Case study: Making the CubeList
By Simon Fuller. Nissan nous. Launching its new Cube model at the start of the year, Nissan didn’t do anything by halves. Not content with bringing London’s Brick Lane its own Nissan Store, the brand also revved up an online community, the CubeList.
Entrance is by invite only – you can ask for one though, requiring you to fill in a profile which is then ‘reviewed’ by Nissan. And even if you’re accepted, until you get Membership Plus status, you won’t see all of the CubeList site’s features. Making the CubeList all a bit exclusive.
“The strategy was about us creating an influencer community, people who are of particular mindset, interests and lifestyle,” says Mark Kinnard, category manager for Nissan city cars and the Cube. “With Cube, it was about reaching the few that influence the masses and creating an online community via Cubelist was the perfect solution for this.”
But even the refuseniks can explore the raft of features on the site – including games and experiences based around each of the six senses. That’s right, a half-dozen. Nissan have added ‘movement’ to the standard five to fit the Cubist theme.
Users can also customise their very own Cube in what presumably must be the world’s first production factory simulator. Here, they can choose to add wind deflectors, change the colour of your Cube, alter its floor mats, and finally, take their little car ‘for a spin’ – with a neat mini-game in which they control their Cube by flicking a mouse around the screen, causing the car to career all over the place. More fun than it sounds.
And for those who want to experience the Cube away from their computers, there are ongoing events throughout February, including trips to Japanese restaurants – driven by a Nissan driver in a Cube, naturally – to sample both some top-notch cuisine and the car itself. However, only the first to subscribe to each event get a place.
Nissan has also been supporting their CubeList microsite with a Facebook page. According to Nissan, there are no worries about exposing the Cube to the masses via social networking – any debate is good.
“With Cube we know that its provokes a reaction, [either] ‘positive’ or ‘negative’,” says Kinnard. “We are all about sparking that debate and linking it to design. Good design has its lovers and haters and we are keen to hear what people have to say and have not been fearful [of] it.”
