March Marketing Madness
Posted March 22nd, 2007 by Scott
Back in November I wrote a post “Playing a ’sport’ from the comfort of your computer chair,” which talked about the ever so popular trend of fantasy sports. Well now its mid-March and once again people across the nation are competing against one another, watching as the NCAA men’s Division I basketball tournament continues down the road to the final four. March Madness is one of the nation’s most prestigious sporting events and attracts millions to watch and even participate.
Companies are finally starting to realize the value behind utilizing social media tools to engage their consumers. Over the past few years, CBS Sportsline has streamed the games online free of charge and have attracted millions of viewers. Commercials are aired during the online broadcasting giving companies even more opportunities to advertise and reach their target markets. Companies are expected to shell out close to a half-billion dollars this year for marketing during the tournament as seen in this Brandweek article.
I signed up for the Coke Zero NCAA Sweet 16 Challenge and even though I don’t feel like going out and buying a Coke, it’s something fun that will bring the Coca-Cola brand to my mind when I think about March Madness. Let’s Go Ohio State!!
