Delivery of the Leaf will start in Japan and select U.S. states this month, followed by the first European markets in January, but that does not mean the Nissan has not been building up a strong fan following over the last year, relying heavily on its website and social media outlets.

Website

The Nissan Leaf website allows prospective buyers to inspect the car from the inside out. Snapshots of the interior and the engine, or lack thereof, are displayed next to videos explaining how the electric technology works. Less scientifically-minded customers can flip through images of the different paint colors available.

The site is a clear effort to promote a hipper, trendier brand image than Nissan had previously carried. According to Carlos Ghosn, CEO at Nissan and its partner automaker Renault, “Nissan was a ‘me too’ company, but in electric, we’re pioneers.”

This “trendsetter” concept plays out across other areas of the site. One page offers visitors the chance to “be one of the first” to drive the Leaf by scheduling an appointment at a local dealership.

Social Media

With pretty much every move they make on the Leaf website, visitors are offered the chance to “share it” with their friends. Hoping to make a big advertising push through word of mouth and social media, Nissan has fully integrated Twitter, Facebook and newcomer Shoutlet into their marketing strategy.

The site also plays off other Facebook groups like “1 Millions Fans Pledging to Buy an Electric Vehicle as Next Vehicle Purchase.” Though the group has a way to go before it reaches its target membership, the Leaf, as one of the few affordable EV cars currently on the market, benefits from being the main focus of eco-warrior fan groups like these.

Fans can also comment, and ideally glean a more in-depth understanding, on the Leaf's features through the dozens of videos on Nissan's YouTube channel.

Digital Marketing

Nissan has launched, as an extension of its Leaf website, a microsite dedicated to a “Zero Emission society.” The company, along with French vehicle manufacturer Renault, has been investing in green technologies like clean diesels and efficient internal-combustion engines with the goal of reducing and eventually eliminating carbon-dioxide emissions. The site displays how Nissan has been collaborating with governments and conducting smart-grid research to build a cleaner vehicle. While Nissan does legitimately focus on educating its audience about the development of zero-emission vehicles in general, the site is a convenient advertisement for the Leaf.

The company has also decided to get ‘em while they’re young, with an interactive video on the site aimed directly at children. Showing a rather sad animated family sitting in an old, carbon-dioxide emitting vehicle, the video, over the course of four short episodes, warns, rather frighteningly, of a world rendered more susceptible to ecological disasters as a result of air pollution. You can almost hear the line tumbling out of little mouths across America: “Daddy, can we buy a Leaf?”

Mr. Ghosn believes the biggest constraint on LEAF sales will be how many electric vehicles the Nissan factories can actually pump out, and how quickly. Having no doubts about the popularity of the vehicles and the future demand, Nissan is betting on the lifestyle that consumers will build around the car. To Leaf enthusiasts, what you drive says something about who you are, and fans have flooded the Leaf forum, discussing everything from engineering to “green parking spots” at Costco.

Once you go green, you never go back. But first, according to Nissan, you’ve gotta be Leaf.