Nissan, Float and The Marketing Arm bring new meaning to college football tailgating
Brands are clamoring over each other to connect with the valuable College Football fanbase, and this year Nissan took an innovative approach with their College Football Mobile Tour. The brand partnered with The Marketing Arm and Float Hybrid to embed interactive technology into their tailgate experience.
“Your car is one of the most technologically advanced gadgets you own,” says Russell Palmer, Account Executive at the Marketing Arm. “We wanted to infuse that level of technology sophistication into our tailgate experience.”
Every Saturday at schools around the country, fans are treated to a host of interactive Nissan experiences in the hours leading up to game time. The Nissan tailgate footprint is featured at 55 schools with a select number of schools getting a visit from the Nissan Mobile Tour, a 50-foot converted semi-truck.
Inside the semi, fans encounter two high tech Nissan game challenges, “Run the Route” and “Precision Passing”. Both games leverage gesture recognition and skeletal tracking technology to bring fans into the football experience.
In “Run the Route”, fans stand in front of a big screen TV and must move left and right to collect coins and avoid obstacles, all while holding a football in running back pose. Reminiscent of Temple Run, the game enhances the experience by making the fans body the controller, which tests their hand eye coordination with increasing difficulty as the game progresses. Pro Pilot Assist boosters help fans improve their score, while educating them about the features of Nissan Intelligent Mobility.
“One thing we know about college football fans is that they are competitive, and we wanted to give them an experience to test their football skills,” says Keith Bendes, VP Brand Partnerships at Float Hybrid. “The key to a great brand experience is combining that competitive spirit with brand education and a mechanism to continue the conversation after the tailgate is over”
In “Precision Passing” fans become the quarterback in a digital simulation. Targets appear on screen that players must hit by simulating a passing motion. Rounds lasting ten seconds challenge fans to accumulate as many points as possible in one minute of gameplay. Leader boards showcase the top scores, with prizes awarded based on the fans performance.
Once outside the Nissan Mobile Tour trailer, fans uncover a viewing area that broadcasts the top college football games of the day, a Blind Side Challenge that tests their ability to keep up with the quickness of the Nissan Blind Spot Warning technology, and a 360o-photo booth that places fans in and around an actual life size 2019 Nissan vehicle.
“The beauty of infusing technology into the gameday experience is the trackability. Not only do we know more about our customers, we can engage with them on a continuous basis,” says Palmer.
The Nissan experience operates throughout the College Football season before being converted over for College Basketball. Each interactive game will receive a makeover to deliver the optimal experience for the basketball fanbase. This means that fans who didn’t have a chance to experience the football games, or who loved them so much the first time around, will have a whole new season of sports to get their shot at the top score.
