The ‘Madness’ is Back: How Local Businesses Can Advertise Around One of The Year’s Biggest Sporting Events

With the arrival of March, the passion of college basketball enthusiasts ramps up. This is the season when brackets are completed, wagers are made, and college basketball is in the spotlight for fans and advertisers alike. Together, the men’s and women’s tournaments comprise 136 teams and 134 games in total. Throughout the journey to championship victory, expect numerous buzzer-beaters, surprises, and inspiring “Cinderella stories”. That’s great news for businesses advertising in college basketball tournaments and aligning their brand with one of the most exciting months in sports.

With passionate fans across both the men’s and women’s brackets, advertisers have an opportunity to reach engaged audiences through cable TV broadcasts, streaming, and other digital options. Here’s a look at three ways local businesses can take advantage of this opportunity and achieve their “one shining moment” this March.

1. Take a Multiscreen Approach as Second (and Third) Screen Usage Tips Off

Perhaps no televised sporting event prompts second-screen activity as much as the annual college basketball tournaments. Part of this trend is practical in nature: With so many games going on at once, many viewers will set different TVs and devices to different games, allowing them to track multiple events at the same time.

At the same time, the tournament leaders have invested into this second-screen experience through an app, where users can stream live video, access on-demand content, and receive personalized notifications and recommendations to guide their viewing experience. These content engagement options exist on top of established second-screen experiences like social media, where fans can engage with one another and access supplementary content and commentary during the game.

With such diverse advertising options available, local businesses have more flexibility in choosing, where, how, and when to engage their target audience—and how to maximize their ROI, as well.

2. Lean into the Opportunity of Reaching Female Viewers

Female sports fans are more engaged than ever, and after last year’s record-shattering viewership for the women’s tournament, fans will certainly be tuning in to see if coach Dawn Staley’s South Carolina team can continue its dominance – or if superstars like USC’s Juju Watkins and UConn’s Paige Bueckers can help their teams make a title run.

3. Use Social Media to Insert Your Brand into the Conversation

Live events are a wellspring for content and audience interaction that happens off-the-cuff, based on the unfolding of those events. Social media is the epicenter of this online engagement: Game-winning shots, controversial calls, and underdog stories are just a few of the storylines that create buzz around the tournaments—and this buzz can help your business leverage more organic reach through your social platforms.

Creative commentary, fun social contests, and other types of social engagement can increase your visibility during this peak digital event, and even help your business even viral exposure if your commentary strikes a positive nerve with your target audience.

Need more convincing that the annual college basketball tournaments are full of hoopla for hoops fans? Check out these stats from the 2024 tournaments:

• The annual basketball tournaments generate more than $1 billion in revenue from “media rights, merchandise, licensing, ticket sales, and corporate sponsorships.” 
• Hoops fans wagered an estimated $2.7 billion on the 2024 tournaments, making them even bigger than the big NFL game that takes place in Q1 of each year.  And the 2024 women’s national championship game was the most-bet women’s sporting event in BetMGM history.
• The 2024 tournaments generated an estimated 123.7 million total actions across social media platforms.  That’s more than the number of ballots cast in the 2022 midterm elections.
• Among viewers ages 25-54, the college men’s and women’s tournament coverage accounted for nine of the 10 most-watched programs on Cable TV in March – and again in April!*  Along the way, the Women’s semifinal showdown between Iowa and UConn delivered 14.2 million U.S. viewers – the largest audience for any basketball game in ESPN history!

Successful advertising in college basketball tournaments requires a carefully constructed strategic plan to maximize your spending and engagement across many different channels at once. Make the most of this opportunity by developing this strategy with the help of a trusted advertising partner—contact us today to learn more.

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Sources:

• Investopedia.com. “How Much Does the NCAA Make Off March Madness” (March 15, 2024).
• Forbes.com. “College Basketball’s March Madness Betting by the Numbers” (April 11, 2024).
• Comscore. “March Madness Across Screens: 2024 Recap” (April 18, 2024).
• Cox Media analysis of Nielsen data and network press releases.