S7E6: Nissan, AI, and the Future of Automotive Marketing
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Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. The higher the horsepower, the faster and more powerful the car can be.
Concept
Formula E
Formula E is a racing series where all the cars are electric. The races take place in cities and focus on clean energy and technology.
Concept
Formula One
Formula One is a top-level car racing series where the fastest cars and best drivers compete in races called Grands Prix. It's famous for its exciting races and advanced technology in the cars.
Concept
electrification
Electrification means using electric power instead of gasoline or diesel to run cars. It helps make cars more environmentally friendly by reducing pollution.
Car
Nissan Leaf
The Nissan Leaf is an electric car that was one of the first widely available in the United States. It runs on electricity instead of gasoline, making it more environmentally friendly.
Car
Nissan Maxima
The Nissan Maxima is a larger car that offers a mix of comfort and sportiness. It's designed to be both practical and fun to drive.
Car
Nissan Z
The Nissan Z is a line of sporty cars from Nissan that are designed for performance and driving enjoyment. They are known for being fun to drive and have a long history.
Car
Nissan GT-R
The Nissan GT-R is a fast sports car that is famous for its performance on race tracks. It's known for being very powerful and technologically advanced.
Car
Oldsmobile Intrigue
The Oldsmobile Intrigue is a type of car that was made by the Oldsmobile company, which is no longer around. It’s a comfortable four-door sedan that was popular for a few years, and people talk about it because it represents a time when American cars were changing a lot.
Term
EVs
EVs stand for electric vehicles, which are cars that run on electricity instead of gas. They are better for the environment and can save you money on fuel.
Car
Rogue Hybrid e-Power
The Rogue Hybrid e-Power is a type of Nissan SUV that uses both electricity and gas to run. This makes it more efficient and better for the environment compared to regular gas-only cars.
Term
hybrid vehicle
A hybrid vehicle uses both a gas engine and an electric motor. This helps save fuel and produce less pollution compared to regular cars that only use gas.
Term
C-SUV segment
The C-SUV segment includes smaller SUVs that are popular for families because they are easy to drive and have plenty of space. They are bigger than small cars but not as big as larger SUVs.
Term
hybrid e-power technology
Hybrid e-power technology is a way to use both electricity and gasoline to power a car. It gives you the benefits of an electric car, like smooth driving, but you don’t have to worry about charging it like a regular electric car.
Term
EV
EV means electric vehicle, which is a car that runs only on electricity instead of gas. They are better for the environment and can save money on fuel.
Car
Nissan Xtrail
The Nissan X-Trail e-Power is a type of SUV that combines a gasoline engine with electric power to improve fuel efficiency. It works by using electricity to drive the wheels while the engine helps recharge the battery.
Car
Nissan Kicks
The Nissan Kicks is a smaller SUV that's great for city driving. It's stylish and has good gas mileage, making it popular among younger people.
LIVE
Welcome to the AI Auto podcast with Javier Moda, your front row seat to where artificial
intelligence meets horse power.
Well today we're spending day two of the Formula E event here in Miami with Jose Carlos De
Mier from keautocompa.com.
How are you?
Hi.
Very good.
Very good.
Very happy to have Allison here with us.
Yeah.
Hi.
Allison from Nissan.
First of all, thank you for having us.
Of course.
Here, this is a fantastic event.
Last year was at the Miami Homestead Speedway.
Yep.
This is like an upgrade.
This is like going from economy class to first class in a plane.
It's also just nice because the setup here is, it's set up for racing, which I think
is what's really nice.
And it's been interesting to see the evolution of the Formula E racing as well and kind of
to be in this type of setting now.
So I mean, it says in the title for the podcast, but tell us your title, your official title,
what do you do and why this is important for Nissan.
So I'm Nissan's Chief Marketing Officer.
So I'm responsible for all of the consumer-facing messaging and communications, marketing investment,
all of the experiential activations that we have.
So yeah, I guess I'm the Chief Storyteller for consumers.
That's great.
Yeah.
A lot of stories.
Yes.
Yes, we have a lot of great stories to tell.
We were looking at your profile in LinkedIn and I saw that you are very interested in
AI, right?
Yes.
And that AI with the consumer, how it works.
Before you enter me, because I just changed the name of this podcast to the IA Auto Podcast.
Okay.
Oh, very nice.
And I've been interviewing the podcast.
Yeah.
It's kind of interesting.
Nice.
Exactly.
Yeah, exactly.
That's good.
You can be the machine.
No, that's really good.
You're not a machine, obviously.
Actually, it's funny, because my team has developed an agent called the Wither Twin.
Oh, yeah?
So my last name is Witherspoon.
So they have a Wither Twin to kind of check ideas against and...
So like your clone?
It's kind of my clone.
Yeah.
Oh, wow.
It's actually an agent information that they have.
What does it do?
That's a good idea.
Basically, and we've actually done the same thing with dealer feedback, actually.
So we've created another agent to kind of create a synthetic version of what the dealer
needs are.
But my team has also created one that's for me.
So they've taken kind of everything that I've published and all of the interviews that
I've done and created a model.
And so whenever they're testing out new ideas, they put it through the Wither Twin.
Oh, it's public?
I don't know.
It's not public.
It's not public.
Oh, okay.
It works pretty well.
You like it?
It works pretty well.
So they kind of...
I didn't know that they had done this.
But then they had shown it to me later.
I was like, well, is the Wither Twin correct?
Did I do the same thing?
And so they said it's pretty spot on.
But that's the thing about AI.
I mean, obviously it's not 100% correct, but it's feeding out of what it's out there,
right?
Exactly.
It's taking all those inputs.
So you take that and that's how you create the model of the data and then whatever it
is that you need to prompt.
So for us, it's a new idea.
Is it new kind of concepts?
Is it new media plans, things like that?
So they feed that through the Wither Twin to kind of, you know, it's the gut check, I
guess.
So this podcast is going to obviously going to be public and hopefully...
I don't ruin your twin teeth.
I know.
I had to be consistent.
Yeah, exactly.
So I'm part of the team.
I know.
This is...
Yeah, I'm real.
I'm in person.
Yeah, well, it can influence the other ones, right?
I know.
Oh, actually, I could.
Yeah.
I could really mess it up.
I mean, I know the project that the dealer has in Mexico is Colcaito and it's also an
agentic, very interesting initiative.
But on that sense, how it works, they teach it, they give the agent information about
you.
Yeah, so essentially what they do, and I can talk about what they've done for the Wither
Twin and what we've also created for our dealers as well, but essentially they feed
it with all of my feedback.
And so it's kind of feedback, whether it's coming from meetings or if it's interviews
that I've done or things that I've written and published, all of that is fed into it
as...and so then they kind of use that as a way to gut-check and bounce ideas off it
before they actually take it to me.
So they try to kind of use it to predict how I'll respond to it.
Wow.
And how does that feel?
Like, you feel pressured by it?
You feel like...
I didn't know that it was happening and then they told me about it and I thought that that
was really smart because it's a way to gut-check ideas and I think in the creative space and
in the marketing space and I think you both know very well, coming up with something new
can be difficult and so you always need something to bounce ideas off of and so I thought it
was really interesting.
And the same thing, that's how we're also using...we created an agenda tool that represents
our dealers and the voice of our dealers and so we actually have that where we've modeled
the data based on survey data and dealer insights.
We have it that comes from some of the information that we get but also public information that's
available.
And so we use...so we have new ideas that we're trying to test out new programs.
We feed it through this page.
So we have had any feedback already from customers because I think a lot of people in general,
I'm not talking about automotive or being general, but it's spectacle about it.
I mean, some people don't want to believe it, especially with images, like they say that's
not...or videos.
I mean, the new videos that AA creates are insane.
I saw one yesterday, an Italian wedding in an old village and they're celebrating in
the balcony and the balcony collapsed.
Yes, I think I've seen this one.
Well, but then like somebody says, there's not even a door on the wall.
So like, how did they go out to the balcony?
But so like, it's very tricky.
So have you got any feedback from what already is out for the dealerships?
It is tricky.
I mean, I think for right now, we have...right now we're using a combination.
We have some of our still assets as an example are our AI and we've actually been able...what's
really interesting about it is that we can create backgrounds that are fully generated
by AI, that it would take a significant amount of investment to actually produce and just
the scale of it was...we weren't able to do so.
As an example, in the case of the US, we have over 200 DMAs that we have, our dealer groups
are in.
DMAs?
A different dealership marketing area.
And a lot of times, the feedback that we get from our dealers is that they want more local
imagery.
So in the case of Miami, you want to have palm trees and beaches.
In the case of the mountains, you want mountains.
To try to shoot all that content and to create, you know, 200 different versions of it is
incredibly expensive and time consuming.
What we're able to do is with the genetic AI is we're able to create those backgrounds
and it's much more tricky.
You remind me of a story actually.
Like, years ago, this is maybe 10, 15 years ago, there was a Nissan, actually it was Nissan,
a marketing campaign with some radio personality from LA in Spanish and he said, hola, soy
Pepe Lopez de Los Angeles, Erin in Miami, and I didn't make any sense, I cheated it.
So why first you're talking to me, I don't know who you are, if it was some Miami radio
personality that worked, but now this is what it's actually doing, that's a perfect
example.
And I think there was always the question of whether or not that performed and was the
performance going to be, you know, justify the actual, the additional expense to do something
like that and what we're able to do is test this local imagery and again, it's kind of
at the very end of some of the content that we have and even in some of the still assets
that we have and actually performs much better when you have just a little bit of that, you
know, localization becomes really important for consumers.
And so that, so we started to roll that out nationwide.
I think video, the AI is not quite there yet, especially for longer form video.
So we haven't really been using fully AI generated video content.
We are, we have been using over the last year, much more of a hybrid.
So it's live action, it's CGI and it's AI.
So I think that's where we'll be for at least kind of this year, next year, you never know
because the technology is progressing so quickly.
But I think that's where we'll be for at least the foreseeable future, which will, it will
be some sort of hybrid, especially when you have longer form content.
As an expert in marketing, I mean, it's an exciting time.
Yes.
It keep us pretty busy too.
But how do you envision how these new marketing strategies to tactics are helping Nissan in
this moment that is so important for the brand in U.S. and worldwide?
Yeah, absolutely.
I think the way that I see it is that I think, you know, the principles of marketing are
always the same.
It's about what do we understand over consumers and how do we reach them and what do we say
to them that's going to encourage them to consider us, take action, things like that.
So the principles are always the same.
How we reach them, now we have many more tools that we had that were not available before.
So I see the technology as an accelerator for us, and it's a way for us to do things
and remove barriers that we've had in the past, as I explained with kind of these 200
different types of assets that we needed to produce.
I think we're also able to get two things quicker.
To me, it's not just about productivity or efficiency.
It's about unlocking new insights.
It's about unlocking different ways for us to look and solve marketing problems and
creative problems that we have.
So I look at it as more of an accelerator and a tool as opposed to completely changing
the strategy.
So this event, obviously Formula One, not only this event, but the whole series that
you've been in it from a long time already, helps that.
So what's the marketing message for consumers, not only about the race, but also electrification
for consumer cars, because this is still, people don't believe it, don't want it.
They don't like the sound, or they want more sound, or like all those other things we
believe is.
I think what we've been seeing with Formula E and we've been involved since 2017 was
actually when we were the first Japanese automotive brand that was entered into it, into the racing
series.
What we've always looked at it as, and we've been pioneers when it comes to electrification,
the Nissan Leaf was the first mass produced electric vehicle that was ever sold in the
U.S.
We have billions and billions of miles that have been driven in the Nissan Leaf.
What we want to do is take the performance, again, as you know, we have also a long legacy
in performance with GTR and Z, Maxima, just some of the iconic cars that we've been selling
over the past decades.
But we really want to take what we're learning on the track and how do you apply that into
the road cars.
And so there's a transfer of technology, especially around battery management, energy management,
all of that gets transferred into what we're doing on the electrification side.
I think we can talk, we can do videos, we can do podcasts, stories and all that, but
as long as people don't get into an EV and they don't experience it, so that's kind
of difficult, right?
It is.
No, it's definitely difficult.
And that's why I think you have to, you know, for us, it's all about making the experience
fun and accessible for consumers.
I think accessibility is such an important piece for consumers right now, not just in
the U.S., but globally, affordability of vehicles.
It's, you know, exponentially skyrocketed over the last several years.
We want to make sure that this technology is accessible to all demographics, all, demographics,
all audiences.
And I think that's what's interesting.
And then I think it's also what are ways that we can use events like Formula E in a
market like Miami, where we know we have a very diverse, you know, demographic that's
here.
We know that there's a propensity for racing.
How do we pull them in and help tell the story that we have around electrification
and the Nissan Leaf?
And our activation space, if you ever see some pictures on it, for whoever's listening,
just take a look.
There's a giant racing helmet.
I know.
Pink.
Yeah, with our Sakura, our Cherry Blossoms, but we've got the, we have kind of a full
walkthrough.
We're asking everyone to get into the Nissan Leaf to experience.
This is, you know, the newest generation of the Leaf.
This is the third generation, but really getting them into the car to experience that.
And then we're getting them into a racing simulator to see what it's like to be one
of our drivers.
And so I think that's the key.
I think how do you intrigue people?
How do you let them know how practical EVs can be?
I think the other thing too is that we have the rogue hybrid e-power is going to be coming
out in the U.S. towards the end of this year.
We want to take everything that we've learned around electrification.
Again, decades, we were first to, first in mass market in electrification.
How do we bring all that technology, but offer it in a hybrid type vehicle?
And so we're excited to use Formula E and all of our learnings from electrification
as we're introducing the rogue hybrid e-power.
Cool.
You give us an important piece of information with the e-power, which is great, but probably
you can't talk about the model, but in which segment are you going to come with the e-power?
So in the case of the U.S., it'll come in the rogue.
So CESUV segment, this is the number one segment in the U.S., most popular.
It's where everyone's looking.
It's a family vehicle.
It's looking to really kind of do A to B, but what we've seen with these consumers is
that they want something adventurous.
They're looking for something that's just a little bit outside of the norm, and we think
that our hybrid e-power technology really provides that differentiator, because it is
a very EV-like driving experience, but you don't have some of the barriers that EV has.
So you don't have to plug it in, you do have a gas engine.
It is, you know, it is a much more, I think, practical approach to a hybrid than what we're
seeing, you know, kind of other offerings that are out there.
We know the technology, because of Mexico, we have the ability to drive some of the kicks
there.
Yeah, and it's fun.
It's fun.
It's fun.
I lived in Japan, I lived there for the last couple of years, and we had an X-Trail e-power,
which is the rogue.
So, and I think the other thing too is offering it in great vehicles, like in Mexico we have
it on the kicks, U.S. it will be introduced on the rogue, but again, that's because this
is the number one segment in the U.S. This is what buyers are really looking for.
Coming back to U.S. market, minorities, and especially the Latinos, how do you department
reach them, or what you can tell some of the strategies that you use?
Yeah, not that I like guys from, not that the radio personality from LA in Miami.
Yes, exactly.
I'm going to have to look into that one.
I think I know which one you're talking about from the beginning.
Don't repeat.
Yeah, exactly.
I mean, the key thing is Nissan has been a very, we have a long history of being a very
multicultural brand, almost 40% of our customers are multicultural, Hispanic is a huge part
of that.
So, what we've been trying to do is make sure that we're connecting with these communities
around the U.S., and there are kind of some key pockets where we really see that Miami
is an example of it, but how do we do things like racing?
We know that these audiences have this propensity towards racing.
We know that we have both English language and Spanish language.
Where are they, how are they consuming content?
How are they consuming media?
So we align with those communities and the programming and the content that we're watching,
that they're watching, and then it's things like through media partnerships that we have,
it's through content creators that we work with, and then I think it's just also about
making sure that we're getting those insights in real time, which I think through social
media, there's a great way for us to be able to connect with them.
Obviously, in Mexico, we have a, we're the number one market share in Mexico, and so
we're also trying to tap into those communities as well.
So anyone that's Mexican-American, that's in the U.S., we know we want to connect with
them because they have familiarity with the brand and our products.
That's 50%.
Yeah.
All right.
So I'm going to show my, or reveal my ignorance, how we reveal it, ask for it on Instagram.
I didn't know the Nissan, the numbers, the one, two, three, I love that little story.
And Jose was telling me, oh, you idiot, it's in the needle, like Nissan.
So anyway, I mean, that's fantastic.
I mean, I would, I mean, there must be a lot of people, not maybe it's as stupid as me,
but people don't know it, and that's kind of a cute story.
Exactly.
And I think that's actually why we wanted to bring that to the forefront.
Internally, we have, we talked a lot about five, five, two, three.
Yeah.
It's kind of an important number for us.
So in Japanese, that is go, go, Nissan.
So that's Japanese.
So the five is go.
So the numbers are E, T, no.
E, T, N, Nissan.
Not one, two, three.
Yeah, exactly.
E, T, N, Nissan, your own go.
Go.
Go is five.
Okay.
And so I think we thought that that was really interesting.
And again, I was, I was in, I worked in Japan for four years over the last several years.
And one of our, our lead, our head designers, our global chief design officer is Alfonso.
Alfonso from Miami.
He's Cuban.
One of from Miami.
Yup, he's from Miami.
I think when I originally saw the first leaf in a very early kind of concept design,
they had all these Easter eggs of the two three that were kind of sprinkled throughout the vehicle.
And we thought that that was a really good way to bring forward this Nissan piece of it.
So even here at the Formula E activation that we have in the giant racing helmet,
we talk about the two three and in the meeting behind that.
Going back to the Hispanic messaging, I have to admit, and then Jose will agree,
you have a tough job because the Hispanic marketing LA is very different from LA.
Yes.
From New York.
Yes.
From Dallas, from Orlando, even three hours up here, here is completely different.
And even in Miami, you have the Colombians, the Argentinians, the Chileans, and like the
Mexicans, the Spaniards.
So I admit it's not an issue.
So your twin is helping now.
My twin is Alvin.
I think speaks all the languages.
All right, exactly.
And the different accents and little.
And I think that's where technology really helps because, you know, as you're saying,
multicultural doesn't mean one group.
It actually means hundreds of different types of communities.
So it isn't just Mexican.
It is Colombian.
It is Cuban.
And those, they're going to have different pockets in different parts of the country.
If you think about it, I lived in New York for years.
You know, that's a melting pot very similar to Miami.
And so you can't lump multicultural into just one group of like, this is multicultural.
You have to understand that you're going to have layers and layers of different cultures,
different connection points, different ways that consumers are consuming media.
And how do you connect with them?
It cannot be one size fits all.
And I think that's where technology and especially the way that we're able to reach consumers now,
which is in a lot more precision way, that really unlocks new opportunities for us to
be connecting with these different types of consumers.
OK, so to close this, you heard your twin already, right?
Yes.
You had different voice?
I think right now it's just text based.
Oh, OK.
No audio yet.
No, I was going to ask you to imitate it.
I hope it sounds like me.
Well, thank you very much for the time for bringing us here.
And speaking of marketing, there were other companies that talked to us to come here.
And we came with Nissan.
Oh, that's amazing to hear.
It was Cupra, Mahindra, all the other ones that are here.
So thank you for Nissan.
You came with the World Champion.
Yeah, exactly.
That's right.
This is the thing that we are developing as an entity.
You can choose voices, people.
I mean, you know everything about this.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
That's it for today's AI Auto podcast with Javier Moda.
Hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we did.
Tune in next time for more on how AI steering the wheel of tomorrow's autos.
Drive safe, stay curious and catch you later.
About this episode
Exploring the intersection of AI and automotive marketing, this episode features Jose Carlos De Mier and Allison, Nissan's Chief Marketing Officer. They discuss the innovative use of AI in marketing strategies, including the creation of the 'Wither Twin' agent to simulate feedback and ideas. The conversation highlights the importance of localized content in advertising and how Nissan leverages technology to enhance consumer experiences, particularly in the context of electrification and Formula E racing. The episode offers insights into the future of marketing in the automotive industry.
Original notes
Recorded during the Formula E Miami e-Prix 2026, this episode features a conversation with Allyson Witherspoon, CMO of Nissan USA. We explore how Nissan is combining global motorsport events with AI-driven marketing tools to evolve brand storytelling, fan engagement, and digital strategy.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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