"March Madness evokes marketer madness"

From USA Today

Analaysis by Wyatt Johnson in SRM 435 (section 1) 

Our article talked about how big March Madness is and how it is a marketing mix that advertisers try to take advantage of. With the tournament being broadcasted on 4 different networks it gives companies an advantage to promote their products to potential consumers. March Madness is so big companies can reach different audiences through ads, giveaways, concerts, and rebranding hotels. I feel like this is a month that companies definitely look forward to because it’s a whole month of basketball and a whole month fans will see these ads multiple times throughout March. Companies are also using social media to engage fans as well. Companies like Burger King and Pizza Hut are using twitter to promote their special deals. I believe that March Madness is huge marketing mix for companies because they use all 4 phases of promotion which include advertising, publicity, personal contact, and incentives. All of these phases are essential to engaging fans and consumers. Companies are using different marketing strategies to get in touch with potential consumers even through cell phones. Some companies having different apps that people can download on their phones and that helps companies get various ways of promoting their message. This article is relative to the course because March Madness is one of the biggest events in sports and it helps companies display different ways of connecting March Madness with their product to help promote their message to potential consumers. Companies have to go through various marketing steps we talked about in order to be affective in sport promotion and sales.

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Analysis by Lindsey Tomasz in SRM 435 (section 1)

USA Today's "March Madness Evokes Marketer's Madness" is a short yet great article that focuses on how those in the marketing industry use this three weeklong event to promote their products. It is obvious that although March Madness doesn't exactly have the "heft" of the SuperBowl or the worldwide scope of the Olympics, it certainly is becoming a marketer's dream come true. Over the past few years, this event has brought in more and more ad revenue - more than some professional sports leagues - and the young, desirable audience and the great world of social media are mostly to thank for that. Marketers are doing all they can to take advantage of this; debuting both new ads and apps, hosting concerts, giving away free food, and even rebranding some hotels, just to name a few.

I believe that companies using March Madness to advertise themselves and their products is an extremely smart move. Along with the young audience, the different games throughout the tournament are shown on multiple different channels, which gives marketers more room to work with. It gives them the opportunity to really get out there and spread the word around for what they are trying to sell. There about four stations that are televising games, which also means that there are at least four major websites that can be used for advertising as well. I know from first-hand experience in the past week, that if I miss a game that was on my bracket, I immediately go to the website to see what I missed. I think it is also a great idea to be using former basketball stars in the commercials. Using these stars keeps a relationship between the ad and what the viewer is actually watching it for, and probably holds the viewer's interest more than other, say "regular", people. Although people don't necessarily watch this tournament for the commercials in particular, like they do for the Super Bowl, I think it is still a safe bet to be spending the millions of dollars for that thirty second commercial as long as they keep that "ad to game" relationship going.

This marketing strategy is very relevant to our course because it is a prime example of obviously promotion and sales in the sport industry in relation to a widely social and growing event. To name a few, we are taught about sponsorships, advertising, licensing, different incentives, and what really makes a good sales person/company in a business. Reading about these March Madness marketers has really put a lot of these into perspective and allows me to better understand what all goes into selling a product or service. It has been very interesting for me to watch the games and commercials and be able to go more into depth about how the advertisement was created to better fit the sport and audience and maybe how the certain sponsors/ads fit back into the college basketball aspect. Connecting everything back to the consumers is huge and marketing in this tournament has proven to be all about that, which is why there is no “peak” to be seen at all in the near future of this and it will only become more popular in years to come.

"NBA's All-Star Weekend Tweaks Are Step in Right Direction"

From Bleacher Report

Analysis by Jauan Latney in SRM 435 (section 1)

This article was all about increasing the fan experience in the all-star weekend contest for the NBA. The most anticipated was the new style of the dunk competition which added a freestyle round and is putting three western conference players against 3 eastern conference players. It goes into the changes to other invents like the skills competition being a two-man relay and the three point competition having one full rack of money balls placed wherever the shooter chooses. They also talk on how the young players get a chance to put their names out there during the all-star weekend and possibly get themselves some endorsements.

            The NBA has the best all-star event compared to the rest of the top professional sports. From a marketing standpoint, companies have their names on events that go on involved in all-star Saturday night as well as other events throughout the week. All the fans that are in town for the four day weekend are seeing ads and being involved with these sponsors of the NBA. They came out with a “JAM BAND” for this year at the Jam Session events where you sign in with the bracelet using your information and swipe in at different events. When people swipe in at these events/stations the sponsors of that station can see that and send them mail in the future. The bands can also compare the fans stats to their favorite NBA player in the “Draft Combine” drill. When you’re having events like this, social media is always good to have and you can post to social media with the use of the bands as well. When it comes to sales this was the cheapest all-star game in history to get into but they were also more focused on the whole fan experience this year. With the use of the many performances throughout the weekend and meeting all the players the experience was definitely boosted this year along with the JAM BANDS for Jam Session events.

            This is relevant to the course because it covers getting the experience that all fans crave and the way the NBA gets sponsors involved in their all-star weekend. It also is about reaching out to those fans after the event is over to reach them about sales in the future and to ask about their experiences from the weekend. The NBA all-star weekend is the ultimate example of any all-star event in the top professional sports, even greater than the NFL. They get into the marketing and promotion standpoint to make current and future sales and reaching out to obtain new customers due to their combination of being with the NBA. 

"Marketers Going Mad This March Over NCAA Tournament"

From Athletic Business

Analysis by Kevin Albright in KIN 501

I came across a marketing article Athletic Business Journal that I found really interesting regarding the NCAA Tournament and how big of a stage it is for marketers around the country. The article starts off by saying that the NCAA Tournament is not quite as attractive to marketers as maybe the Super Bowl or the most recent Olympics, however it is pretty close and especially this year is gaining a lot of attention from marketers. The tournament consists of over 60 basketball games which are all broadcasted over four popular TV stations (TBS,CBS,TNT, TruTV). Games go on for nearly 3 weeks and attract many viewers outside of basketball fans because of the size of the event and the instructiveness of filling out a bracket and competing against others for the better bracket. The article talks about the tournament being a marketers dream because of the large coverage as well as the fact that it’s live sports, they describe it as “TiVo proof”.

Last year it was said that the tournament generated over 1 billion dollars in ad revenue and they anticipate exceeding that this year. The growth of social media has helped the marketing of brands also because for three weeks social media is buzzing about everything relating to the NCAA Tournament. Also companies are sponsoring apps, hotels, contests, hosting concerts and running promotions during this time to grab the attention of their views and promote their product. I see it as a great way to market because of the reasons the article mentioned dealing with it being a 3 week event, live TV, tons of social media opportunities and the size of the spectators.

This topic is very relevant to class because determining where you are going to use your marketing resources is one of the most crucial parts to a successful marketing program. I also thought that it would spark and interesting discussion on how valuable some marketing may be and what kind of price tag can you put on it. For example Warren Buffet is teaming up with Quicken Loans to offer 1 billion dollars to anyone who can get a perfect bracket. Quicken Loans is gaining so much publicity from this contest and they are willing to risk a lot of money if someone wins the contest. Now the odds are very slim that someone gets a perfect bracket but it was the decision they had to make as to how valuable is that as a marketing scheme. The importance of studying trends and analyzing numbers and statistics can be critical to devising a strong marketing plan.