Apple, Inc. recently launched the iOS7, which is an enhanced version of the original iPhone operating system and can now interface not only with iPhones, iPads and iPods, but the new Apple iTunes Radio as well. The iTunes Radio functions in the same manner as Spotify and Pandora; it is a free radio that lets users choose their own stations and create personal playlists of their favorite genres and songs. Additionally, iTunes Radio listeners have the ability to purchase any song they listen to since the songs are linked to the iTunes store.
To help launch iTunes Radio, Apple chose Nissan as its first automobile launch partner. Just as the free versions of other Internet radio stations contain advertisements, iTunes Radio will also have advertised content and much of it will be Nissan-specific. New models will be featured and Nissan will use iAd, a marketing ploy that allows advertisements to be directly inserted into various apps. The exclusive partnership also means that users will be privy to unique video as well as audio content on all of their Apple devices: the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV and Mac.
Nissan, now partnered with Renault, is the sixth largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Its original vehicles were called Datsuns, which enjoyed huge popularity, particularly their line of trucks. Today they have a wide variety of car models, including a luxury model line called Infiniti and an electric model called LEAF. The new exclusive partnership with Apple’s iTunes Radio is bound to exponentially raise awareness for the Nissan brand even without the exclusive and targeted Nissan ads on the radio stations. Apple, Inc., after all, is one of the most recognized brand names in the world with millions of customers who already have intense brand loyalty to all things Apple.
The new iOS7 technology that fuels the iPhone Radio will initially be available in the 2014 Nissan Rogue compact SUV, the all-new 2014 Nissan Versa Note and the hot-selling Nissan LEAF electric vehicle. These are currently the only vehicles in the world that will play iTunes Radio in the car.
