BERLIN: Brand sponsors are exploring novel ways to harness tomorrow's UEFA Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus, literally so in the case of Nissan.

The automaker will conclude its first year of sponsorship of the competition with an experiential event at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate in which fans will be challenged to show their skills and energy and generate the electricity that will transport the UEFA Champions League Trophy to the stadium on match day in a special one-off e-NV200 vehicle.

"We're very focused on trying to differentiate our brand through innovation and insights, and a lot of time and effort has gone into planning around Champions League as a massive stage to showcase that," Gareth Dunsmore, Nissan's general manager of marketing, told Marketing Week.

"It gives us the ability to portray our messaging on a mass scale, tap into passion points and add a bit of value."

Adidas, meanwhile, is using the occasion to unveil a new range of football boots, which will be worn on the pitch for the first time during the final.

"This allows us as a brand to drive relevant social conversation and through the activations we are carrying out, both in the city and on social, build brand advocacy at a hugely relevant moment," according to Robert Hughes, global PR and social media director for Adidas Football.

MasterCard's research has found that two thirds of Italian and Spanish football fans have missed family occasions to watch a game, so it has been promoting the final as a family occasion through its sponsorship of Champions League mascots.

And given fans will also be buying various final-related merchandise this weekend it is "thinking about how to bring digital and physical for everyone together to make sure payment happens seamlessly in the background".

Heineken is also promising an experiential event, but rather than taking place in Berlin it will transport 600 people to Ibiza to watch the game before going on to some of the island's top clubs.

"There are always a limited amount of tickets for the final, and this is a more energetic experience for the younger consumer," remarked Hans Erik Tuijt, Heineken's global activation director.

Data sourced from Marketing Week, Field Marketing; additional content by Warc staff