Nissan Motor Co. is showcasing the 2015 Altima sedan and taking its interactive social media strategy to the next level following the success of last year's scavenger hunt by posting clues on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram that ask guests to find a hidden vehicle and offer the chance to win a 2015 Nissan Altima. 

The brand?s success last year with its ?Ride of Your Life? campaign prompted it to roll out another interactive hunt, where fans can receive clues from social media to find a 2015 Altima that has been hidden by a fictitious character, called the Mastermind. The contest speaks to Nissan?s growing focus on mobile and its attempt to reach more on-the-go consumers who frequently use their smartphones or tablets to peruse social media applications such as Twitter and Facebook.

?The Altima Chase contest was a strategic choice by Nissan to support our Altima Ride of Your Life TV campaign via social media,? said Rob Robinson, senior specialist of social communications at Nissan North America, Franklin, TN. ?This is an integrated marketing campaign, and we wanted the Chase to mirror the overall campaign in style and feel while including its own unique and purposefully social elements.

?Our hope is that it will be a good fit for our fans and will also represent the whole campaign well.?

The Altima Chase
Nissan is encouraging car enthusiasts to help find the new 2015 sedan stolen by the Mastermind. The campaign kicks off with a video from the thief taunting social media users to track down the vehicle by following clues posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

A video snippet can be viewed on the car manufacturer?s Facebook and Instagram pages, with the full video available on altimachase.choosenissan.com. Users are asked to comment on the video for a chance to win the grand prize, a 2015 Altima, or other cash prizes and Altima-inspired gear.

Over a course of three weeks, consumers can follow the clues posted on social media to receive hints as to where the car has been hidden. Fans can also follow along via the #AltimaChaseSweeps hashtag.

?I can't go in to too much detail about the clues because I don't want to spoil the fun,? Mr. Robinson said. ?That said, several of the clues are platform specific.

?What I mean by that is that you have to participate on the specific channel, say Instagram or NissanUSA.com, in order to solve individual clues. The idea is to give fans a variety of clues across our social media and Web platforms and to keep them engaged and keep them guessing about what comes next.?

This serves as an excellent way of increasing Nissan?s amount of social media followers, and also ensuring that the brand holds interactive conversations with consumers.

Mobile-first approach
While the campaign is accessible for desktop users, Nissan opted to make it as mobile-centric as possible, due to the sheer amounts of on-the-go consumers who prefer to consume bite-sized pieces of content on their smartphones.

The campaign also has national television spots that are set to run this month.

Nissan has frequently tapped social media to raise awareness of its products. This past December, it garnered audience support for its 2015 Leaf vehicle with a participation-driven social media campaign on Twitter and Instagram and a series of online videos on YouTube (see story).

?Mobile is a critical part of this campaign because most social media users consume content via their mobile devices,? Mr. Robinson said. ?We made sure not to leave out traditional desktop users with our content, but this is certainly a mobile-first approach.

?No one is carrying an open laptop around in their hands as they go about their day, but we're all within an arm's reach of a smartphone no matter what time it is.?

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York