March Madness preparations are already well underway for the NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament coming to the new 70,000 seat US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The tournament generates the majority of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s $1.1 billion in revenue, totaling $821.4 million in 2017. According to NCAA March Madness statistics, 97 million people watched the Final Four broadcast in 180 countries. Social content added 69.7 million impressions. And 67,831 were there in person to watch Villanova best Michigan. Sponsorship dollars have grown every year since the NCAA first introduced the program in 1984, driven by fan sponsor brand awareness that has reached the highest levels in 10 of 12 categories in the history of the annual sponsor loyalty survey conducted for SportsBusiness Journal/Daily by Turnkey Sports & Entertainment. That’s big business–and brilliance in marketing.
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Transcript:
00:00 The madness doesn’t hit Manhattan until March, but here at NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, March Madness is in full swing in August
00:12 The American Marketing Association New York has come to the home of what some call a marketing masterpiece.
00:20 First there is the branding. From Selection Sunday bracket announcements, to the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and culminating in the Final Four,
00:33 it all translates into audience numbers in the millions and sponsorship dollars in the billions
00:40 Live games and television broadcasts over the three week tournament are just the beginning.
00:45 The NCAA’s Game Center app brings the action to mobile and Capital One’s NCAA March Madness bracket challenge adds to
the engagement.
00:56 And don’t forget the old-fashioned word of mouth of the office pool.
00:59 What began as a handful of teams in an old gym at Northwestern has now become one of sports most watched events.
01:07 And that’s brilliance in marketing