I think I I hope that that's what they take away I think
the other piece of it is that I had a lot of support and I had a lot of people throughout my
career that had been huge champions for me and the importance of finding those people and it
wasn't you know I sought them out I was the I was the annoying you know person I was like
what you meant for me and I just want to learn about this thing and um so I think there's that
piece of it but you know it kind of you know I've had people that have supported me big time
Alfonso Abiza is an example of one of them and then I've also just like I've gone for it I've
gone for it in ways you know I've moved across the world I've you know I've taken a lot of
big chances and a lot of big bets on myself yeah what advice would you give to somebody
who's coming into marketing right now I think um the biggest thing is learn try to be be curious
be curious about everything um things are going to change marketing is going to change it's not
there's nothing that's going to be static and so be very very curious about everything all
of the trends you know and I think over time you learn which ones to lean in on and which ones you
wait and see on but just be curious that's that's my biggest piece of advice and and don't don't get
too concerned especially in marketing don't get so concerned about you want to be in this one role
at this date like you your career takes so many different twists and turns and we were talking
about this a little bit last night you you cannot predict where it's going to go I never knew that
this type of role existed when I was first starting out and you know you just kind of
navigate through that so so don't don't be so prescriptive well you weren't even necessarily
you reminded me you weren't even necessarily supposed to even do this no no exactly I was
supposed to be an accountant I mean that's the twist and turn yes exactly that nobody really knows
yeah yeah what still excites you about what you're doing I mean you're you're you're back a year
you've now settled back in you've moved back into the house that you had before I think right
so you probably still go get your groceries every day because that's what you did before
but but what excites you about what you're doing right now I'm excited about what's ahead for us
as a company I'm excited by that I'm excited about you know I'm excited about our turnaround
so that that to me is really exciting I'm excited about how passionate our team members are around
the world and especially that you know what we see here in the US I'm excited by that so
to me it's just more about I know what's coming up I know what's going to be there that's what
motivates me you've seen the plan I've seen the plan I have so much confidence in our leadership I
you know Yvonne I've known for years and and you know I'm just excited by the energy that we have
from a marketing standpoint I'm very very excited that you know technology is able has now is now
enabling us to overcome a lot of things that were barriers in the past and I'm just excited
that we can have more personalized conversations with consumers now than you know just this ivory
tower you know talking talking at people I'm glad we're done with those days yeah indeed well we
have to commit to each other that we're not going to wait another four or five years to have another
another round and another catch up I think the next time we get together the the Nissan story
will be even more exciting yes and and that challenger status will have switched more to
champion status going forward I believe it thoughtful energetic really revealing not just
about Nissan but about how marketing has really changed and evolved and about your own journey
so thank you so much for coming into studio today and having me in Nashville which has been wonderful
and I look forward to coming back and being with you again next time always a pleasure thank you
very much for having me on thank you Allison thank you thanks again to my guest Allison
Witherspoon CMO at Nissan from the Nashville Sirius XM studios to see more cars and culture
interviews visit the cars and culture youtube channel subscribe comment check out hundreds
of conversations with the creators collectors and culture makers who are driving this industry
forward that's this week's episode number 247 I'm your host Jason Stein we'll see you down the road
About this episode
Allyson Witherspoon, Nissan’s CMO, shares how a four-year Japan stint reshaped her leadership style and communication—moving from Western “quick alignment” to Japan’s hierarchical buy-in process (nemawashi). Back in the U.S., she’s focused on rebuilding Nissan’s consideration by “back to basics” marketing: quality, durability, reliability, safety, and affordability, supported by behind-the-scenes testing content and always-on digital storytelling. She also highlights Nissan’s hybrid e-Power (Rogue) and challenger-brand momentum, plus long-running sports marketing with Heisman House and a new 20-year Titans stadium partnership.
