01/06/2016

Nissan 360-Degree Film Leads Multi-Platform Multi-Strand UEFA CL Activation

Celebrating the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final, auto sponsor Nissan streamed a sports event world first YouTube live 360 degree film sharing the real-time fan excitement from the streets of Madrid.

 

Offering a live slice of raw passion, rivalry and real-time experiences of the fans of the two competing teams – Real Madrid CF and Atlético Madrid – the stream live linked home supporters in Madrid to the final in Milan.

 

‘Final 360’ is a first-of-its-kind 360 stream broadcast via Nissan’s YouTube channel and aimed at the estimated 180 million match viewers before and during the 28 May Final in Milan.

 

Nissan’s research suggests that for this year’s final around 50% of viewers will watch the game with a second device or screen and this activation enables those viewer to control the viewing direction (by moving their phone or tablet) – thus creating a form of virtual reality.

 

The campaign sees Nissan ‘reporters’ on the streets of Madrid recording fan reactions live and the producers then ‘live direct’ these streams to create a single immersive 360° experience.

 

The stream was initially promoted across Nissan’s digital and social channels with a ‘Nissan Centre of Excitement 360°’ teaser launched on 25 May.

 

Inviting fans to ‘experience the excitement of walking onto the centre circle at a UEFA Champions League game and waving the #UCLfinal flag’.

 

 

This was then followed by the final match day stream itself on 28 May.

 

 

The initiative was further amplified on the car company’s social sites Nissan’s overarching final activation campaign hashtag #GetMilanExcited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘The UEFA Champions League Final played out between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid CF will take grassroots rivalry and passion for the game to a new level,’ explains Nissan Europe marketing VP Jean Pierre Diernaz.

 

Nissan, the engineers of excitement, will be right in the midst of the action, and by using the pioneering technology of live 360 broadcasting via YouTube we are placing ourselves at the forefront of innovation – and giving football fans something they have never experienced before. 2016 is the year of 360° films – but 360° live on YouTube at a sports event is a world first!’

 

The 360 stream teaser actually linked to another strand of Nissan’s final activation revolving around the tournament’s ‘centre circle flag’.

 

After a global campaign in which Nissan invited fans across the world to have their names personally weaved onto the iconic CL flag waved pre-game and during halftime,

 

 

24,321 fans entered the initiative and had their names printed onto the flag by a UEFA supplier in Belgium and a further 25 lucky supporters won a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly to Milan and experience the excitement of being an official Centre Circle Flag Carrier on the pitch.

 

‘As part of our UEFA Champions League sponsorship, fans are at the heart of what we do at Nissan, and we’re constantly innovating to ensure we offer the most exciting experiences possible for these supporters,’ adds Diernaz.

 

A further element of its marketing around the final in Milan was the Trophy Ride: which saw a Nissan Leaf drive the cup itself to the San Siro.

 

 

The brand’s amplification of this strand even included a Periscope live stream of the journey.

 

 

Nissan both transported the trophy in a specially designed e-NV200 electric van to the fan festival at Duomo di Milano on 26 May and then took it to the stadium on 28 May in a uniquely designed Nissan LEAF as part of the ‘UEFA Trophy Parade’.

 

This was just part of Nissan’s vehicle supplier role with UEFA which saw the auto sponsor provide more than 100 electric vehicles for the UEFA Champions League final (including e-NV200 vans and Nissan LEAFs) for UEFA officials, teams, guests and sponsors.

 

Another aspect of this sustainable ‘Intelligent Mobility’ programme saw an alliance with A2A lad to the installation of 17 rapid chargers in Milan and its surrounding airports for the UEFA Champions League Final (13 of which will remain free of charge following the UEFA Champions League Final weekend).

 

‘The final in Milan this weekend marks the climax of another exciting year partnering with the UEFA Champions League – the most prestigious football tournament in the world. We began this journey last season and we were delighted to provide electric vehicles and charging points in Berlin, a journey we look to continue at the final this year in Milan,’ outlines Gareth Dunsmore, Director of Electric Vehicles for Nissan Europe.

 

‘The great relationship we have with UEFA means we have been able to provide something long lasting and positive to both cities during our first two seasons as a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League. Poor air quality and increasing greenhouse gas emissions are very real challenges facing cities all over the world, including Milan. Zero emission vehicles provide a tangible solution to these challenges, and the fast charge stations built by Nissan in Milan will be decisive regarding the take up of all-electric mobility and will be left behind after the final for the public.’ 

 

Another final-relevant activation strand was Nissan’s data-led #ExcitementIndex, which saw the auto outfit team up with sports science experts Loughborough University to analyse data gathered through ‘live experiments’ on football fans  at UEFA Champions League matches and Opta statistics.

 

This data analysis of fans’ physiological responses to matches spanned percentage increase in heart rate, breathing rate and electro-dermal activity.

 

This culminated in what the sponsor describes as ‘the creation of a scientific formula to determine how exciting games’ moments, teams and players have been throughout the tournament’.

 

The most exciting moment came courtesy of FC Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller equaliser against Juventus in their Round 16 match to tie the game 2-2 and take it into extra time (other features included a ‘most exciting combined Madrid XI’.

 

‘As soon as our survey revealed that Europeans saw football as more exciting than sex, we knew we had to explore why, and that’s where the Excitement Index was born,’ explains Diernaz.

 

‘Throughout this year’s UEFA Champions League we have made sure excitement has been at the heart of everything we have done for football fans. From our Nissan ambassadors surprising fans on the street, to fans walking out to wave the iconic black and white UEFA flag on the San Siro pitch, Nissan has strived to ensure fans have experienced exciting moments that they will never forget.’

 

These strands of the auto brand’s tournament activation focused on the final game itself and followed on from several previous activation stages which ranged from its tournament-long sponsorship of the Champions League ‘Goal Of The Week’ competition (with Nissan and UEFA prizes) hosted on rights owner UEFA’s website, to ambassador led work such as a series of eight Q&A style online videos fronted by Manchester City’s Yaya Touré which rolled out around the semi final stages at the beginning of  May and included:

 

 

 

 

Comment:

 

Thus far the 360 film has racked up 45,516 views since it was live streamed on 28 May.

 

Not bad for a technology in its relative infancy.

 

Indeed, 360 videos broadcast on YouTube is a relatively new and innovative filmmaking form using omni-directional cameras recording simultaneously.

 

It has been around since April 2016 and can form part of the ‘virtual reality’ activation bandwagon that is perhaps the hottest contemporary trend in sports sponsorship.

 

For further analysis, details and examples of VR tactics and best practise case studies in sports marketing and sponsorship campaigns see our ‘Virtual Reality Briefing Report’ (free to subscribers, £500 to non-subscribers).

 

Nissan first signed up a Champions League sponsor in April 2014 when it replaced 22-year sponsor Ford in a four-year global deal reported to be worth £45m.

 

Diernaz and Nissan see the partnership as ‘transformative’.

 

‘When you add up the entire media value of the Champions League, of being on air on big broadcasters, the second screen digital display and social media activity it’s a massive media value,’ he argues.

 

Nissan European senior VP of sales and marketing Guillaume Cartier says that brand engagement has risen significantly through the second season of  Nissan’s Champions League sponsorship: measuring strongly against his two main KPIs – financial gain and brand positioning.

 

Indeed, Nissan broke into Interbrand’s 100 best global brands list for the first time in 2015 and the publication even cited the deal as a driver behind the brand’s rise.

 

Nissan has already hinted at some of its ideas for the 2017 tournament – with plans to engage more deeply with fans via social platforms, take a more active role with endorsers Silva, Iniesta and Touré and build around the idea of a ‘contest of excitement’.

 

‘The introduction of Leicester is also going to bring lots of freshness to the Champions League,’ adds Diernaz.

 

‘I hope this breakthrough Leicester team will disrupt the status quo and I think that will bring a new layer of excitement. Leicester will definitely be the focal point of the marketing strategy during the group stages.’

 

Indeed, the Champions League sponsorship is a core part of Nissan’s overarching strategy that sees it drop smaller scale marketing work for investing in a set of key global teams, tournaments and events.

 

The UEFA Champions League partnership is the centrepiece of Nissan’s impressive sports sponsorship portfolio that also includes alliances with the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Team Brazil and Brazil Paralympic Delegation, official sponsorship of the Colombia and Mexico Olympic Teams in their respective regions, Team GB and Paralympics GB in the UK, Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2013 and 2015, NCAA Football, Canadian Football League, corporate partner for Heisman Trust/Heisman Trophy and the official global automotive partner of City Football Group.

 

To support these property tie-ups, Nissan also has an impressive set of athlete ambassadors including Andrés Iniesta, Thiago Silva, Yaya Touré and Max Meyer.

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Links

 

Nissan Europe YouTube:

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

 

Nissan Europe Twitter:

https://twitter.com/NissanEurope

@NissanEurope

 

Nissan Europe Google+:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NissanEurope/posts

 

Nissan Facebook:

www.facebook.com/nissan

 

Nissan Europe Web:

http://www.nissan-europe.com/

 

UEFA Champions League:

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/

 

 

 



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