‘Facebook Live’ Leads Nissan's Team GB Work As Fans Train Live With Star Athlete Ambassadors

Nissan aims to ensure fans at the core of its Rio 2016 campaign with two new films showing supporters from across the UK training alongside Team GB athletes with the help of Facebook Live.

Using the hashtag #UniteAndExcite, Team GB and Paralympics GB partner Nissan positions itself and fans as the ‘Heartbeat Of Britain and this pre-Games activation phase sees the auto brand’s athlete ambassadors Max Whitlock (Gymnastics), Kat Copeland (Rowing) and Paralympiam Richard Whitehead (Athletics) front films in which they train for the Games live with members of the public.

These online videos document the ‘Be the Heartbeat of Britain’ live training sessions, which occurred on Facebook Live on 10 February and during the workouts fans could connect with the sports stars in real-time via and experience the tough training regimes of Britain’s Olympians.

‘Be The Heartbeat: Less than 100 Days to Rio 2016’, which was posted at the end of April but takes place on a cold February morning, sees Nissan and the nation get stuck into serious Olympic sports training.

A supporting spot stars two of the older public participants – Charm (aged 75) and Chris Ronson (aged 77) on a cold Cumbrian morning.

‘It was an amazing and inspiring experience. I hope that by being part of this we were able to let these athletes know that they aren’t alone when they wake up early in the morning for gruelling training sessions, and that the whole nation is behind them as they prepare for and eventually head off to Rio,’ commented Charm.

‘Nissan is incredibly proud of its work with the BOA and BPA. We are dedicated to innovation that excites and hope that this partnership will make the hearts of the British public beat a little faster,’ added Nissan’s marketing communications manager, Marc Palmer.

The campaign leverages the ‘100 days to go’ Rio 2016 countdown not only aims to generate public support for Team GB athletes, but also incentivises engagement and participation by offering those getting involved a chance to win tickets to the Games.

Fans simply need to click on the car brand’s microsite (http://bit.ly/1T1RIjj #UniteAndExcite to join, to get involved in supporting the team and to enter the competition.

The ticket competition is also being heavily promoted across the car brand’s social channels.

With less than 100 days to go to #Rio2016, here's your chance to win tickets https://t.co/vtaR1Ye7AD #UniteAndExcite https://t.co/NGcozLNlaw

— NissanUK (@NissanUK) April 28, 2016

Comment:

Using ‘Facebook Live’ as an activation platform is becoming something of a sports sponsorship Spring trend!

Whilst it was initially launched way back in August 2010, the Facebook Live live streaming video channel is increasingly seen as a platform to connect star sports people and celebrities with fans.

The live streaming video channel, powered by Livestream, was initially created as a form of promotional tool to keep Facebook users updated with what is happening on the social networking service (rather than being designed for users to showcase their own films).

Nissan is just one of several sponsors using the channel for sponsorship activation – particularly for this summer’s two blockbuster events UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2016 Olympic Games.

The theme of Nissan’s Team GB campaign certainly has echoes of recent Olympic work from IOC Top partners Panasonic and P&G – both brands have also engaged across social channels in order to rally messages of support for the athletes heading to Rio.

While Visa’s Olympic campaign is also exploring the athlete’s ‘heartbeat’ theme (see case study).

Links:

Nissan Team GB YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNissanGB

Nissan Team GB Partner Page:

https://www.nissan.co.uk/experience-nissan/partnerships/nissan-team-gb-and-paralympicsgb.html

Nissan Website:

https://www.nissan.co.uk/

Nissan Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/NissanUK

Nissan Twitter:

https://twitter.com/NissanUK