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3 Ways Advertisers Can Use Location Data for March Madness Campaigns

March 3, 2020

Get out your bracket and ready your predictions – March Madness has finally arrived! For those who aren’t into college basketball, March Madness is a single-elimination tournament featuring sixty-eight basketball teams from NCAA Division I. This year, the championship game is being held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The first game was played in 1939 and won by the Oregon Ducks. Ever since the first TV broadcast in 1969, advertisers have shown a big interest in the tournament. In 2018, advertisers spent over $1.3 billion dollars on TV advertising. This year, TV ads for the NCAA tournament sold out quickly. What are the alternatives for advertisers who can’t get an ad placement on TV? Advertisers can get the most out of their March Madness ad campaigns by taking advantage of over-the-top (OTT) advertising, digital out-of-home (DOOH) ads, and team sponsorships.

Group of friends watching a basketball game on television.

Here are three ways advertisers can use location data to get the most out of their March Madness advertising campaigns:

Take Advantage of Cross-Device Targeting

According to a 2019 survey by PCMag and Sports Illustrated, about 60% of viewers aged 18-24 plan on streaming the game. In total, 30% of NCAA tournament viewers plan on watching the game on their tablets, smartphones, or laptops. This is where over-the-top (OTT) ads come into play.

Advertisers need to determine the right streaming platform to reach college basketball fans. Subscription video on demand (SVOD) services, like Hulu or YouTube TV, offer sports packages to their subscribers. To reach streamers across multiple devices, advertisers can use location data from mobile devices to implement cross-device targeting. Tournament streamers will see same ad that they saw on their mobile devices on their laptops or tablets.

Cross-device targeting can also give advertisers the chance to extend their ads to gaming consoles. Customer intelligence can be used to determine what college basketball fans are interested in. After conducting a data analysis, an advertiser might find that college basketball fans are passionate about gaming. This information allows the advertiser to know that they can include gaming consoles in their cross-device marketing strategy.

Reach College and University Students

College and universities are great locations for implementing a sports advertising campaign. There are many different types of OOH options on college and university campuses. On-campus advertising opportunities range from digital screen displays to phone charging stations. To determine the best placement for digital out-of-home (DOOH) ads, it is best to use foot traffic data.

For example, an advertiser is looking to increase brand awareness of their energy drink. They decide to run an advertising campaign at a college whose team has qualified for the “Big Dance.” The advertiser knows that the students at this college enjoy energy drinks based on their audience profiles. However, they aren’t sure where they should place their ads. After conducting a foot traffic analysis, the advertiser may discover that the most foot traffic is at the main student union building, which has cell phone charging stations. By placing their digital ads at these stations, they increase the exposure of their ad campaign and prevent ad waste by targeting the right audience.

Sponsor a Team

Team sponsorships are an excellent way to expand an ad campaign’s reach. It’s important to choose the right team to sponsor. An advertiser interested in team sponsorship should start off by conducting market research with location data to better understand college basketball fans. If they are able to know what college basketball fans like to spend their money on or their interests outside of basketball, then advertisers can increase their chances of being able to spread brand awareness through a sponsorship opportunity.

For instance, one college basketball team’s fans might be more likely to go to athletic wear stores than other teams’ fans. A company selling athletic wear might decide to sponsor the team whose fans are most likely to visit athletic wear stores. The athletic wear company could then work with the team to create special commemorative jerseys for fans and players.

Using Location Data for Sports Advertising

With location analytics, advertisers can get the most out of their sports event advertising. Location data gives advertisers insights into the most dedicated fans. Whether it’s the finals or pre-season training, it is important to be able to tailor your sports ad messaging to appeal to fans.