Nissan has been named the Official Sponsor of the 2008 USA National Track & Field Team and the Eugene '08 festival, held in conjunction with the U.S. National Team Championships, the largest national championship track meet in the world, to be held June 27 through July 6 at Hayward Field in Eugene, OR. The event will determine the U.S. track and field team going to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Nissan has also renewed its "Master the SHIFT_" program with Rodale Inc., publisher of Runner's World and Running Times, to create a custom integrated multimedia program around the Trials and extending to additional endurance events throughout 2008.
In support of Nissan's U.S.A. Track & Field sponsorship, Rodale will publish "The Runner's World Championship Guide for Eugene "˜08," a comprehensive souvenir guide. Packed with Runner's World editorial features, athlete profiles, great moments in U.S. Olympic Trial history, a Eugene visitor's guide, and a schedule of events, the 80-page guide will be single-sponsored by Nissan. It will be distributed throughout the Eugene area, specialty retailers in the Northwest, and at national "Master the SHIFT_" events.
Additional program activities surrounding the U.S. National Team Championships will include The Running Film Festival presented by Nissan at the University of Oregon and the Eugene '08 Festival. The Eugene '08 Festival will kick-off Nissan's expanded "Master the SHIFT_" program with Rodale. The centerpiece of the program is four elite athletes and professional trainers - or "Masters"- Alberto Salazar, Hall of Fame marathon runner, coach, Nike Oregon Project; Chris Carmichael, former Olympian, best-selling author and trainer to Lance Armstrong; Kathy Kaehler, Celebrity Fitness Trainer; and Laird Hamilton, big wave surfer, master of crossover board sports, pioneer of tow-in surfing and TV Host.
These "Masters" will be featured in an ongoing print and online campaign in Rodale brands including Runner's World,Running Times, Bicycling, Men's Health, Women's Health and Best Life. Rodale will create a custom website, mastertheshift.com, featuring the training philosophies of each "Master" via webisodes and training videos. The site will have weekly sweepstakes, events listings, and enhanced tools and social features.
The "Master the SHIFT_" event program will travel to nine locations, reaching hundreds of thousands of high performance life enthusiasts. Each event will include vehicle displays, "masters" appearances, local dealer integrations, state of the art interactive tools, giveaways and a weekly sweepstakes.
Locations for 2008 are: | ||||||
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Jun 27-Jul 6 |  | Eugene '08 Festival |  | Running |  | Eugene, OR |
| Jun 29 | Livestrong Challenge Portland | Cycling/Running | Portland, OR | |||
| Jul 13 | Livestrong Challenge San Jose | Cycling/Running | San Jose, CA | |||
| Aug 17 | America's Finest City Half Marathon | Running | San Diego, CA | |||
| Aug 24 | Livestrong Challenge Philadelphia | Cycling/Running | Philadelphia, PA | |||
| Sept 14 | Nation's Triathlon | Triathlon | Washington, DC | |||
| Sept 14 | Chicago Half Marathon | Running | Chicago, IL | |||
| Oct 5 | Army Ten-Miler | Running | Washington, DC | |||
| Oct 25 & 26 | Livestrong Challenge Austin | Cycling/Running | Austin, TX | |||
| Dec 7 | Las Vegas Marathon | Running | Las Vegas, NV | |||
"Rodale has been a key and impactful partner for us," remarks Ben Poore, vice president, Nissan marketing. "We've now been able to take that partnership to a new level, creating a robust campaign surrounding the U.S. National Team Championships; upping the intensity of the "Master the SHIFT_" event program; and integrating The Running Film Festival. This unique program allows us to create Nissan brand linkage expressed through print, broadcast, experiential and digital channels and will maintain launch momentum of the all-new 2009 Nissan Maxima."
"We are pleased to have renewed this integrated program with Nissan, having successfully achieved Nissan's ROI objectives in 2007. That success provided us with the opportunity, working closely with Nissan's agency OMD, to expand the program significantly to support key Nissan initiatives in 2008," said Angus Macaulay, VP, Rodale Marketing Solutions.
As the primary point of access to Rodale's high-impact asset groups, Rodale Marketing Solutions combines creativity with content and marketing expertise to create strategic solutions to deliver robust, customized media and marketing communications platforms, managing every stage of the process from concept through development and execution. Its award-winning programs facilitate a deeper connection between a brand and its target audience, providing measurable impact and return on objective.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, one of the most-watched sporting events at the Olympic Games, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: www.usatf.org.
About Nissan:
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.infiniti.com.
About Rodale Inc.
Rodale Inc. is the authoritative source for trusted content in health, fitness and wellness around the world, reaching more than 70 million people globally. The company publishes some of the best-known health and wellness lifestyle magazines, including Men's Health, Prevention, Women's Health, Runner's World, Best Life, Bicycling, Running Times, Mountain Bike, and Organic Gardening, and is also the largest independent book publisher in America with a collection of international titles, including The South Beach Diet and The Abs Diet franchises, and Al Gore's New York Times bestseller An Inconvenient Truth. Rodale's broad range of media platforms includes magazines, books, video, and extensive Web sites. The company is also a leader in direct-response marketing and has more than 25 million active customers in its database. www.rodale.com.
