Nissan Scoops Up Hyundai Marketing VP
By Bill Visnic March 19, 2010High-flying Hyundai Motor America took one on the chin this week as Nissan North America Inc. pirated Hyundai Marketing Vice President Joel Ewanick -- father of the company's cogent Hyundai Assurance buy-back program -- to become the new vice president of marketing for the Nissan division.
Word is that Hyundai is not amused to lose Ewanick, whose work netted him a handful of awards last year, including Chief Marketer of the Year from Forbes, Grand Marketer of the Year from Brandweek and Advertising Age's Marketer of the Year.
Ewanick, who had been with Hyundai since 2007, held positions outside the auto industry and also worked for Porsche Cars North America Inc.
Nissan's own press release announcing Ewanick's arrival says the brilliantly conceived, timed and executed Hyundai Assurance program - which allowed buyers to give back a newly purchased Hyundai in the first year of ownership in the event of a job loss or other catastrophic event - "doubled the percentage of U.S. customers willing to consider a Hyundai."
Ewanick comes to Nissan with the auto industry struggling to formulate a recovery and with many full-line auto brands tussling to retain market share.
Through February, Nissan's overall sales were up 22.8 percent compared to the same period in a weak 2009, and Nissan has several challenges at hand, including developing a strategy to deal with its deeply eroded truck sales (up just 1.8 percent through February), where individual models such as the Titan, Pathfinder and Xterra are foundering.
Nissan also seemingly will have to find an effective counter to what is likely to be a protracted, incentive-focused offensive by rival Toyota Motor Sales to offset negative publicity surrounding Toyota's recent large-scale recalls and reports of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
Also immediately on the plate is Nissan's now-unfolding North American launch of its all-new NV lineup of light-commercial vehicles, Nissan's first venture into the sector on this continent. - Bill Visnic, senior editor
Photo by Nissan
1. The NV light-commercial vehicle is a crucial launch this year for Nissan, marking the brand's first entry into the sector in North America.
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