Final Four Defends Brands

Charlie Merry

Marketing Blog

Prof. Popovich

Final Four Defends Brands

 

            Every year sports fans throughout the nation anxiously wait for March Madness to come around. March Madness is the NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament that’s held annually throughout March. This tournament has become a huge spectacle and it attracts more viewers than any college sporting event during the year. Yesterday’s semi-final game attracted over 16 million viewers, more than Game 4 of the NBA Finals this past year. This undoubtedly attracts numerous brands and companies who want to become affiliated with this successful event. The NCAA partners up with these companies during the tournament and provides plenty of exposure.

 

            I’ve been watching March Madness as much as I can this year. I wouldn’t really consider myself as a huge college basketball fan, but I love watching these games unfold. Smaller schools who aren’t typically on television routinely give larger schools a run for their money. The David vs. Goliath tale is seen numerous times during the tournament. Anyways, this year I’ve been paying more attention to the advertisements and brand placement throughout the tournament. Sixteen companies are paying the NCAA hundreds of millions of dollars to be dubbed as official sponsors of March Madness. This may seem like an excessive amount of money, but due to the high viewership, these companies are getting massive amounts of exposure. The NCAA will go to great lengths to showcase these brands on the court.

 

            Many coaches and trainers in the tournament have received warnings for surprising reasons. Coaches who walk onto the court with specific brands of bottled water are quickly reprimanded. NCAA officials will quickly ask the offending parties to put their water into an official NCAA cup, instead of providing that water with free brand exposure. This may seem like a silly thing to do, but these companies are literally paying millions of dollars for the right to be showcased.

 

            March Madness is a marketing bonanza that rivals the Super Bowl. Everyone across the country is watching, even those who don’t care about college basketball. Even if you don’t care about college basketball, you likely filled out a bracket and will be more inclined to watch than before. March Madness is a great time for companies to advertise new products and unveil new product developments. Successfully showcasing your product through March Madness can produce a big time marketing win for your company.