Why are you NOT buying a 2016 Titan?
I might be buying one. Just looking at everything that is out there and comparing. I do know the Titan lead engineer and he sought my input at two different shows as they were finalizing features of the truck. He and I went for drives in a Titan with him asking a ton of questions. He is from Idaho, grew up on a ranch and loves hunting. He watched some video clips I sent of me abusing my Titans. He went so far as to try get me a "sled" for 2014, but they were all allocated. A sled is their phantom prototypes that they put out in the hand of engineers and other abusers to get feedback.
The internal folks at Nissan are great. I've met with them three times, the last time in Franklin, TN where they are located. Yet, when things get handed off to the big national ad agencies and PR firms, things go south, real quick. These PR firms and ad agencies are not employees of the company, rather outside consultants who think they know more than God himself (well, not all of them, but enough that 80% of them give the rest of their profession a bad name).
Here's an example:
At the 2015 SHOT Show, the PR agency Nissan hires (based in Detroit) put together a big event for exclusive showing of the new Titan XD to select outdoor media. I was invited, as were many outdoor writers and bloggers. After a nice (and I assume expensive) breakfast, we were all taken down for the private showing by the Nissan engineers, led by the engineer I mentioned above. At their booth was a big placard that had the names of TV folks who would be signing autographs during normal trade show hours. Hmm. None of them drive Titans in their shows.
During the presentation, the engineer is often saying something like, "When you (insert abusive demand on truck here) like Randy does .........." After enough references to how I abuse my trucks, one of the guys leading the outside PR firm pulled me aside and asked, "Who are you?" I told him I was the only guy in outdoor TV who drove a Titan and that I had bought four of them with my own money over the last ten years.
He then asked, "Why do I not know about you? We called the network for names, why did they not give us your name?" I just shrugged my shoulders. I pointed to the placard listing the TV folks who drove Fords and Chevys and who would later be signing autographs at the Nissan booth; with as much humor as I could muster, I smiled and said something like, "I'm sure those folks know who I am." He asked for my card and told me I would be hearing from him. Good thing I did not stand by the phone waiting for his call.
That outcome is not specific to just trucks. Rather to any large company that uses an ad agency and PR firm to try reach a male-dominated niche demographic, as is hunting and outdoors. They might be really good at crafting messages to sell Camrays and Maximas and Ipads and Galaxy phones. But, they lack the internal expertise to effectively message to a quirky niche audience. Personally, if I was an auto company, I would have one ad agency and PR firm for my truck lines; firms that specialize in male-dominated markets. And I would have a different agency and PR firm that specializes in more diverse demographic markets to work on all my other auto lines.
These companies also hire outside ad agencies to do their media placement and buying of advertising and sponsorship. I provided proposals for 2014 and again in 2015. Both times the ad agency said, "No Thanks" and it was not due to pricing, as I am sure I was the lowest priced option in front of them. If you don't make the cut at the ad agency, your done.
That is in large part a reflection of how ad agencies work. There are some that specialize in the outdoor sphere and they are good. Then, there are the national agencies who don't know chit from apple butter when it comes to the outdoor sphere.
If I was to predict how this new Titan will be received by the truck market over the coming year, I would look in the rear view mirror and see how the existing Titan model was received; the first few steps out of the gate seem to be following the same path. The original Titan model was a kick-ass truck designed by some engineers who "get it." Yet, it was marketed to the surfer and mountain biking crowd. I remember the first ads I saw about the Titan back in 2004/05. It had a dude on the beach with his surf board. If the ad agency understood the truck market, the existing Titan would have been one of the best selling trucks out there to guys like us; it was that good for its time and space. Yet, how many of you gave it any serious consideration? Probably very few.
Given the lack of understanding their outside marketing agency has about the truck market, I think the same thing will happen with the new truck model, which would be unfortunate. They have designed and built a truck that will be bomb-proof, do all, and sometimes more, than many of its competitors of higher prices, but will fizzle due to the strategy in place for marketing is not reflective of how the flow of influence happens in the truck market.
I explained this to the ad agency and I think it may have offended them, but I stand by it. In the truck world, the current of influence goes one direction; the hunters, anglers, contractors, ranchers, rodeo, etc. are the users who are looked to for establishing the credibility of a truck in the truck market. They are the alpha opinion leaders. The casual truck guy, the suburban dweller who might take his truck off pavement once a month, the guy who wants to look the part and has the money to buy a decked out truck; those guys are the ones influenced by the serious truck user, not the other way around.
I think about the Titan's grand premier at the Detroit Auto Show in January; the biggest show in the entire industry. The model truck they rolled out on the stage was banana yellow. WTH?
How many serious truck owners, the guys who influence the decisions of casual truck owners, are going to be impressed by a banana yellow truck as the newest bad ass truck in the market place? None I know of. That same truck was at the SHOT Show. If I had not known what had went into that truck and what it was going to be as a final product, my first impression would have caused me to laugh. Someone at the PR firm or ad agency should be worried about their job over that kind of stuff that is so obvious to avid truck guys, but seemingly oblivious to those in the ad/PR world.
Back to your question, "Why am I NOT buying a 2016 Titan?" Right now, the 2015 Titan PRO4X is the mark other trucks have to beat for me to switch. When I see the gas model of the 2016 Titan, I suspect it will become the mark other trucks have to beat for me to switch. I have seen the diesel XD and I think it will impress people. But, it is a bigger body and not as nimble as my PRO4X, so I am waiting to see about the packages that come with the gas model.
I suspect that if Nissan's outside ad agency and PR firm read this post, I don't have to worry about any official sponsorship that would include a truck, so if I end up buying another Titan, you can rest assured that I did so because I thought it was the best place for me to invest $40K-50K in a truck that is an integral tool we use to produce this public land message.
