HERSHEY, Pa. -- March Madness is one of the biggest marketing opportunities of the year. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Basketball Championship retains consumer interest for its entire three-week duration.
This high-profile event creates massive opportunities for brands sponsoring the event as well as non-sponsors to reach and engage with millions of consumers. With the increased focus on digital marketing, brands leverage social media and online video extensively to drum up awareness and interest throughout the tournament.
To help understand trends and differences in brands’ activation strategies, marketing engagement measurement firm Origami Logic has put together a report that analyzes the social activation results of 55 brands activating during March Madness 2016, and the “Final Four” are Reese's, KFC, Lexus and Capital One.
Origami Logic analyzed engagements by type:
- Applause, representing favorable responses and including metrics such as likes and favorites.
- Conversation, representing consumer responses and including metrics such as comments and replies.
- Amplification, representing brand advocacy and including metrics such as shares and retweets.
Reese’s brand is celebrating the NCAA tournament through a variety of creative advertising, social media content and in-store promotions. On April 1, Reese’s brand celebrated its eighth consecutive title sponsorship of the Reese’s NABC College All-Star Game, featuring some of the most talented senior college basketball student-athletes from NCAA Division I teams. The game complements the brand’s larger relationship with the NCAA as official candy partner and sponsorship of the fourth annual Reese’s Final Four Friday.
“Reese’s is thrilled to once again be a part of March Madness and the NCAA Tournament,” said Kristen Riggs, senior director Reese’s Brand. “Reese’s wants to inspire fans to put more living into life--and what better time than March Madness, the most emotional and invigorating tournament in the college athletic arena. We can’t wait to tip-off the NCAA Tournament season and we are confident that Reese’s and college basketball fans nationwide will enjoy everything that we have planned for them.”
This year, the brand is hosting the “Fan Up” online promotion. Through April 5, fans can visit ReesesFanUp.com to play the “Reese’s Instant Win Shootout” for a chance to score NCAA team gear, Fanatics Cash and a grand prize trip for two to the 2016 NCAA Men's Final Four.
In 2016, Reese’s returned for its fourth year as sponsor of Reese’s Final Four Friday, a free event featuring practices from NCAA Final Four teams along with fun fan activities, entertainment and giveaways.
To celebrate the kick-off of Reese’s Final Four Friday, Reese’s and Kroger will host an on-court celebration at NRG Stadium with NCAA Team Works, Houston Independent School District and Houston Public Libraries recognizing the contributions of more than 8,000 HISD third graders from 68 schools who participated in the first-ever Read to the Final Four program, reading a combined six million minutes in the month leading up to the Final Four. The NCAA Team Works Read to the Final Four celebration took place at NRG Stadium in Houston on April 1. All 68 third grade classes were invited to the event, where the top performing school was named and awarded a trophy. The Reese’s brand and Kroger will also be donating a combined $10,000 to the Read to the Final Four schools during the celebration.
Reese’s Final Four Friday also featured events, Reese’s giveaways, contests and performances by the HISD Atherton Drum Line and the Acrodunk Dunk Team.
To culminate all of the activities of Reese’s Final Four Friday, the Reese’s NABC College All-Star Game took place on April 1 at NRG Stadium in Houston and aired on CBS on April 2.
Carter Blackburn called the action, along with analysts Steve Lappas and Doug Gottlieb, and reporter Allie LaForce. Legendary coaches Doug Collins and John Lucas served as head coaches for the East and West teams.
“Reese’s always has a strong presence at the Men’s Final Four, bringing fans some of the weekend’s most popular events like Final Four Friday and the All-Star Game,” said Matt Wolfert, NCAA director of corporate relationships, marketing and broadcast alliances. “We’re proud to partner with Reese’s, and we’re glad that they continue to support our student-athletes and provide our fans with activities that lead to an exciting Final Four experience.”
Origami Logic said that NCAA sponsors (Corporate Champions and Partners) are following a tried and true activation strategy, while successful non-sponsors are leveraging less crowded channels such as Instagram to cut through the noise. Marketers are diversifying investments and adopting a platform portfolio strategy, leaning on Instagram and Twitter to drive a greater percentage of overall engagement.
Hershey is the largest producer of quality chocolate in North America and a global leader in chocolate and sugar confectionery. With headquarters in Hershey, Pa., it has operations throughout the world and revenues of more than $7.1 billion, Hershey offers confectionery products under more than 80 brand names, including such brands as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Hershey's Bliss, Hershey's Special Dark, Kit Kat, Twizzlers, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers.
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