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Nissan sponsors Gay Softball World Series
Japanese automotive manufacture Nissan announced Thursday that it has teamed up with the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) to sponsor the 39th annual, Gay Softball World Series (GSWS).
The World Series is a nine-day event currently taking place (14-22 August) in Columbus, Ohio. It attracts approximately 10,000 athletes, coaches and fans – with 185 teams from 43 cities from across the US competing.
‘We’re extremely excited to have a company as committed to diversity and inclusion efforts as Nissan batting a thousand for us this year,’ said Chris Balton, commissioner of NAGAAA in a statement.
The Nissan Gay Softball World Series advert
‘Nissan has the most diverse consumer base of any automotive manufacturer and is eager to champion grassroots LGBT events that give consumers a chance to interact with both our vehicles, and our LGBT and ally employees,’ said Rick Ash, senior manager, Nissan Marketing, in a press release about the deal.
‘It’s also an honor for Nissan to bring more visibility to out athletes (past and present) like Glenn Burke, Billy Bean, Sean Conroy and all of the LGBT athletes competing this week.’
The sponsorship deal has been partly driven by Nissan’s Gay Straight Alliance Network (GSAN). The company has previously sponsored the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, and representatives of GSAN have taken part in Pride parades.
The Japanese-owned company has come on in leap and bounds in recent years in learning to embrace a diverse and inclusive work culture. In 2012, it scored a mere 30 out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
However, that score rocketed to 100 in 2013, and it has stayed at 100 each year since, making it one of the fastest risers in the history of the index.
Globally, Nissan has more than 247,500 employees. It sold 5.32 million vehicles and generated revenue of 11.38 trillion yen (US$103.6 billion/€93billion) in 2014.
‘With Nissan having the most diverse customer base in the industry and an engaged group of LGBT employees and allies, we’re well positioned to connect with the LGBT community,’ said Travis Parman, an executive sponsor of GSAN, to Gay Star Business.
‘Our LGBT outreach is a point of pride for employees and helps us attract not only new customers to the Nissan brand but also potential employees.’
‘The Nissan portfolio is known for design, technology innovation and safety—all of which particularly resonate with LGBT consumers.’
Alongside Nissan, the Gay Softball World Series is being sponsored by Coors Light, AllAmerican-Athletics.com, Smirnoff and Hyatt Regency, among others. It’s estimated that the event will help generate $5million (€4.5 million) in tourism revenue for Columbus.
‘Just as the tournament has grown, so have our partnerships,’ GSWS 2015 President Dallas Aldridge told Gay Star Business.
‘We are so grateful for Nissan joining the NAGAAA family in their inaugural year of what we hope will be a long term partnership and their first ever LGBT Ad Campaign. #DrivingPride.’
The post Nissan sponsors Gay Softball World Series appeared first on Gay Star News.
David Hudson
www.gaystarnews.com/article/nissan-sponsors-gay-softball-world-series/
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