March Madness Marketing: How To Get Your Ads Seen And Loved

Can Villanova win for a second year in a row? What upset will earn you the most points?

As people scramble to fill in their brackets ahead of tomorrow’s March Madness games, advertisers are already launching their digital campaigns.

Known for its surprising upsets, March Madness advertisers are doing their best to keep viewers on their toes with upbeat and surprising ads to match the mood of the tournament.

LG is promoting its InstaView refrigerator with some familiar mascots, while Pizza Hut has made it easier than ever to order a mid-game snack.

But as well as creating emotionally-driven ad content, what can marketers do to programmatically connect with March Madness audiences over the course of the tourney?

Here are our suggestions:

• Use Emotional PMPs To Match Your Ad To the Mood Of the Site – Emotional PMPs are a series of curated private marketplaces that helps marketers match their ads with the mood of the environment or website it appears on. As you create content to match the tone of the games, consider where people will be viewing it. Consider an Exhilaration or Inspiration PMP to amplify the emotions people feel when viewing your ads;
• Launch Sports Private Marketplaces – Naturally, readers will be heading online after big upsets to catch those last minute winning shots for a second time. Be sure to be where your viewers are and launch your ads to reach viewers who are interested in sports and basketball content across premium publishers;
• Distribute Your Campaign Before March Madness Starts – When reviewing overall views on sports sites (through Unruly Activate), what we see is a steady uptick before the tournament even begins- showing an appetite for content as viewers gear up for the official start of the tournament. So release your content early.

Curious what other PMPs you could purchase?