Nissan North America Expands Online Advertising Alliance With Microsoft

“Nissan’s target audience is adopting an increasingly mobile lifestyle, and the amount of time consumers spend online is rising significantly,” said Jan Thompson, vice president of marketing at NNA. “Broadening our relationship with Microsoft will enable us to deliver targeted messages to consumers across a diverse online network.”

Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions is designed to connect advertisers with their target audiences across such devices as PCs, Xbox video game systems, Web-enabled mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Through these channels, advertisers can reach more than 465 million consumers each month across the MSN network and millions more through Windows Live, Xbox Live® and Microsoft Office Online.

“Nissan North America is demonstrating exceptional vision and bold leadership with its commitment to make the Internet a cornerstone of its advertising strategy in this alliance with Microsoft,” said Eric Hadley, general manager of global marketing at Microsoft. “With unique, diverse and flexible assets that Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions can provide, Nissan is extremely well-positioned to reach consumers at every stage of the automotive buying cycle.”

Key parts of this alliance will include sponsorship of the “Forza Motorsport™ 2” console game on Xbox 360® and global tournament on Xbox Live, a co-branded “blogazine” for Infiniti on MSN called “Open for Design” (http://openfordesign.msn.com), search advertising with Microsoft adCenter, behavioral targeting, and participation in pilot advertising programs within Windows Mobile and Microsoft Office Live. Central to the alliance is a customized regional dealer strategy that involves the embedding of Nissan and Infiniti dealerships into Live Local Search mapping technology and geo-targeted advertising for dealerships.

Source: Nissan