When Disney and Lucasfilm dropped the news of their latest film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in March 2015, Nissan found out like the rest of the world.
Seeing the name correlation for their Rogue line of cars and looking to capitalize on the symbolism with their fan base, the car manufacturer immediately picked up the phone and began brokering a unique partnership that reached its birth 20 months later with the dual-branded vehicle “Nissan Rogue: Rogue One Star Wars Limited Edition.”
It is the first production car to include Star Wars-branded elements.
“We’re all about innovation, excitement and engagement with fans. That was the most intriguing for us, so we found an opportunity to work with them to promote our new car, and the most anticipated movie of this year,” Jeremy Meadows, senior manager of marketing and creative strategy at Nissan, told [a]listdaily. “We looked beyond the name correlation. There is a strong correlation between the both of us with epic adventures.”
The car company added a sizable chapter to the massive marketing blitz slated for the forthcoming release of the film by making 5,400 units—white models for the Stormtroopers, black for the new Deathtroopers—for the US and Canadian markets.
Meadows added that in addition to the range of custom features and equipment, each vehicle also comes with a numbered, full-size replica collectible Deathtrooper helmet.
As for the car, some of the unmistakable branding includes “Rebel Alliance” and “Galactic Empire” logo decals, a “Star Wars” logo clear rear bumper protector and Rogue One logo badging on the front doors. Special features inside of the vehicle include logo carpeted floor mats and “Star Wars” logo illuminated kickplates. The Rogue One package will cost consumers an extra $1,990 on top of the car’s MSRP.
Jeremy Tucker, vice president of marketing communications and media, said that the Rogue model is their No. 1 best-selling model and is up 10 percent year-over-year. “We want to make this model go to the very next level,” he said. “So bringing these iconic brands together, this is our moment, and we’re going full force.”
Nissan is one of five global brands—Duracell, General Mills, Gillette and Verizon are the others—to join forces with Lucasfilm and launch an extensive global promotional campaign in support of movie.
And like any marketing campaign that has a strong story to share, Nissan also introduced a virtual and augmented reality experience to fans that highlights the Rogue SUV’s Intelligent Safety Shield technologies.
“We want to provide customers with very engaging experiences. A lot of brands, and not just car companies, do really great VR marketing, but we wanted to take it a step further and provide a really good opportunity to see our vehicle and provide something extra special for fans with Lucasfilm,” Meadows said.
Meadows mentioned that the VR experience released at the LA Auto Show last week was a first for Nissan; a long-form Star Wars version will be released next spring.
Meadows said that they want to amplify their Rogue partnership with an influencer marketing campaign.
“If you’re not familiar with Nissan, or the Nissan Rogue, we want to further spread the awareness of what we have to offer to customers. We’re working closely with our agency team and other folks at Lucasfilm to find out what is the right mix to get the message out about the vehicle and movie,” Meadows said. “The good news is that the Nissan and Lucasfilm brands already have a strong connection with fans. There’s 131 million Star Wars fans across the country. And we have a lot of fans, too. It’s a really relevant activation for both of us.”
Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan
