Nissan brings TikTok’s BeReal lookalike to March Madness

• Nissan is returning as an official sponsor of the NCAA March Madness basketball tournaments with a refresh of its “Road 2” campaign, according to details shared with Marketing Dive. The Nissan Ariya, its all-electric vehicle (EV), will serve because the official EV of the tournament.
• Central to the hassle are six commercials, which is able to begin airing March 10. The effort also features a first-of-its-kind tie-up with TikTok Now, the app’s BeReal copycat tool, to encourage fans to post a video of their live viewing experience. Those who also share the post on Instagram can be entered to win 4 tickets to the 2024 Men’s Final Four game.
• Additional elements of the campaign include in-person activations, a video series with Bleacher Report and an internet bracket challenge in partnership with CBS Sports, offering additional opportunities for fans to win prizes including a Nissan Ariya crossover.

With March Madness set to begin on March 14, Nissan is revving up its plans to reach college basketball fans each in-person and at-home, all while keeping its latest EV center focus.

A roster of six commercials running through March Madness and the Final Four games will feature Nissan’s lineup of vehicles, including the Ariya, Rogue and Altima, amongst others. Sixteen well-known team mascots, former players Candace Parker and Kenny Smith and current University of South Carolina Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb will even make an appearance.

The carmaker can be said to be the primary brand to use TikTok Now, TikTok’s answer to BeReal, alongside a bigger activation on the platform. For the prospect to win tickets to the 2024 Men’s Final Four game, fans are encouraged to upload their TikTok Now videos to Instagram, a move that would help Nissan expand the campaign’s reach. Additionally, Nissan also created Giphy stickers to be used on social media and partnered with Bleacher Report to create a video series difficult fans to basketball contests. 

In a further push to connect with fans virtually, the carmaker partnered with CBS Sports for an internet bracket challenge, doubling down on the hassle by becoming the co-presenting sponsor of the ESPN’s Women’s Tournament Challenge bracket game. For the hassle, consumers can enter selections for each the boys’s and girls’s bracket challenge, with one winner from each bracket set to win 4 tickets to next 12 months’s Final Four game. Those who complete each brackets will even be entered right into a sweepstakes to win the Nissan Ariya crossover.

Nissan has long taken steps to integrate itself into college athletics. It has a long-running football-centered program, “Heisman House,” which features former Heisman winners. With loosened name, image and likeness restrictions, Nissan was able to have a college-level athlete on this system for the primary time.