Nissan has confirmed a three-year extension to its global partnership with the UEFA Champions League, including the UEFA Super Cup.
Legendary footballer Gareth Bale celebrated the announcement by surprising a group of schoolchildren in Spain and teaching them how to recreate his iconic winning goal from the 2014 final against Club Atlético de Madrid.
The agreement comes ahead of the first game of the 2017/2018 UEFA Champions League season and will see the Japanese manufacturer stay as an official partner up to and including the 2020/2021 season. The UEFA Champions League continues to be Nissan’s largest investment in sports sponsorship, which began at the start of the 2014/2015 season.
The UEFA Champions League continues to be the most watched annual sporting competition on the planet, with a cumulative television audience of more than 4-billion a season. The 2017 UEFA Champions League Final attracted a global audience of more than 160-million, more than any other annual sporting event, and it saw Real Madrid C.F. beat Juventus F.C. to record their 12th UEFA Champions League title.
“Innovation that excites is at the core of everything Nissan does and our partnership with the most exciting sports tournament on the planet over the last three years has been key to that,” said Roel de Vries, corporate vice president, global head of marketing for Nissan. “We’re delighted to be extending this partnership for another three seasons, and it will continue to be at the very heart of our global marketing strategy. We’ve seen huge success from the partnership and the additional engagement it has allowed us to have with consumers.”
“Football is the perfect arena to show Nissan’s commitment to performance, not just globally, but here in South Africa too. We’re a sports crazy nation and South Africans are very passionate about football. The UEFA partnership extension will certainly give us the opportunity to speak to fans of the sport and to communicate how intelligent our vehicles are,” said Kabelo Rabotho, Director: Marketing for Nissan South Africa.
Locally, Nissan SA has respected cricketing heroes, Shaun Pollock and Kagiso Rabada, as brand ambassadors, who form part of Nissan’s global partnership with ICC World Cricket. Nissan SA also partnered with Kaya FM for “Kagiso’s Coaching Clinic”, which will see one lucky school in the country benefiting from a coaching session with Rabada.
As part of the new UEFA deal, Nissan will continue to have extensive rights at UEFA Champions League matches as well as access to other exclusive rights, such as the pre-match Center Circle Carriers and post-match UEFA Champions League Goal of the Week, presented by Nissan digital activation.
Commenting on the agreement, Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA Events SA Marketing Director, said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Nissan after a very successful first cycle. They have become an integral member of the sponsor family and have been invaluable for the promotion of the competition on a global level. The UEFA Champions League brand appeal is growing from strength to strength every single year and its platform continues to provide top brands like Nissan the opportunity to connect and engage with football fans around the globe.”
“Our partnership with the UEFA Champions League has been instrumental in our mission to become the most desirable Asian brand in Europe,” said Jean-Pierre Diernaz, vice president, marketing, Nissan Europe. “In the coming years, we have an ambitious product plan supported with breakthrough technologies, having the world’s most exciting sporting event as a partner is giving us the perfect platform to emotionally engage with our audience and drive brand preference. I am excited to see how innovative we will be together with UEFA in creating excitement for the fans.”
The UEFA Champions League is another example of Nissan’s dedication to inspiring sports fans, which also includes the International Cricket Council, the City Football Group, the Canadian Football League, the Heisman Trust and the Heisman Trophy.