Nissan Canada announces winner of the "Nissan Innovation Challenge"

- Fully-integrated marketing contest challenged Canadians to create the next Nissan television commercial and win a Nissan vehicle -

MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 30, 2012 /CNW/ - Last night, Nissan Canada announced the winner of the Nissan Innovation Challenge in a 30-minute television show on CityTV. Kelly Ruest, a mother of two from Cornwall, Ontario, pitched her winning advertising idea on Facebook and focused on the themes of innovation and technology, demonstrated through a family road trip. Kelly's concept has been developed into a 30-second national television spot which premiered yesterday during the Nissan Innovation Challenge episode on CityTV, and will air regularly on conventional and speciality channels across Canada.

"At Nissan, we recognize that now more than ever, advertising is about listening and talking to customers and prospects to best understand their ideas and needs," says Judy Wheeler, Director of Marketing for Nissan Canada. "Social media was a perfect way for us to accomplish this level of engagement. During this contest, we were delighted to discover just how enthusiastic Canadians are about Nissan's exciting vehicle line-up, as seen through the thousands of creative responses we received to 'define innovation'."

Kelly Ruest's successful pitch portrayed a Canadian family embarking on a road-trip in a Nissan that makes every stretch of the journey as enjoyable as the destination, effectively eliminating the question, "Are we there yet?" Kelly is set to enjoy many comfortable road trips with her own family in the vehicle she selected as her grand prize, a 2012 Nissan Murano Platinum Edition.

About the Nissan Innovation Challenge

The three-phase contest launched in November of 2011, when Nissan tried a new approach to marketing by pursuing the voice of the consumer to develop the next Nissan commercial. Nissan challenged Canadians to define in 140-characters or less, what innovation means to them. After receiving over eight thousand submissions, the expert panel of judges consisting of executives from Nissan Canada, and two of its agencies, TBWA and Capital C, narrowed it down to 200. The evaluation of the submissions was based on the following criteria: clear/concise communication, emotion, and creativity and originality.

Those 200 semi-finalists then submitted on Facebook, a short, simple video to pitch his or her commercial idea, connecting their representation of 'innovation' to a specific Nissan nameplate. The next phase of the contest brought in an expanded panel of judges - Nissan Canada's thriving Facebook community, which has doubled since the contest announcement and recently surpassed 50,000 likers. Facebook fans then voted on their favourite video to shortlist the entrants down to five. Those five individuals flew to Toronto, where they pitched their ideas in-person to Judy Wheeler, Director of Marketing for Nissan Canada, Jay Bertram, President of TBWA Canada and Latin America, and Tony Chapman, CEO of Capital C.

A prime example of integrated marketing, the Nissan Innovation Challenge involved webisodes aptly shared on Facebook, and putting that audience in front of their televisions for the final phase. Initially, the final webisode was to be published on Facebook only, but with the involvement of Nissan's media-buying agency, OMD, Rogers Media decided to air the content through a 30-minute television spot.

"We are so grateful to our Facebook and television audiences for providing their feedback and for voting on the entries - with their support, we have defined a new approach to our marketing campaigns," concluded Wheeler. "A special thanks goes to Kelly, whose sincerity and ingenuity is apparent in the television spot she created, and one which we are immensely proud to air under the Nissan brand."

Visit the Nissan Canada media site to view the final television spot: http://nissannews.com/en-CA/nissan/canada/. To view the finalist's submissions and webisodes, visit: the Nissan Canada Facebook page: (www.facebook.com/nissancanada)

About Nissan Canada Inc.
Nissan Canada Inc. (NCI) is the Canadian sales, marketing and distribution subsidiary of Nissan Motor Limited and Nissan North America, Inc. With offices in Vancouver (BC), Mississauga (ON), and Kirkland (QC), NCI directly employs 250 full-time staff. There are 175 independent Nissan dealerships and 29 Infiniti retailers across Canada. A pioneer in zero emission mobility, Nissan made history with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF, the first affordable, mass-market, pure-electric vehicle and winner of numerous international accolades including the prestigious 2011 European Car of the Year and World Car of the Year awards. More information about Nissan in Canada and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.nissan.ca and www.infiniti.ca.

About Nissan
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 248,000 employees globally, Nissan provided customers with more than 4.1 million vehicles in 2010, generating revenue of 8.77 trillion yen ($102.37 billion U.S.). With a strong commitment to developing exciting and innovative products for all, Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of 64 models under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. A pioneer in zero-emission mobility, Nissan made history with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF, the first affordable, mass-market, pure-electric vehicle and winner of numerous international accolades, including the prestigious 2011 European Car of the Year award and 2011 World Car of the Year. For more information on our products, services and commitment to Sustainable Mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/.

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