After the "appetizers" of the Champions League qualifiers, "the tournament gets fully into the main course on Tuesday night with the start of the group stage," according to Bill Wilson of the BBC. And for the eight brands that have paid millions to be official partners of the competition, "it heralds the start of eight months of exposure around the world." Japanese carmaker Nissan is one of the "newer backers of the competition," having signed up in '14 for four years as the global automotive partner. So, at the halfway point in the deal, "now seems a good time to ask: why did an East Asian firm seek a marriage with a European football competition?" Nissan Europe VP for Marketing Jean-Pierre Diernaz said, "To raise awareness of the brand. We are a growing brand around the world, but with the exception of Japan, and possibly the U.S., we are a challenger brand. To go a step further we need to grow awareness. The Champions League has massive power in terms of views that it can give us." Diernaz said that the primary impact of the partnership "is obviously in Europe, where he says there has been an increase in awareness about Nissan in Spain, Italy and France." He added, "But the Champions League has a massive awareness and coverage in some other core regions for us, for example in Asia. In China the interest is crazy. So that is a fantastic option for us to be there through the competition." Diernaz said that other "football crazy" regions, such as South America and Mexico, are also examples of where the Champions League association can be a benefit. In the past few years, not only with the Champions League partnership -- "but also things such as becoming a Premier League broadcast partner for Sky TV's coverage" -- Nissan has expanded its sports-related presence. This includes becoming a partner of the Int'l Cricket Council for eight years, and being a sponsor of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Nissan also backs a number of national Olympic and Paralympic teams in South and Central America, and in Europe. Meanwhile, it is the "official global automotive partner" of the Man City-led City Football Group, and the shirt sponsor of J.League side Yokohama Marinos, one of the four clubs in that grouping. Diernaz: "Sport is probably the best territory to express our company characteristics. I am not saying it is the only one, but probably the most logical one to embrace our values" (BBC, 9/13).
