The Nissan Titan is one of the few non-American pickup to compete with the Big Three-the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, and Ram Truck-that lead the market by a long shot. Totally refreshed with a 2nd generation beginning in the 2016 model year, the Titan still has hard time for relevance and any possibility of converting buyers in a sector where brand loyalty is king.
Nissan understands that the Titan isn’t getting sufficient attention. So they’re intending on changing that with a distinct new marketing technique. Nissan will concentrate its marketing efforts for the Titan particularly in four US cities; Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. It’s stage one in a long-term plan to move their concentration to different markets in different stages of the Titan’s life. After Nissan is pleased with Titan performance in the first four cities they’ll go up to six more markets, then forty more, and ultimately national.
Why simply concentrate on a few cities rather than invest in a big, nationwide marketing project? Nissan has no misconceptions about the Titan’s place in the pickup market. They understand that an expensive national campaign won’t put a dent in their market share versus the marketing machines of Detroit. By focusing their efforts on a couple of markets, they’re not extending their inventory, they’re ensuring the dealerships in those areas are suitably trained to offer and service the trucks, and they’re spending less cash on marketing.
Nissan’s objective for the pickup isn’t really to beat anyone in Detroit. It’s a battle for 4th place. If they struck 5 percent market share in these target markets, that’s a substantial win. When the second-gen Titan was first released, it was just available in elegant XD form with a Cummins V8 diesel. Now Nissan is presenting some lower end workin’ man’s trucks in an effort to offer greater volumes to common truck buyers and perhaps fleet and commercial sales.
