Sweet, sweet March. Our beloved month of basketball is back, which means “busted bracket” is part of daily conversation, and it’s more convenient than ever to have a desk where your boss can’t see your computer screen. It’s kind of crazy to think that March Madness started in 1939 with only eight participating teams and a small amount of media coverage. Whereas today, 68 teams from across the country are invited to compete, and our televisions and Twitter feeds are quick to update us on the latest upset.
The NCAA has grown exponentially over the years, and as marketers, there’s a lot we can learn from this brand, its players and fans. So as we cheer on our alma maters, root for the underdogs and embrace the madness this month, let’s also make use of these five winning strategies, inspired by all things on and off the court.
- Create memorable product names. Even if you’re not a college basketball fan, I’m willing to bet you know what the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Four are. The NCAA couldn’t have done a better job creating catchy, alliterative names for these different parts of the tournament. As marketers, we can apply this same idea to our products, slogans and taglines to help make names for ourselves that people won’t forget.
- Get in the social media game. By now, we all know that a strong social presence is pretty much non-negotiable if we want our brands to be successful. The NCAA has multiple platforms for engagement, and they give their followers the social interaction they crave. This includes asking questions and giving updates to keep the conversation going, which in turn invites the internet to react and share opinions.
- Tell an emotive story. Fans storming the court after a buzzer beater, inspiring halftime commercials about NCAA student athletes, and this year’s heartwarming highlight about a 98-year-old superfan. It’s moments like these that manage to win us over even when our favorite teams are no longer in the running. Telling stories – human stories – is an undeniably awesome marketing tactic that allows our brands to easily establish an emotional connection with our audiences.
- Study the competition. Just as players and coaches watch videos of their opponents to prepare for their next matchup, we can do the same with marketing competitors of our own. How often are the other guys sending emails? What’s the user experience like on their website? Is their content any good? This is not to say that we should obsess over what others are doing, but staying in the know and finding ways to do things better can give us a competitive advantage.
- Stay consistent. Sometimes a good team has a bad day. They can’t make their free throws or they play crummy defense, and their lack of consistency costs them their chance to make it to the championship game. The same is true for our brands in that the look, feel and message we present to customers should be the same across all channels. If a customer receives a great email but clicks through to a website they can’t navigate, we may lose them. Remember that every touchpoint is important, and each needs to be done consistently well.
Need help calling the creative shots? Then consider us your biggest fans. Email us at holler@bonfire5.com and let us know how we can help.
