TODAY Nissan Insider catches up with event controller Lucy Walton, who was a member of the company’s team at the recent Grand Designs Live event in Birmingham.
Nissan were there to promote the all-electric LEAF… with the aim of making more people aware of the benefits of electric motoring and of owning a LEAF in particular.
Lucy spared five minutes of her time to answer a few questions about the event.
What was the nature of Nissan’s involvement with Grand Designs Live?
Nissan was the automotive sponsor of the event. We built both an indoor stand and an exterior test-drive base. The concept behind the stand’s design was ‘Living with LEAF’ built into a home environment so as to be inviting to visitors and not feel like a car showroom.
At Nissan we believe the best way to become a LEAF advocate is to live with it – to experience it to be able to really understand it. To bring this to life on the stand we included content from some owner video diaries, our celebrity test drive content and we held live Q&A sessions with some invited LEAF owners – Robert Llewellyn even popped in for a visit! Not only were these really engaging pieces of content but they reinforced the myth-busting messages around electric driving.
Each tiny element on the stand was to designed to convey simple and easy-to-remember facts about LEAF – whether that be some of the outstanding figures from the current 348mpg economics campaign or some great attributes of the vehicle such as the 109-mile range.
What was the company hoping to achieve over the three days of the show?
The aim of attending the show was to raise the profile and build awareness of the 100 per cent electric Nissan LEAF. KPIs were set for engagement figures 
which we exceeded by far due to the excellent work of the staff and the interactive stand elements that enabled us to engage with more visitors and for longer.
Has Nissan been involved with Grand Designs before?
Nissan attended Grand Designs Live at the NEC in 2011. In 2012 there was a specific focus on LEAF taken from the learnings of our 2011 show where LEAF came out on top!
What was the nature of the Nissan team at Grand Designs Live?
We had a large team at the event comprising myself, members from the NMGB product team and Marcoms, our product specialists and brand ambassadors as well as LEAF owners, dealer staff and representatives from British Gas. It was absolutely imperative that Nissan demonstrated we are serious about EV and we had the experts there to tell everyone about it!
How important is the event to Nissan in terms of spreading the word about electric motoring?
Grand Designs Live was a perfect fit in terms of both customer demographic profile and purchase intention as a huge part of the show focuses on sustainable living and the technologies of the future available today.
Was the reaction to the LEAF positive? How many people took it for a test drive?
The reaction to LEAF was incredible! Visitors were genuinely surprised how little they would spend charging the LEAF compared to fuelling their current cars. Visitors were also hugely impressed with the simplicity of charging and the way in which CARWINGS worked.
A total of 361 visitors test drove the LEAF at the event and the feedback was all positive. People said it was ‘enjoyable to drive’, ‘comfortable’, and ‘just like a normal car’.
A further 180 people entered the competition where they had the chance to live with a LEAF for six months.
Some comments from test drive customers were:
‘I never knew about LEAF – what a great car – I’m definitely convinced!’
‘The staff, the stand, the car all fantastic! Where is the nearest dealer to Nottingham?’
‘The car was an absolute pleasure to drive.’
Are there any more events planned at which the LEAF will be showcased?
We’re aiming to make LEAF as visible as possible.
In November we are holding our very first LEAF owners’ event at Silverstone to celebrate LEAF breaking technology barriers and thank our owners for being part of it.