The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams that compete in seven rounds for the national championship. The last four teams is known as the Final Four. The Final Four is when the audiences rise.
But who’s the audience? Everyone.
Over 70 million people participated in a bracket challenge during last year’s tournament that had an average daily audience of 9.8 million viewers. Fans of other sports (such as NFL, NHL, MLB) gravitate towards the NCAA Tournament because there are no other tournaments currently going on. TV advertisements have gained huge revenue for this madness; from commercials to advertisements on subways, buses, and taxis.
How is the branding of March Madness so successful?
Going beyond the infamous March Madness logo, the NCAA has created many groups within, such as Selection Sunday, First Four, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and Final Four. Each has their own certain attraction and grabs different audiences for each. The entiracy of how detailed each aspect of branding in this tournament goes on forever. Specific placements of branding is what makes this work instead of being so “in your face”. Placing the logo on the players seats, or the sponsors seats, players jerseys, the hoop on the top for when they replay certain moments.
Advertisers during March Madness rely solely on mascots, official NCAA-approved gear worn or displayed, former players, and current and former coaches in order to relate to consumers.
This small cut into how branding of the NCAA tournament is just the beginning. The study of how powerful it has become is one to simply be impressed by.