Some of the biggest names in college basketball this year are women. Shaq knows it — this season, he said, “is all about the girls” — and advertisers seem to know it, too.
After last year's women's tournament broke records from the Elite Eight to the Championship, several major brands are making women's hoops a centerpiece of their March Madness campaigns, including athlete partnerships and media buys.
“Years ago, if you had inquired about a women's tournament the day before, we would have bought all the rounds, even individual championship matches,” said Elliott Rifkin, associate director of the media buying team at TV advertising agency Tatari. I could have done it,” he said. Marketing Brew. “This year, when we requested cost and inventory updates, most of the items were sold out.”
“It was a very easy-to-understand discussion.”
Women's college basketball isn't typically the most popular product among Tatari customers, but leading up to this year's March Madness, the company “had far more questions about women's college basketball than men's college basketball.” said Rifkin.
Brands aren't just asking about women's games. Some brands are putting more money into March Madness for women than for men. Adidas is doing the same, running ads featuring LSU guard Haley Van Lith in both tournaments, said Chris Murphy, SVP of brand marketing.
“The women's team has great storylines, great personalities, great basketball, and there's a lot more interest. That obviously means the ratings are up,” he said. . “We didn't have a big discussion.” [about] “Should we do this or should we not do this?” It was a very easy discussion to have. ”
With spots ranging from the Sweet Sixteen to the Championship, Ally Financial guarantees four times as many impressions for the women's tournament as the men's tournament, and the total investment in the women's tournament is twice that of the men's tournament. It becomes. Stephanie Marciano, head of sports and entertainment marketing at Ally, said: And despite the increase in inventory prices for women's sports, Principal Financial Group is keeping its ad spend evenly balanced between both, said EVP and CMO Beth Wood Reed.
“Most marketers would say, 'I don't want to pay any more,' but guess what? I'm OK with paying a little more if I can get more eyeballs,” Reid said.
Coca-Cola, a partner of the NCAA for 22 years, increased media spending on March Madness for Women this year with a campaign promoting Coke Zero Sugar, said Vice President of North American Sports, Entertainment and Influencer Marketing. According to Sharice Williams Gee, the partnership with Coca-Cola. Ann Carelli, director of creative strategy for Coca-Cola North America, said in an email that the ad “celebrates both men's and women's basketball” and is intended to compete with the men's tournament.
Get it while it's hot
Amid growing interest in women's basketball, ESPN sold out of its ad inventory for the women's Final Four and championship game more than two weeks ago. (On the men's side, CBS Sports and TNT Sports also cleaned up.)
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“The slightly newer trend is that the brands that come to buy basketball are looking at women's basketball on the same playing field as men's basketball,” said Jacqueline Dobies, vice president of revenue and revenue management at Disney Advertising. . He also said multi-year contracts, prepaid contracts and short-term distributed purchases were all proving popular, with “strong demand across all markets.”
Disney already started receiving RFPs for women's March Madness last May, Dobies said, and other media buyers and sellers said their timelines for securing inventory have sped up over the past year. Rifkin said Tatari's team began finalizing purchases of women's tournaments for customers around September, which more closely aligns with the typical schedule of men's tournaments.
TV ad sales company Ampersand, which sells March Madness ads on local cable at ESPN and TNT Sports properties, began selling local cable March Madness ads about six months ago, according to Dave Solomon, Ampersand's director of sports partnerships. Demand for March Madness inventory for women increased during this period.
bonus points
If you can't secure in-game inventory, there are other ways to advertise for both March Madness tournaments. Sunglasses brand Goodr is sponsoring March Madness coverage on sports media company The Gist, and State Farm is partnering with the magazine to strengthen its partnership with Caitlin Clark, Gist co-founder Jaycee DeHoop says. he said. Aflac is partnering with athlete-founded media and commerce company Togethxr to host a Sweet Sixteen Watch Party for Women at Sports Bra and Spirit of 77 Sports Bar in Portland, Oregon.
In addition to advertising on TNT and paid social, the Ritz is partnering with Bleacher Report's House of Highlights social media network for additional content, said Jennifer Sobolewski, Ritz senior brand manager. It is said to be in production. The cracker brand also asked 16 college athletes, eight men and eight women, to post social content during the tournament for a chance to win a trip to next year's Men's or Women's Final Four. It is being held.
And if this year is any indication, the 2025 women's tournament will be an even hotter ticket for fans and brands alike.
“Why not invest next year? Yes,” Murphy said of Adidas' involvement in women's March Madness. “Will I invest in 2026?” Probably. As we watch women's basketball continue to grow, you know we will continue to invest in this area. I think that interest will continue to grow. I think it will only continue. ”
