As Nissan Australia prepared to unveil their new Brand DNA to their employees — they asked us to create a week-long event program that would educate, inspire and engage over 400 of their internal staff and stakeholders.

With only 4 weeks to create and execute Brand Week, we knew it would be a challenge. But with such a powerful idea at the heart of it, we couldn’t say no!

There’s a dynamic cycle of input \ output at the core of the Nissan brand — they empower and inspire their people, who in turn power Nissan. This loop is also present in the powerful ‘vehicle-to-grid’ concept of their electric vehicles — the global market-leading LEAF’s key differentiator feature. And it’s in the evolution of their brand — from auto manufacturer into a tech company specialising in mobility.

So we designed the Brand Week visual identity around this ‘energy loop,’ weaving it through pre-comms — including desk-drops, teaser posters and e-mail campaigns — through to the launch event itself, in keynote presentations, the Launch film and even the uniforms worn by Nissan’s dedicated Brand Week Crew.

We knew that ‘just another brand position launch’ — with exciting visuals, marketing buzzwords and corporate speak — wouldn’t resonate with Nissan’s honest, hard working internal audience. So we set about engaging Nissan staff experientially. With hands-on interactions, team challenges and activities, environment designs, energising Keynote sessions and even a choose-your-own-adventure exploration journey, we ensured that the essence of their Brand DNA would live on far beyond this one week.

Nissan staff arrived on Day One to find their offices had been transformed overnight. Meeting rooms, communal spaces and throughways at Nissan HQ were transformed into experiential environments — from ‘light touch’ to ‘full immersion’ — where staff could explore and learn about their new manifesto in a self-led discovery.

After an electric Launch session, we unleashed Team Nissan to explore Brand Week through a gamified user journey. We designed amap of the experiences and activities across HQ, which staffed used to hunt around HQ for clues, challenges, sessions and interactions over the week. At every point they engaged with and absorbed their new brand Position, Promise, Personality and Values.

We also converted the potential energy of the DNA into a program of ‘Kinetic Sessions.’ Hosted by Nissan leaders, partners, special guests and a panel of internally selected Brand Champions, these Sessions showed ‘Brand’ in action — from energetic morning work-outs with the Hawthorn Football Club and exclusive Future Product showcases, through to leadership training with Alastair Clarkson, future mobility Q&As and a Wrap Party with the Melbourne Vixens.