Nissan, an Official Corporate Partner of NCAA Men’s Basketball and the Final Four, is activating around the tournament by showcasing its new 2021 Nissan Sentra and 2021 Nissan Rogue through a multi-strand campaign tipping off ahead of the tournament on 11 March.
Leveraging college basketball’s most anticipated property, the Sentra is the hero vehicle of a set of fast-moving TV spots called ‘The Chase’, while digital activations include the ‘Auto Thrill’ online bracket challenge which offers players a chance to win an all-new 2021 Nissan Rogue and tickets to the 2022 Final Four.
During the tournament, Nissan airs the action-packed television spot which highlights the Sentra as the compact sedan is seen in pursuit of a runaway basketball bouncing its way through city streets and scenic byways on its way to tournament host city Indianapolis.
The hero ad and supporting content also includes an appearance by Nissan’s eSports partner team FaZe Clan.
The ad was developed by agency TBWA\Chiat Day New York (with Skunk director Chris Palmer) and was originally filmed in February 2020 and benched when the pandemic led to last year’s tournament’s cancellation.
Nissan also included a 30-second Rogue spot during tournament games and the auto brand’s title sponsored ‘Nissan’s Tip-Off’ pregame show.
Supporting the in-game ads and ancillary commercials, Nissan’s activation programme includes a range of digital experiences spearheaded by an online bracket challenge in harness with official broadcaster CBS Sports and content from the Nissan Fan Cave (where the -new 2021 Nissan Rogue is displayed).
Fans can participate in CBS Sports’ 2021 NCAA Bracket Challenge presented by Nissan via CBSSports.com/Nissan and can create their own bracket or take advantage of Nissan’s ‘Auto-Thrill’ feature which auto fills bracket selections based on attributes of specific Nissan models: the new 2021 Rogue, the 2021 Armada and the 2021 GT-R.
Nissan is also providing fans an opportunity to participate in the Nissan Bracket Engineer: a virtual call with former pro hoops star turned commentator Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith to get insights and tips toward making their picks.
Starting from 25 March, fans can visit NissanFanCave.com to take in all the action happening at the onsite pop-up experience featuring the 2021 Nissan Rogue.
Plus, in partnership with Bleacher Report, the three-time NBA Slam Dunk champion Nate Robinson and Harlem Globetrotter Maxwell Pearce will compete in Nissan’s Trick Shot Shoot-out with the Nissan Rogue integrated into each trick shot with fans voting for their favourite.
.@TheJetonTNT is helping fans build brackets with more thrills than ever. Don’t miss your chance to sign up. #FullCourtThrills https://t.co/B7W4DNuJPI
— Nissan (@NissanUSA) March 3, 2021
Nissan is also the presenting sponsor of ‘March Madness 360’ on CBS Sports Network which offers viewers daily expert analysis.
The campaign was briefed by Nissan USA Vice President and US Chief Marketing Officer Allyson Witherspoon, Director (Brand, Marketing Strategy & Content) Erich Marx, Senior Manager (Brand Lead) Ty Webb and Senior Planner (Marketing Communications) Jeff Simmons.
It was created by a team at agency TBWA/Chiat/Day NY which included Chief Creative Officer Chris Beresford-Hill, Executive Creative Director Dave Banta, Creative Directors Aste Gutierrez and Mike Blanch, Senior Art Director Aldis Rasums, Senior Copywriter Mike Breighner, Copywriter Alli Walker, Art Director Louis Prenaud, Head of Production John Doris, Senior Producer Kyla Bridge, Managing Director Scott Kavanagh, Business Lead Val Tyll, Business Directors Barney Baxter and Tony Burman, Senior Business Manager Michelle Darnell, Head of Strategy Elliot Bastien, Senior Strategic Planner Jared Rosen, Senior Integrated Business Affairs Manager Felicia Simmons, Production Integration Director Andy Galvin, Product Integration Manager Christian Uka, President Nancy Reyes and CEO Rob Schwartz.
The production company was Skunk with Director Chris Palmer, Director of Photography Hoyte Van Hoytema and Managing Partner/Executive Producer Matt Factor, with edit by Cut & Run, Post/VFX by The Mill, sound by Squeak E Clean and music by King Coleman.
“If 2020 was the year of the pivot, then 2021 is the year of the rebound,” said Nissan North America Chief Marketing Officer Allyson Witherspoon. “We’re thrilled the tournament is back and that we have the opportunity to connect with fans in a myriad of ways while showcasing the all-new 2021 Rogue, Nissan’s best-selling model in the industry’s largest segment and the 2021 Sentra, Nissan’s award-winning compact sedan.”
“With a limited number of spectators permitted to view the games in person, content from those on the ground will be all the more important,” added Witherspoon. “We’ve enlisted a fantastic group of personalities to share highlights from the games and their unique take on the tournament experience.”
Further activation strands include Nissan’s digital presence as an official co-sponsor of the March Madness Live on Android (where fans can catch every NCAA tournament game live) which includes app’s Fast Break feature which provides fans with live, whip-around coverage during the first two rounds of the tournament including highlights, real-time analysis by industry stars, social reaction and commentary. Nissan also sponsors the app’s ‘Thrill Alerts’ feature which alerts users when games are particularly close or to live exciting action.
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