TEANA Naming

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A vital part of the Nissan revival plan has been the production of captivating new automobiles and the winnowing out of poor performers. The latest model in the exciting new line-up was nearing completion when Nissan approached The Brand Union to create a name.

Nissan were debating the pros and cons of phasing out their longstanding Cefiro and Laurel models.

The Brand Union were asked to create names for a new brand as well as modifiers for the two existing brands. This was the first Nissan car to embody the marketing concept of 'Modern Living', through an interior reminiscent of a modern Japanese living room. The target audience was Japanese baby boomers and women in particular. To the delight of Nissan this audience was highly enthusiastic when given a sneak preview of the new car. However in the eyes of the same consumers the Laurel was staid and the Cefiro lacked prestige. These problems needed to be countered and so a strategic range of names was needed to prepare for any possible eventuality.

From the beginning, The Brand Union recommended creating an entirely new brand to fit the unique new marketing concept. The success of making the existing models cross over to the new car positioning could not be guaranteed. The outcome of our creative and strategic efforts was a free-standing new brand TEANA chosen outright by consumers and car journalists in market research. The meaning is ‘Dawn’ in a Native American language, a name designed to suggest the dawn of a new age in luxury design.

The success of the name in achieving these goals was attested to by Carlos Ghosn in his speech at the launch when he said ‘This model name was selected because it is suitable to the dawn of an all-new luxury sedan and because it has an elegant ring befitting the car's appearance.