Nissan Partners with Yahoo for Music, Launches Multiple Promos

Nissan is producing its own concerts and sponsoring a battle of the bands in a effort to reach its target through music.

Under a partnership with Yahoo Music, a Web site, Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo Music, will feature two Nissan-branded concerts monthly, which can be downloaded or purchased. Pop star Christina Aguilera heads up the first installment set for Nov. 15, followed by others such as rock band Incubus. The concerts take place on a set located at the Fox Studio in Los Angeles that will be decked out with a Nissan lounge and vehicle displays. Concertgoers will receive Flickr-enabled phones to photograph the event, which can be uploaded to a photo gallery at the site. A Spanish language version is planned within the year. At each performance, one fan will be selected to relate their concert experience through a Yahoo blog on 360.Yahoo.com. Performers will also create their own Yahoo pages to engage others with trivia on musicians. Banners ads, branded streaming video and flash animations support the effort, the automaker said.

Nissan wanted to promote the brand through non-traditional channels, said Jan Thompson, VP-marketing, Nissan North America.

“Music is a big reason people are online,” Thompson said. “We were drawn to the interactive platform of this program, the A-list artists it expects to attract and the opportunity to engage our customers through music.”

Under a related campaign, the automaker is driving in to 10 cities with a Shift_2 Nissan Tour. The tour first stops in New York (Nov. 3-5) before moving on to Washington, DC, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia. A Shift_2 Nissan Battle of the Bands contest will pit eight local bands from each city—chosen in an online vote—against each other for a chance to have their music heard on XM Satellite Radio. Two bands from each city will proceed to a final round where one will ultimately be crowned the champion when the tour ends. At each location, consumers can test drive the brand’s 2007 models. Before each event, reps will distribute passes directing registration at Shift2Nissan.com for a sweepstakes. One winner will receive a one-year lease on a 2007 Nissan Sentra. Additionally, two people in each city could win a Pioneer Inno, a portable satellite radio. The sweeps begins Nov. 4 and ends April 16, 2007, the same month the tour concludes.

“The trajectory for both the Yahoo partnership and the Shift_2 Nissan Tour is to engage with consumers in the music space,” said Terri Hines, senior manager of marketing and lifestyle communications, Nissan. “We know most consumers have an affinity to music…and these marketing activities are another way to reach them through music.”

Jackson-Dawson Communications, Dearborn, MI-handles the tour. Online materials support.

In other news, Nashville-based Nissan is touting its 2007 Titan pickup truck to college football fans by leveraging its sponsorship of the Heisman Trophy presentation in December. One fan will win a trip for two to the ceremony and have their picture taken with the trophy and the winner. The sweeps is available at R.ESPN.go.com/espn/contests/theheismanvote/entryForm. The contest ends Dec. 4. The ceremony is slated for broadcast on ESPN on Dec. 9. Fans can also track the votes for the trophy winner on NissanUSA.com leading up the ceremony, and can cast votes in Nissan dealerships throughout the country. A print ad in ESPN the Magazine, two TV spots that debut during games on ESPN and ABC, as well as pre- and in-game vignettes support.

To further promote its affiliation with the award ceremony, the automaker is participating in ESPN the Magazine’s Gridiron Blowout Tour, which visits a university each week during the college football season. The tour lets fans have their photos taken with the Heisman Trophy. Nissan activates with signage and Titan displays. The tour sponsorship is also featured in ESPN wireless alerts to consumers touting the events.

“We’re involved in [the ESPN tour] because the Titan skews higher in the male demographic, and skews even higher for those involved in sports,” Hines said. “It’s a great opportunity to reach consumers with the vehicle.”

Nissan’s agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day and Tequila, based in Playa del Rey, CA handles creative for the Heisman Trophy initiative, while media and interactive components are handled by OMD, Los Angeles.

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