When Nissan penned the widest-reaching sponsorship in the history of collegiate sports—100 NCAA teams—we saw an opportunity to connect with 190 million devoted, selfie-obsessed, passionate millennial fans.
Our insight? Forget Logos. Instead, we combined augmented reality technology and selfie culture to put college sports fans, not branding, in the center of the action. The result was the Diehard Fan app.
Here’s how it works: just choose a design, and your favorite NCAA team’s colors, and watch as the Diehard Fan app uses your device’s camera to layer professionally painted designs on your face. It’s the facepaint tradition amped up with the power of cutting edge digital. You can snap a picture, or record a your best fight song, and share across your social channels.
Diehard Fan owes its success to one thing above all: it combines augmented reality, facial recognition and social media to give millennials a fun and creative way to express themselves (and their support for their team). It also redefines what a “sponsorship” can be—something geared toward the authenticity of fandom, rather than star athletes or sponsors.
While the app was skyrocketing to #1 in the App Store’s Sports Category, our agency partners recognized its limitless potential and jumped in with media buys, stadium events, pre-roll spots, in-dealership support and more. As a marketing platform, Diehard can hyper-localize, thrive on any channel (newsfeeds and jumbotrons alike), generate viral content (NCAA All-Star face painters).
It’s also ripe for massive expansion to global-level events. This past summer, we launched “Nations,” an updated Diehard Fan experience for every country in the Olympics. Choose your design and flag, and support your country’s athletes. Now, Diehard lives around the globe, extending Nissan’s marketing platform thanks to an infinitely scalable digital experience.
Since launching a year ago, it’s won over a dozen top-notch awards and distinctions—including the Webbys, MMA Smarties, and Cannes.
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