Nissan: Pino news
03-23-2007, 05:33 PM
#1
Race Director
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Illinois
Age: 45
Posts: 10,741
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nissan: Pino news
Women love Nissan's 'cute' car, the Pino
http://www.miamiherald.com/103/story/46694.html
The 11-foot-long Nissan Pino can come with pink bear-shaped cushions, seat covers with hearts, a CD case that looks like red lips and a colorful cover for a tissue box.
BY YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press
YOKOSUKA, Japan -- Ayano Sasao is defying the conventional wisdom that cars targeted to a niche consumer category like young women are doomed to fail.
The 18-year-old Japanese hospital worker just bought the Nissan Pino, a toylike minicar just 11 feet long with star-stamped upholstery, a hook for a handbag and a chic ''milk tea beige'' exterior -- although she says she almost went with the pink.
''It's so cute. I just love it,'' she said.
To make sure women like Sasao get the message, Nissan launched a merchandise line for Pino, including pink bear-shaped cushions, seat covers with hearts, a CD case that looks like red lips and a colorful cover for a tissue box.
Ironically, Pino isn't even made by Nissan, Japan's third-biggest automaker. It's made by Suzuki.
But under a manufacturing agreement, Nissan packages Suzuki's Alto model differently, with fancier seat fabric, a distinct front design and a hubcap inspired by a snowflake so the wheels appear to sparkle on the road -- all touches to give the car that cute look.
Nissan had 5,500 orders for the Pino in the first month since it went on sale in January, more than double the company target of 2,500 a month.
PRICE TAGS
Sasao knew Alto looked a lot like her Pino and was quite a bit cheaper. Pino starts at about $8,600, while Alto starts at $5,600. But she still was willing to spend more -- and take out a six-year auto loan -- for the Pino because she thought it was so much cuter.
While models such as sports cars or family minivans target segments of the population, auto companies generally avoid producing models aimed at narrow niche markets because they usually don't sell in numbers.
Toyota officials often say they don't believe in overly specific marketing tactics, which are apt to backfire for an automaker known for best-sellers like the Camry and Corolla.
And in most countries, experts tend to advise against making autos pink or adding other ''cute'' features to appeal to female drivers partly because that may smack of sexism and turn off women -- except in Japan.
Here, young women are extremely powerful in setting trends, and the culture of cute is so prevalent grown men aren't embarrassed about dangling little mascots from cellphones.
Also, Japanese consumers frequently use personal products to show off who they are, often buying designer-brand products to make a statement, said Kazuo Ikegami, marketing expert and professor at Rissho University.
''Product image is far more important for Japanese consumers than American consumers,'' Ikegami said. ``There's a much bigger element of personal identity in Japanese marketing.''
Even the advertising for Pino is tailored to women who are about 20 years old.
The pamphlet is manga-style, like a Japanese comic book, depicting the story of three young well-dressed women going shopping together, manicuring their nails to match the star-patterns on Pino seats, using aromatherapy oils in the car. The TV ads also tell a similar story.
Nissan marketing manager Miwa Ishii says one goal for Pino is to court young drivers to the Nissan brand with hopes they'll move on to buy more expensive models in the future.
Ishii said the Net store Nissan opened especially for Pino goodies is aimed at attracting online shoppers, who tend to live in areas far from the glitzy stores of Tokyo and other cities -- exactly the demographics of those who buy minicars.
''Rather than talk about the features of a minicar, we thought it's better to talk about how cute it is,'' she said. ``It's a new model. We're starting from zero to build public awareness about it.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/103/story/46694.html
The 11-foot-long Nissan Pino can come with pink bear-shaped cushions, seat covers with hearts, a CD case that looks like red lips and a colorful cover for a tissue box.
BY YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press
YOKOSUKA, Japan -- Ayano Sasao is defying the conventional wisdom that cars targeted to a niche consumer category like young women are doomed to fail.
The 18-year-old Japanese hospital worker just bought the Nissan Pino, a toylike minicar just 11 feet long with star-stamped upholstery, a hook for a handbag and a chic ''milk tea beige'' exterior -- although she says she almost went with the pink.
''It's so cute. I just love it,'' she said.
To make sure women like Sasao get the message, Nissan launched a merchandise line for Pino, including pink bear-shaped cushions, seat covers with hearts, a CD case that looks like red lips and a colorful cover for a tissue box.
Ironically, Pino isn't even made by Nissan, Japan's third-biggest automaker. It's made by Suzuki.
But under a manufacturing agreement, Nissan packages Suzuki's Alto model differently, with fancier seat fabric, a distinct front design and a hubcap inspired by a snowflake so the wheels appear to sparkle on the road -- all touches to give the car that cute look.
Nissan had 5,500 orders for the Pino in the first month since it went on sale in January, more than double the company target of 2,500 a month.
PRICE TAGS
Sasao knew Alto looked a lot like her Pino and was quite a bit cheaper. Pino starts at about $8,600, while Alto starts at $5,600. But she still was willing to spend more -- and take out a six-year auto loan -- for the Pino because she thought it was so much cuter.
While models such as sports cars or family minivans target segments of the population, auto companies generally avoid producing models aimed at narrow niche markets because they usually don't sell in numbers.
Toyota officials often say they don't believe in overly specific marketing tactics, which are apt to backfire for an automaker known for best-sellers like the Camry and Corolla.
And in most countries, experts tend to advise against making autos pink or adding other ''cute'' features to appeal to female drivers partly because that may smack of sexism and turn off women -- except in Japan.
Here, young women are extremely powerful in setting trends, and the culture of cute is so prevalent grown men aren't embarrassed about dangling little mascots from cellphones.
Also, Japanese consumers frequently use personal products to show off who they are, often buying designer-brand products to make a statement, said Kazuo Ikegami, marketing expert and professor at Rissho University.
''Product image is far more important for Japanese consumers than American consumers,'' Ikegami said. ``There's a much bigger element of personal identity in Japanese marketing.''
Even the advertising for Pino is tailored to women who are about 20 years old.
The pamphlet is manga-style, like a Japanese comic book, depicting the story of three young well-dressed women going shopping together, manicuring their nails to match the star-patterns on Pino seats, using aromatherapy oils in the car. The TV ads also tell a similar story.
Nissan marketing manager Miwa Ishii says one goal for Pino is to court young drivers to the Nissan brand with hopes they'll move on to buy more expensive models in the future.
Ishii said the Net store Nissan opened especially for Pino goodies is aimed at attracting online shoppers, who tend to live in areas far from the glitzy stores of Tokyo and other cities -- exactly the demographics of those who buy minicars.
''Rather than talk about the features of a minicar, we thought it's better to talk about how cute it is,'' she said. ``It's a new model. We're starting from zero to build public awareness about it.''
03-23-2007, 05:41 PM
#2
The sizzle in the Steak
Some women love ugly.
03-24-2007, 01:02 AM
#5
Senior Moderator
Hell .. in Japan, all you need is a "Hello Kitty" beanie baby on the dash and women will flock to it ... 
Remember ... this is from the land that invented 'bukake' ... so ugly is all relative. 
PS The picture of the female in the above article is not representative of the typical Japanese woman ... her teeth are far to straight and white ...
Remember ... this is from the land that invented 'bukake' ... so ugly is all relative. PS The picture of the female in the above article is not representative of the typical Japanese woman ... her teeth are far to straight and white ...
03-25-2007, 07:59 AM
#7
Senior Moderator
Originally Posted by runnerX
ugly.... I would rather get a Mini Cooper
Trending Topics
03-25-2007, 08:37 AM
#8
Senior Moderator
Originally Posted by derrick
Hell .. in Japan, all you need is a "Hello Kitty" beanie baby on the dash and women will flock to it ...
After reading the article I was going to ask when the Hello Kitty edition was going to be made available 
03-25-2007, 09:34 AM
#9
Go Giants
What a manly car....
03-25-2007, 10:54 PM
#12
Senior Moderator
Originally Posted by GreenMonster
After reading the article I was going to ask when the Hello Kitty edition was going to be made available And I was wondering *when* they'd have such a version!!! Sanrio (makers of Hello Kitty and a bunch of other cutesy Japanese crap) must be making bank!
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Yumcha
Automotive News
1
09-25-2015 06:14 PM
