IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Basketball

  • Banking on Bracketology

    Even if you’re not a fan of college basketball, you’ve likely heard friends and colleagues exclaim about their “busted brackets” as of late. The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, billed as “March Madness” runs throughout the month of March and is one of the most popular spring sporting events. The tournament begins with 64 teams and ends with the championship game in April. Part of the fun of March Madness, is Bracketology, the science of pitting teams against each other to predict the outcome of the tournament. It gets pretty serious–billionaire Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway even offered $1 billion to whoever fills out the perfect bracket.

    Where does Bracketology intersect with IMC? The answer lies in the “good hands” of Allstate. 2014 is the insurance company’s third year as official sponsor of the NCAA tournament. This year, Allstate’s antagonistic character, Mayhem, is breaking brackets in a series of Tweets, Facebook updates, and Vines. While Mayhem is infamously known for causing car wrecks and burglaries, the Leo Burnett-created “March Mayhem” campaign makes light of Bracketology. Watch as Mayhem breaks, bends, and even blends busted brackets.

    March is Mayhem

    “March Mayhem” is Allstate’s social media component of its NCAA tournament campaign. During TV coverage of the tournament, the company sponsors the “Good Hands Play of the Game” and is rolling out increased advertising for its homeowners insurance. Pam Hollander, Allstate’s senior IMC director, points out that the campaign goes on as the tournament progresses, taking into account how different teams perform in the tournament. She says the campaign features direct engagement with fans. Mayhem acts as a direct engagement tool to connect and learn more about Allstate’s social media-savvy audience. With Mayhem, interpersonal communication takes place in an ad campaign, personifying the brand’s relationship with the consumer.

    Mayhem isn’t the only insurance character with social media presence. Representing insurance companies big and small: the Gecko, Flo, Jake, and J.J. Hightail each interact with their Twitter followers. One of the strong points of the March Mayhem campaign is how it takes advantage of the Bracketology phenomenon to establish a connection with the consumer. Using a popular social trend in a social media campaign exemplifies the personification of brands.

    Do you believe using Bracketology in advertising is effective? How have you seen other brands use social phenomena in their advertising?

    –Nathan Evers

  • Basketball FREAK?!

    March Madness is a time of great success along with upsetting, shocking defeats.  The tournament lasts a month long that will determine the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship team.  So why did it take millions of viewers missing parts of games for decades before the networks realized we ALL want to watch ALL the games?  Well, 2011 is the year!! 

     One network, CBS, and three Turner cable channels, TBS, TNT and truTv will each individually broadcast different Division I Men’s Basketball matches from start to finish so that collectively they will show all the games. Not only are you able to watch one game, you are able to view the continuous scores of all the other games on the other networks from the top of your tv screen so you don’t miss a beat! Viewers now have the ability to flip between channels to the most exciting matches. This brings more coverage to the networks while broadening the audience of viewers.  Not everyone watches basketball, but during March Madness, many more do because of the upbeat competition of the tournament.  These four channels allow all the viewers to keep track of their bracket and join in on the fun!

    So far all channels collectively have done an excellent job of keeping fans up to date with coverage and news on the tournament before and after each game. A team of commentators led by Greg Gumbel have kept the conversation going for every match up. The partnership that CBS and Turner has created where the feel and look of each station’s broadcast, including the same graphics and commentators, has convincingly made viewers feel like they are watching the same tournament. As opposed to the tournament being broken down among four different stations with their individual interpretation of how it should look. This ideal broadcast is what March Madness fans have been craving for years.

    CBS has owned the rights to March Madness since 1982 and since all that time CBS controlled what games were shown. So in a bold move for making the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament available for all basketball freaks and bracket-fillers, CBS signed a 14 year deal with Time Warner’s Turner cable company for $10.8 billion to own the rights to the tournament. In doing so CBS and Turner have become each a customer-centric organization. They saw what the fans wanted and delivered. “It’s a better programming option for the viewer at home and the basketball fan,” said CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus. “More work on his or her part to find the game, but they get to decide what game they want to watch. In the past, I think we did a very good job of moving around, but it was our [CBS] decision.” Since CBS and Turner have become customer focused they see the importance for the NCAA tournament to be controlled by the viewers, and to allow the Madness of March to be experienced by the fans. 

    The next set of tournament games are this Thursday and Friday, March 24th and 25th, which showcase the remaining Sweet Sixteen. Check www.ncaa.com for a live bracket of the remaining teams and teams whose road to victory has ended.

    -Lauren DeHart & JC Salter

  • The Devil Wears Royal Blue

    The Duke Blue Devils came home wearing championship rings at last year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Led by Coach Krzyzewski, also known as “Coach K”, the team dominated the court with the power of players Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler.  Duke’s basketball program is ranked number four of all time with its amount of wins, has won four NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments (second of any ACC team), and has been in 15 Final Fours. This past year, Duke has been branded as the number one and championship team, but what will their brand be now?

    So far, Duke has been undefeated in the 2011 NCAA tournament, reaching the sweet sixteen round and keeping its successful brand image. Coach K has been helping this brand and even creating his own after earning his 900th win yesterday, March 20.  Duke has a positive and strong image supported by Coach K’s reputation for fair play, clean programs, and outstanding leadership, not to mention his top-notch recruits.  Coach K has been the head coach at Duke for 31 seasons.

    Duke’s brand transcends off the court with their wild assortment of fans, also branded as the Cameron Crazies.  These students and other spectators dress from head to toe in royal blue and white, even painting their bodies, to show their support and devotion for their favorite team.  The amount of school spirit Duke brings to their University fosters social capital among students and the Duke fan community.

    These fans have supported Duke all the way to the Sweet 16 round, who is scheduled to play Arizona this Thursday, March 24. Also making it to this round is their hometown rival, the UNC Tar Heels.  This age-old rivalry has strengthened the brand loyalty of both Duke and UNC. This game attracts millions of viewers each time the two schools compete and is one of the most entertaining and thrilling games of the season to watch. They have not yet faced each other in this year’s NCAA tournament, but in order to reach the Championship game they will have to.  Will Duke and Coach K maintain their champion status or will they be “Tar-heeled”? What do you think?

    Allison Day, Jessica Berinson, Megan Canny, Melissa Gagliardi, Scott Burgess

  • Jay-Z Joins the NJ Nets on the Court of Social Media

    The New Jersey Nets have had a questionable relationship with Twitter, recalling a scenario not too long ago when their teammate, Terrence Williams, tweeted out how he regretted being drafted to the Nets. With this in the past, it appears the Nets are attempting to rekindle their relationship with the social media giant. They are now attempting to use its features a little more…constructively.

    The Nets are deemed by many sports fans as “historically bad” at basketball with a record of 5-51. Thus, they are attempting to liven up their fan base and keep the support on the court. In an article on February 23, 2010, the Nets unleashed their newest marketing effort to try and increase their wobbly attendance. They have announced a contest for fans to win tickets to Jay-Z’s concert on March 6th.  In order to be a “fan” and enter the contest, an individual must become a fan of the team on Facebook or must follow them on Twitter.

    Once a fan on Facebook, fill out a form before March 1st to be entered into the drawing. As a follower on Twitter, tweet the message “Hey @NetsBasketball I want to win two tickets to the Jay-Z concert at the Izod Center on March 6th. More info: http://bit.ly/jayznets.”

    It is clear the Nets are attempting to build a stronger social network to not only increase attendance but also foster an identity for the future. They are attempting to connect better with their fan base and build a lasting brand. With part owner Jay-Z on their side, this strategy might actually work. Let’s just hope Terrence Williams does not tweet out that he’d rather have Lady Gaga tickets…

    Rachel Kaylor