In what I consider to be a very smart move, Nissan is looking at changing their current tagline. For some reason the tagline "SHIFT_" is not gaining traction. Of course, me being me... I'm going to spend some time telling you why it isn't working.

• The use of a special character in a slogan is just plain weird. I'm pretty sure it was meant to be seen as a blank for the reader to fill in, but that isn't readily apparent when read. It almost seems like something you'd see in a click-language.
• The idea that we could latch on to a concept that has no real identity (shifting) is pretty absurd. They've used the word to connote change, but the concept of change is one that can't define a brand. If your brand is in constant flux then you can't hang on to anyone that wants to buy your product. Think about it. Right after you're lured into buying a Nissan they go and change things up again and you're stuck being connected with a brand that no longer appeals to you. We don't want change - we want the stuff we want.
• Rule number 43 of taglines. If you have to resort to a special character or something you can't pronounce in your tagline you're not done building yours yet.
• Rule number 72(a) - If your tagline can be turned against you by the addition or subtraction of a single obvious letter you probably need to do some more work. The number of references to "SHIXT_" and Nissan exceeds 1500 on Google.
• There's such a thing as a tagline with too many meanings. There was nothing solid to latch on to here. Nissan didn't decide which meaning they wanted, instead choosing for it to mean the act of shifting, mental shift, shift in expectations, stick shift, and more.

What really gets me steamed, though - is that this could be a great tagline... for an internal effort. Nissan was (and is) hurting - and they did need to shift... but they didn't need to tell their customers. Why share the fact that your bottom line is hurting and something needs to change? Sure, candor is often a good thing, but when it comes to cars people need to feel that the company is strong. Who wants a regular-use car for which there is no longer an accountable manufacturer?

About two months ago I found a great document lauding the success of this tagline and showing how great it was that Nissan was able to use the same message internally and externally. It appears to now be offline. If I can find it in my files I will repost it here. It's a great read - especially in light of the recent talk.

Tate Linden Principal Consultant Stokefire Consulting Group 703-778-9925