Nissan is suffering from middle-of-the-pack brand perception despite consistent manufacture of well-received vehicle models, reports Ad Age. Though hardly red, profits are off 11 percent globally and were down 50 percent last quarter.

Nissan spent almost $1 billion in measured media in 2006 and has already spent $167 million in January and February. Their campaign, Shift 2.0, also lacks a consistent brand connection with new models Sentra and Versa, promoted by completely separate campaign efforts.

In terms of brand perception, less than 20 percent of consumers report they can identify the Nissan tagline, while those who would consider a Nissan changed only by a couple of percentage points after seeing the ad. And not positively.
17 percent of women would consider buying before seeing an ad but only 16 percent would consider it after viewing, a sign the Shift 2.0 campaign focuses too much on performance.

Beyond advertising, the company also attributes sore figures to current cost competition. The carmaker has also been hit by waning interest in SUVs.

TBWA/Chiat/Day of Playa del Rey, CA handles both the Nissan and Infiniti accounts.