• by Karl Greenberg , September 1, 2015

Hyundai is back with its fifth annual #ThisIsLoyalty NCAA football campaign, a regional-focused effort with activations at the 17 universities with which it has sponsorship arrangements. Hyundai says the regional campaign -- via Innocean U.S.A. -- includes TV, print, radio, out-of-home and digital ads, plus social media elements focused on the markets where Hyundai has team sponsorship arrangements. 

Television advertising features a dealer-centric TV spot in which a customer and sales guy are in a dealership office festooned with team gear and memorabilia. The customer and dealer bond over team spirit as they make a deal. 

The print component of the campaign includes game day programs and fan guides, while the radio spots “Shared Loyalty,” “Every Game,” “No Words” and “Not Going Anywhere” draw the parallel between loyal college football fans to Hyundai owners and their cars. 

The radio spots will air on local coaches’ shows and game broadcasts. The out-of-home advertising consists of stadium LED ribbons and boards, and the online advertising includes digital banners on school athletic sites and on Hyundai.com, per the company.

The online extension, #ThisIsLoyalty, encourages fans of the teams to share pictures, posts and tweets that exemplify their individual expressions of loyalty. A microsite -- HyundaiUSA.com/Loyalty -- will feature a leaderboard that will track fan social buzz to determine which fan base has the loudest, most loyal social voice. 

All told, Hyundai will have 117 game day events, all via event agency Advantage International. At 17 of the games — the Iron Bowl, USC vs. Stanford, Michigan vs. Michigan State, and Florida vs. Florida State are among them — Hyundai will have its Hyundai FieldHouse experiential program, a 2,400-square-foot pre-game venue with TVs, lounge seating and university celebrities. And, of course, Hyundai vehicles, including what the automaker dubs the “Ultimate Tailgate Vehicle,” a modified tailgater Santa Fe.

Tastemade.com, a digital food and travel network, will shoot nine episodes of tailgate party-theme “The Grill Iron” at Hyundai's fieldhouse, with local chefs featured. The episodes will shoot at Auburn, Clemson and Wisconsin and returning schools Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, UCLA and USC. The top four chefs from the series will be invited to the Tastemade Studios for a cook-off, voted on by a live, local audience invited by Hyundai. 

Hyundai currently partners with Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin.