营销大师打造英菲尼迪顶级豪车形象

    一年前，日产汽车（Nissan）CEO卡洛斯•高森聘请约翰•德•尼琛对公司的英菲尼迪（Infiniti）品牌进行改造。要知道，日产公司招募到的可是一位身怀绝技的豪华品牌营销大师。

    德•尼琛曾在奥迪（Audi）初试牛刀。在他的带领下，这款大众（Volkswagen）旗下的豪华品牌在美国消费者当中达到了前所未有的地位，一举超越了通用汽车（General Motors）的凯迪拉克（Cadillac）和福特汽车（Ford）的林肯（Lincoln），甚至与宝马（BMW）、奔驰（Mercedes）和丰田汽车（Toyota）的雷克萨斯（Lexus）不相上下。南非出生的德•尼琛在担任英菲尼迪领导人之后推出的第一款汽车是Q50，德•尼琛正是决定从这个型号开始更改汽车的命名方式。因为，他入主英菲尼迪的时候，要改变汽车的技术或设计特点已经为时已晚。

    Q50代表的是之前以G开头的中型汽车。按照德•尼琛的指示，所有英菲尼迪汽车将以Q加数字（10的倍数）的方式代表车型。所有跨界车将以QX加数字代表车型。（不过，本周英菲尼迪公布了一个例外：采用更小引擎的G37将降价与Q50并行销售至2015年。）

    《汽车》杂志（Automobile ）副主编乔•德玛迪奥表示，上市二十多年以来，英菲尼迪始终未能进入顶级豪华品牌之列，很大程度上是由于它的产品型号不一致。德玛迪奥称：“德•尼琛符合领导这个品牌的条件。关键在于日产是否愿意斥资打造优秀的产品。”对于英菲尼迪近两年进军F1赛车的尝试，德玛迪奥表示赞同。此举的目的是为了提高品牌知名度，尤其是在品牌影响力较弱的欧洲和亚洲市场。

    将产品改为以Q开头命名看起来是非常小的动作，但对于德•尼琛而言，即便最小的细节也有着重要意义。日产某高管曾表示，德•尼琛总是能够找出最细微的瑕疵，他的这项能力甚至已经成了一种传奇：在收到第一辆英菲尼迪公司用车后，他发现汽车空调排气口的塑料盖是歪的，于是他指出了这一缺陷，要求公司进行了矫正。豪华汽车的用户通常都非常苛刻，往往要求尽善尽美，甚至苛刻到令人讨厌的地步。而且除了豪华汽车本来就应该更优秀的部分，比如驾驶、操控、舒适度、安全性和动力等，他们对其他部分同样要求苛刻。

    此外，德•尼琛还通过其他方式对公司施加影响。据称，日产曾计划以电池驱动汽车日产聆风（Nissan Leaf）为基础，研发一款英菲尼迪豪华电动车，但德•尼琛否决了这项计划。有传言称，他更倾向于将资金用于研发一款高端汽车、一款小型豪华车和一款超高端运动轿跑。（关于英菲尼迪的新型轿跑，让人不由回想起当初奥迪的做法。奥迪推出200,000美元的中置发动机R8跑车令世人惊艳，提升了整个品牌的价值。）在豪华汽车与卡车市场，英菲尼迪仅参与了60%的细分市场，他的目标是，将英菲尼迪在这个细分市场的参与度提升到90%。

    德•尼琛的另外一项举措是将英菲尼迪总部搬离日产，从日本移师中国香港。人们怀疑，此举是否又是借鉴了奥迪的做法。奥迪总部位于德国因戈施坦塔，有意拉开与母公司大众汽车总部（沃尔夫斯堡）的距离。英菲尼迪要想实现经济潜力，不能仅靠扩大美国市场，必须成为中国、欧洲和南美消费者心目中豪华汽车的象征。

    这个过程或许需要十年时间，耗资数十亿美元，而且不一定能取得成功。如果德•尼琛像之前他在奥迪的同事们一样，那他肯定不会接受失败作为最终结果。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓 

    When CEO Carlos Ghosn hired Johan de Nysschen a year ago to rebuild Nissan's Infiniti franchise, he was recruiting someone who had learned a top luxury franchise's playbook backwards and forwards.

    De Nysschen cut his teeth at Audi, leading Volkswagen's luxury brand in the U.S. to a status with consumers not reached before, higher in regard than General Motors' (GM) Cadillac and Ford's (F) Lincoln and, more impressively, a legitimate alternative to BMW, Mercedes and Toyota's (TM) Lexus. The first car to be sold under the South African-born auto executive's tenure as Infiniti's leader is the Q50, a sedan that reflects de Nysschen's decision to change nomenclature. By the time he arrived, it was too late to tweak the car's technical or design features.

    Previously the Q50 would have been one of Infiniti's G series midsize sedans. Under de Nysschen's edict, all Infiniti cars revert to Q, plus a numerical multiple of ten that indicates the car's size. All crossovers will be identified with a QX, plus a number indicating size. (But Infiniti announced an exception this week: the G37, with a smaller engine, will continue to be sold as such before being discontinued in 2015.)

    Joe DeMatio, deputy editor of Automobile magazine, said Infiniti has failed to establish itself as a first-tier luxury brand over the two decades of existence largely because its models have been inconsistent. "De Nysschen seems as well qualified as anyone to steer this ship," said De Matio. "It all comes down to whether mothership Nissan is willing to spend the money to create great product." DeMatio applauded Infiniti's two-year-old venture into F1 racing, a move designed to create awareness, especially in Europe and Asia, where the brand is weak.

    The nomenclature change, returning to Q, might seem small, though for de Nysschen even the tiniest details mean a lot. A Nissan (NSANY) executive said his ability to spot nits is already becoming legendary: Upon receiving his first Infiniti company car, he noticed that the plastic cap on the A/C accessory outlet was askew, pointed out the flaw and had it straightened it. Customers for luxury cars are extremely -- some might say obnoxiously -- demanding about perfection, and not just in the obvious categories in which a luxury vehicle must excel: ride, handling, comfort, safety, and power.

    De Nysschen has made his presence felt in other ways as well. He reportedly vetoed Nissan's plan to create a luxurious Infiniti version of the battery-powered Nissan Leaf, preferring to divert capital toward development of what are rumored to be a high-end sedan, another small luxury car, and an ultra-high-end sporty coupe. (For a hint at the coupe Infiniti might be conjuring, recall that Audi created the stunning, $200,000 mid-engine R8 to burnish the entire brand.) Infiniti competes only in 60% of the car and truck segments that are considered luxury, he wants the brand to compete in 90% of them.

    Another De Nysschen initiative was moving Infiniti headquarters away from Nissan and out of Japan, to Hong Kong. Again, one wonders if the model is the location of Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, deliberately distant from its parent VW in Wolfsburg. For Infiniti to realize its economic potential, the brand must become a global symbol of luxury to Chinese, European, and South American consumers -- not just to more Americans.

    The process could take a decade and cost multiple billions, with no assurance of success. If he's like his former German compatriots at Audi, De Nysschen doesn't regard failure as an option.