Nissan, already one of the biggest spenders in the college space, is buying up sponsorships to 100 schools in one of the largest multimedia deals ever, sources say.
The automaker, whose U.S. operations are based in Franklin, Tenn., is crafting a prolific series of college sponsorships that ultimately will give it coverage on college campuses across the country. These deals will provide the brand with official auto status at 64 of the 65 schools in the power five conferences. Michigan State, which has a long-standing partnership with General Motors, is the exception.
Sources said Nissan is spending $100,000 to $400,000 a school. The costs fluctuate depending on the size and brand strength of each school, as well as the assets included in each deal.
Once all of the deals are active by next season, Nissan will be spending more than $30 million a year across the 100 schools. In addition to the 64 schools in the power five, Nissan also will have sponsorships with several of the schools in the lower level of FBS, as well as a handful of historically black colleges and universities.
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Nissan has centered its creative around college football on its “Heisman House” advertising campaign.
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Nissan expects to roll out the beginning phases of the sponsorships in the coming weeks. A tentative launch is being planned for the LSU-South Carolina football game Oct. 10 in Columbia, S.C. Nissan’s “Heisman House” tour already is scheduled to make an appearance at that game.
Most of the sponsorships will allow Nissan to begin activating and advertising as soon as the deals are announced next month, but a handful will not be ready until next football season. Some of the schools will grant the brand exclusivity in the auto category, but many of them have multiple auto partners.
These deals complement a portfolio that already was rich with college assets. Nissan is an official sponsor of the College Football Playoff, while its Infiniti brand is a corporate sponsor of the NCAA and March Madness.
The only remaining uncharted space for Nissan was on campus. These new sponsorships will close that gap by giving the brand almost blanket coverage of most major colleges and a pipeline to their fans through local TV, radio and digital media.
As one source said, these school sponsorships will provide Nissan and its dealers a different way of communicating more directly with each school’s fan base than its national media buys.
Nissan’s themes and messaging for the college deals have not completely come into focus, but sources indicated that it will have a heavy digital component and will touch several sports beyond football and basketball in order to give Nissan a year-round presence. The deals will be especially beneficial for Nissan’s dealers, sources said, because of all the college assets to which they will have access.
OMD Worldwide is consulting with Nissan on the sponsorship buys. Aaron Anderson, group director for integrated programs and strategy in OMD’s Los Angeles office, is coordinating the deals with collegiate multimedia rights holders, including Fox Sports, IMG College, JMI Sports, Learfield Sports and Outfront Media.
Those rights holders represent almost all of the FBS schools. Arizona State, one of the few schools that manages its rights in-house, also is included in the Nissan portfolio.
Learfield and IMG College are the two largest rights holders, representing most of the schools in the power five. JMI has Kentucky, while Fox represents Southern California and Georgetown. Outfront’s clients include LSU, Maryland, Utah and Virginia.
Because of the fractured nature of the college space, Nissan and OMD worked almost nonstop through the summer to negotiate separate contracts with each rights holder or school. Nissan ultimately will execute close to 20 separate contracts to secure the rights to all 100 schools, sources said.
These types of sponsorships typically are heavy on radio and TV advertising, in-venue signage, game-day hospitality and on-campus activation, digital advertising and content creation on each school’s official website, and tickets.
Nissan has owned a sizable presence in the college space since 2011 through its sponsorship of the Heisman Trophy and a large accompanying advertising buy with ESPN. That’s also the same year it began a corporate sponsorship with the NCAA through rights holders CBS and Turner Sports.
The automaker, beginning last season with the inaugural College Football Playoff, also has an official CFP sponsorship.
The new school deals across 100 colleges will make Nissan possibly the largest buyer of sponsorships in the space. State Farm has more than 90 schools in its portfolio, which has focused its advertising on the stanchions behind the baskets in college basketball arenas. Allstate’s field goal nets program stretches across 82 schools. UPS’s national college buy includes deals with 70 schools.
Nissan’s creative around college football has centered on the Heisman House, an advertising campaign launched in 2011 that features former Heisman Trophy winners watching college football and generally acting silly in a fictional Nissan Heisman House.
In recent years, Nissan worked with ESPN to add an 11-week mobile tour that visits football games throughout the season with fan interactives and meet-and-greets with Heisman winners.
The Heisman program is in the midst of its fifth football season.
Infiniti’s March Madness activation has focused on its annual Coaches Charity Challenge. It remains to be seen how involved the Infiniti brand will be with these multimedia rights deals, but sources said the college rights could pass through Nissan to Infiniti. In the past, Infiniti has been able to use images of the college basketball coaches, but these school deals also could give the brand the ability to use school marks with the coaches.
