These Brands Scored Big at the Women's Final Four

While Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese may have been the stars of March Madness, brands certainly used college basketball’s biggest platform to make a splash. Dozens of brands had an on-the-ground presence in Dallas over the weekend, where record-breaking crowds gathered to watch the nation’s top talent. Sunday’s championship alone drew nearly 20,000 fans, and the women's NCAA tournament itself pulled in 357,542—a D1 women’s basketball championship all-time attendance record—and an opportunity for brands to engage with thousands of consumers. In 2022, women’s March Madness on ESPN had 14 sponsors and 22 advertisers. In 2023, the network increased that to 15 sponsors and nearly 100 advertisers, and for good reason. AT&T’s Lily Hams It Up With NCAA Stars—Past and Present—in March Madness Ad Blitz During Sunday’s final between LSU and Iowa, a staggering 9.9 million viewers tuned in on ABC—a 103% year-over-year increase, making it the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever. That’s more than the average number of viewers for Amazon's Thursday Night Football games (9.6 million), the 2023 Daytona 500 (8.2 million) and any Stanley Cup game since 1973. I was on the ground in Dallas for Adweek, taking in the action at the Final Four, hitting as many brand activations as I could. In addition to NCAA skills challenges and a history of women’s basketball exhibit, here’s what I saw from brands: Buick Sees Her Buick created a full experience for fans. Buick presented one of two centralized brand activations for fans, this one directly in front of the American Airlines Center. Party on the Plaza featured a full bus with a stage, highlighting Buick’s #SeeHerGreatness platform. Throughout the weekend, Buick, in partnership with media platform Togethxr (founded by athletes Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Biles and Sue Bird) hosted what the brand described as “mentorship huddles” with athletes and coaches including Bird, Becky Hammon, Nneka Ogwumike and Diana Taurasi. The full outdoor fanfest served as a pregame event with food and beverages, merchandise sales, music, games, photo ops and more. Other brands, including Coca-Cola, also had small tents on the plaza. On championship Sunday, thousands of fans crowded the plaza to see LSU and Iowa players and coaches arrive and walk the red carpet. With each school’s marching band performing, a Buick employee told me the only time she’s ever seen the plaza that crowded was before a Harry Styles concert. What’s in your wallet? Fans could pose with the championship trophy. Other brands packed inside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas for Tourney Town, a fan festival presented by Capital One, which included several different activations and experiences. Capital One had an enormous court where fans were challenged to make difficult shots and a photo op posing as if you were cutting down the basketball net. The brand also had the NCAA championship trophy on display, and fans lined up to take photos with the hardware. In addition, Capital One had appearances from stars such as Arike Ogunbowale, a pep rally, mascot appearances and events such as the world’s largest game of Horse and a USOPC wheelchair exhibition game. Women’s March Madness on the Move With New Campaign and ESPN Ad Sales Sellout Beyond the Baseline with AT&T The panels included executives from ESPN, the WNBA, AT&T and Nissan. At Tourney Town, AT&T hosted a series of panels on the Beyond the Baseline stage, largely focused on DEI in sports. The session I checked out had executives from AT&T, Nissan, ESPN and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. There was also a live recording of ESPN’s basketball show Around the Rim with LaChina Robinson and Terrika Foster-Brasby. Besides AT&T's Tourney Town presence, the company sponsored the televised halftime show, the alternate broadcast on ESPN2 hosted by Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird and the (free) Saturday concert at the AT&T Discovery District with Saweetie. That's a W. with ESPN The 360 photo experience gave fans their own championship moment. As the exclusive broadcast partner for the women’s NCAA tournament, ESPN had a huge presence in Dallas, activating under its “That’s a W” campaign. At Tourney Town, fans lined up for a 360 photo opportunity, complete with real confetti and basketball tricks under the espnW brand. “We like to shout out when women are doing these amazing achievements both on and off the court, so the activation is all about bringing people in and giving them their own W moments they can celebrate with a championship moment,” said Amanda Marcotullio, marketing manager at ESPN. The activation also had four “locker rooms,” one for each team, where fans could pose for photos. According to Marcotullio, last year, all the teams were on a single wall, but attendees were too competitive and would actively block out opposing teams’ logos. The star of the show The Aflac duck and Dawn Staley were a big hit at the tournament. While basketball legends flocked to Tourney Town, the true star of the event was the Aflac duck. The company recently partnered with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, and the campaign with the coach was all over Dallas, with the duck coming along for the ride. Competitions let fans win points to earn prizes like Bluetooth headphones and Aflac branded merchandise. Of course, I left with my very own (inanimate) Aflac duck, too. Mascot University Fans could go through "four years" of school activities. For Dick’s Sporting Goods' massive activation, I roped my friend Amanda Christovich at Front Office Sports into attending Mascot University. After going through orientation, we completed our four years at school with a variety of activities, not limited to temporary tattoos, building a mascot puzzle and shooting some hoops. Fans could also take a holographic photo with stars from the men’s and women’s games. Best Coke ever? The activation highlighted the company's new Coke Zero Sugar. I saw a couple of different activations from Coca-Cola around the city (including a real-life 3D bracket in front of my hotel), but the company’s biggest spot was at Tourney Town. Fans could work their way through a basketball-themed obstacle course to win Texas and basketball-themed koozies, as well as a testing station for the new Coke Zero Sugar. Though the company may say it’s the best Coke ever, I’m happy with my Diet Coke. Powerade also had a large activation next door, but I steered clear after hearing what sounded like a fake drill sergeant yelling for pushups. Bonded by ball Wilson is designing a new ball themed around the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Wilson, the official basketball of the tournament, gave fans a chance to help design a new ball centered on the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Complete with a colorful mural, Wilson emphasized that basketball fans are "bonded by ball." On Thursday evening, the company also put on a panel in partnership with Rising Coaches around Wilson’s gender equity commitment. Hosted by HighlightHER founder Ari Chambers, the free event featured WNBA player Natasha Cloud and student athletes from Northwestern and Nebraska speaking with Amanda Lamb, Wilson's vp of brand, and Carly Thibault-DuDonis, coach at Fairfield University. Road to Final Four Two of Nissan's EVs were on full display. Nissan capitalized on its “Road to Final Four” campaign over the weekend with the Nissan Thrill Court at Tourney Town, featuring the Ariya as the official vehicle of March Madness. The activation had an interactive buzzer-beater shooting game, a claw vending machine and vehicle displays. There were also talent appearances from the likes of Sheryl Swoopes, Cheryl Miller and Candace Parker. Playa Society NCAA stars like Olivia Miles have collaborations with Playa Society. Outside of Party on the Plaza and Tourney Town, streetwear brand Playa Society hosted a popup complete with merch drops, drink specials, appearances from college stars like Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles and more. The platform is working to promote representation for women in sports and is rooted in design and storytelling for female athletes and their fans.

Sports Marketing News

These Brands Scored Big at the Women's Final Four

From a live duck to bonded by ball, March Madness was a sponsor's dream

Mollie Cahillane

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Mollie Cahillane