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5 Ways to Work March Madness into Your Video Marketing

Posted by Cricket Capucci on March 28, 2017

In case you haven’t noticed (but we’re pretty sure you have), the NCAA Basketball Tournament is in full swing. As a marketer, it’s the perfect opportunity to show some personality and connect with your audience. Since March Madness already generates an enormous buzz, all you need to do is create some relevant content.

Here are five important tips for working March Madness into your next corporate video:

1. Cast Yourself as the Underdog

If you’re an up-and-coming company, you can use the public’s love of upsets to pit yourself as an underdog. Create a video that talks about why you have a chance against the established competition (the “top seeds”), just like the plucky underdogs in the NCAA tournament. When an upset happens, you can even Tweet or make Facebook posts about the game and tie your content in.

2. Create Your Own Brackets

Nothing says March Madness like a good old-fashioned bracket. Just make sure to stay on-brand. If you have sixteen different products, put them in a bracket and make a video pitting them against each other. If you’re a marketing company, take some famous commercials and put them in a bracket. Just make sure to keep it light-hearted and entertaining.

3. Take Advantage of the Local Team

With 64 teams in the tournament, it’s likely that at least one or two colleges from your local area are competing. You can take advantage of this by creating a quick video wishing them luck, decorating your office in the appropriate colors and wearing supportive shirts. If you’re primarily targeting a local audience, this builds an instant connection with them, and even if you’re a national or international company, it lets you show off some personality.

4. Put Together a Contest

For most fans, filling out brackets and following their progress is one of the best parts of the tournament. You can use these bracket contests (you can create one for free online at numerous websites like ESPN.com) and reward the best performers with discounts or free swag. Create a new video once or twice a week to discuss the current standings and engage with your audience.

Contests let you engage with your audience while giving them the chance to win great on-brand prizes.

5. Avoid Copyright Infringement

You shouldn’t feel discouraged from creating content centered around March Madness, but you’ll want to carefully avoid using any of the NCAA’s trademarks without their expression permission. This includes phrases like ‘March Madness’ and ‘Final Four.’  This is typically enforced when it comes to promotions or taglines, so as long as you’re just creating content and not using these trademarks in your advertising or promotions, you should be fine.  Perhaps ‘March Mayhem?’

If you want to take advantage of the NCAA Tournament this year, you need to act fast! That means finding a local crew that’s able to get things done quickly. To get started, click here and we’ll get you a free quote faster than a fast break.