• by Karl Greenberg , July 26, 2009

Nissan has sponsored the national tour of the NCAA Heisman Trophy for three consecutive years. The Nashville, Tenn.-based U.S. sales arm of the automaker is doing it again this September, this time with sponsorship of a custom publication via Sports Illustrated, also a title sponsor of the tour.

The 75th anniversary of the Heisman Trophy, to be dubbed the "Sports Illustrated Heisman Tour Presented by Nissan" will show up at 10 NCAA football games with interactive exhibits, and Nissan product demos. The tour will include meet-and-greets with former Heisman winners, trivia challenges, information kiosks and a Sports Illustrated photo exhibit. Nissan will showcase the 2010 Maxima.

Also included in the campaign is a new "SI Presents" custom publication about the 75th anniversary of the Heisman Trophy, plus several print and digital sponsorships surrounding college football content. Nissan will sponsor a first-ever "Greatest Heisman Moments" video feature on SI.com.

Nissan will be the exclusive sponsor of the custom publication, which includes things like an interview with John M. Heisman, the grandnephew of the trophy's namesake; a gatefold poster showcasing every Heisman winner, and facts and figures.

For the first time, each cover will be specific to the host school that the tour visits and will showcase the school's past Heisman winners.

In 2007, Nissan inked a deal with Sports Illustrated to get its vehicles and branding in special issues and at multimedia events like the Heisman tour and exclusive sponsorship of a Sports Illustrated collector's edition celebrating SEC football.

For June, Nissan North America posted combined sales for Nissan and Infiniti of 58,298 units, compared with last June's sales of 75,847 units, marked a decrease of 23.1%.