Paving the way to a new group buying concept. Maybe.

Paving the way to a new group buying concept. Maybe.

Nissan is experimenting with the group-buying concept. But it’s not what you think. Good to see a big brand take a step in this direction, even if it’s not full-throttle.

April 3, 2011 1:29 by Sidra Tariq

“The campaign is designed to stimulate the lower end of the sales funnel, by leveraging the strength of the online group buying platform. This is perhaps the first time in the region when such a platform is being used by an automotive retailer,” said Girish Ahuja, client leadership director at Mindshare UAE – Nissan Middle East’s media buyer.

That is all well and good, Kipp thinks, as discounts on vehicles aren’t easy to get. But we can’t help but wonder where the concept of group-buying is in this project. If there is already a set number of vehicles to be offered on discount, it seems more like a regular marketing campaign to Kipp.

AAC wanted to keep the campaign simple as it is the first time something like this is being tried, explains Welch: “If it works, develops and if we find that this portal is somewhere where we can do business, then maybe in the future we can change the way we are doing it.”

Welch adds that the company will refrain from using the 24-hour time frame that group buying websites generally have for a deal, because it is too short for a car purchase. Instead the campaign will span five days (April 5-9), says Mindshare.

According to Welch, this gives people enough time to pick up the offer online, register their interest and potentially come to the showrooms.

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Tags: automotive, cobone, consumer, Dubai, group buying, Middle East, nissan, online, promotions, social, UAE