Nissan Annual Report 2004 37
“If you think about the inherent value of a great
business, brand is enormous—often more valuable
than the company’s tangible fixed assets. In the
minds of consumers, the brand is the company. 
So everything we do to define and position our brand,
to make it more powerful and compelling, yields
immense value for our employees, our dealers and
suppliers, and most importantly for our shareholders
and other stakeholders. That in turn manifests itself in
higher sales, better margins and lower marketing
costs, elevated levels of customer trust, better word-
of-mouth communication, and better advocacy in 
the marketplace.
After the Alliance was created, the new
management team came in and made several critical
decisions. One was a call to clearly define Nissan as 
a global brand. The message was clear. Nissan was
not going to be a supplier of commodity automotive
appliances. We are building cars that capture people’s
imaginations. Cars that are fun to drive, that people
want to drive. Cars that might not be for everyone—
that could even prove polarizing in their design and
performance characteristics—but cars impossible to
ignore, cars that quicken the pulse.
Well, our team got the product right, and it’s up to
us to get the branding right. 
Another decision was that we are one company, with one
brand worldwide. That doesn’t mean pursuing a cookie-
cutter approach, with the same cars or communications
everywhere; instead, it is a declaration that our core values
will be more carefully defined and articulated in every
market where we compete. We have set up very specific
targets for the brand. My personal mission statement is to
build Nissan and Infiniti into the most clearly defined,
powerful brands in the automotive industry. We created a
brand scorecard to measure our performance, covering
aspects like retail sales, market share, profitability, total
distribution costs, as well as purchase intentions and
opinions about the brand in several categories. In virtually
every market around the world, all of these metrics are
moving in a very positive direction. We’re happy about that,
but certainly not satisfied. 
Historically, brand management has been about
enforcing brand standards, guarding your visual identity
and brand identity, making sure that intellectual property is
managed intelligently and advantageously. We’re working
on changing that focus, being more strategic and more
opportunistic when thinking about growing our business
rather than simply protecting existing assets.
Some people mistake advertising or public relations, or
the way you greet customers in the showroom as the
brand. In reality, everything we do as a company affects the
brand. Every customer interaction with our brand helps
define who we are and what we stand for, not only for that
individual customer but also for everyone that customer
interacts with.
Simply stated, the core strength of the brand is the
core strength of the company. Assets are perishable;
financial strength is ephemeral. The values the brand can
define, and the behaviors the brand can drive, give the
organization clarity in the marketplace. Brand also gives
people here at Nissan focus. Our brands are, in fact, the
soul of the company.”
The Soul of the Company
STEVEN WILHITE
Senior Vice President
BRAND
OUR WORK
Nissan at the 2005 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) Infiniti presentation at the 2004 NAIAS