markettiers4dc were in the driving seat as March 18th became an historic date for the UK automotive industry as Nissan announced they would be producing the world’s first affordable mass produced zero emission car, the LEAF, at their Sunderland plant.
The formal announcement from Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson and Nissan’s Global VP, Andy Palmer placed the UK and the North East region at the heart of the electric vehicle revolution signalling one of the biggest landmarks in British motoring history.
Just days separated the decision to base European production at Sunderland and the announcement itself so high-speed consultancy, logistical sophistication and our relationship with top tier media would be key in maximising Nissan’s voice alongside that of Lord Mandelson and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills whose loan in part had helped secure the Sunderland production win.
markettiers4dc immediately undertook an audit of existing B Roll, repackaging it to ensure all broadcasters could showcase the LEAF in its entirety, accentuating functionality and ‘normality’ to dispel current perceptions about what electric cars look like. Three senior Nissan senior executives were strategically placed around the UK (accompanied by their own Markettiers teams and crew) including the Sunderland plant itself, our own studios and Millbank/Department for Business, Innovation & Skills.
At 00:00hrs on the 18th, B-roll was distributed to all the major TV networks, the broadcast advisory was released and the verbal sell-in commenced. Broadcast invites were extended to the main photo-call and ‘reveal’ event in central London where all major broadcasters sent crews whilst markettiers4dc produced a bespoke video for the Nissan press office & automotive media.
The announcement and broadcast coverage thereof dominated the news agenda throughout the day despite other major government backed motoring announcements airing the same day. Nissan and the new LEAF garnered some of the strongest brand-owned automotive coverage seen in recent years.
Highlights included reports from Sky News, BBC One (1 o’clock News, 6 o’clock News), ITV Evening News featuring interviews beside the production line at Sunderland, down the line interviews to BBC Breakfast, GMTV, BBC World News, ITN, continuous rolling bulletins and B Roll on all key 24 hour news channels and a radio audience just shy of 40,000,000 including Radio 1 Newsbeat, Radio 4 Today Programme, Radio 5 Live Breakfast and tailored features & interviews with all local media.
Working collaboratively with a forward-thinking client on a landmark story, markettiers4dc and Nissan ensured very few households in Britain missed the good news that Britain would be leading the electric car revolution.