Mr. Average leads a busy life. He writes a blog, answers requests for autographs from listeners, appears in commercials and much more. To his fans, he’s a real guy. On social networking sites, his fans speak of him as though he’s a regular guy in need of support and advice. Though none of them have ever met Mr. Average, they feel a kinship to him. So on the very special day of Christmas, we planned an event where Mr. Average would finally reveal himself. Normally Mr. Average’s program is pre-recorded, but for this Christmas event, we arranged a live broadcast from a special booth visible to the public. Announcements were made that Mr. Average would pass out 500 of his name cards (of course, to avoid undercutting the appeal of radio and the need to leave visual images to the imagination of listeners, his face was not shown.)

On Christmas, around 1,000 listeners amassed hoping to glimpse Mr. Average. Posts to his blog ran 150% above normal. Nissan was flooded with requests to continue program sponsorship, a fact that attests to the target’s awareness of Nissan as the sponsor and suggests a strong bond between them.