Jan 25, 2011 at 02:04 PM
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Nissan Beefs Up Portfolio Of Nashville Properties

Nissan is making its name known in Nashville. On the heels of its announcement that it will become the presenting sponsor of the Nashville Film Festival, Nissan has upgraded from official to presenting sponsor of Nashville's Country Music Marathon & 1/2 Marathon. The sponsorship deals support the automaker's recent headquarter relocation to the area.


Nissan moved 1,300 of its employees from Los Angeles to its new corporate headquarters in the Nashville suburb of Franklin, TN in 2006 and completed a new $70 million corporate center there in 2008.

“It’s been remarkable to see our hundreds of employees here at Nissan train together as one team and truly get involved in this great local event,” said Jon Brancheau, vice president, Marketing, Nissan Division. “We see a great opportunity to encourage our employees to take care of their health, support our local community, while also finding new avenues of direct contact with such a diverse and desirable customer demographic.” Photobucket

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Race organizers say that more than 400 Nissan employees will run in the 26.2 full marathon or 13.1 mile half-marathon races. The recent moves support Nissan's already active presence in Music City USA, having existing deals with the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment.

Nissan competitor, Dodge, is the official automotive partner of the national Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon Series for 2011. Dodge also will serve as title sponsor of six marathons in 2011, including races in San Diego, Seattle, Virginia Beach, San Jose, Los Angeles and Miami Beach.

In other marathon news, St. Louis-based chemicals company, Solutia, has signed on as the inaugural title sponsor for the first Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon in St. Louis.

"We're more excited than ever about our launch of the Rock 'n' Roll brand in St. Louis, and a partnership with one of the city's prominent companies makes this a true community event, " said Peter Englehart, CEO of Competitor Group.