How brands are Tweeting during #MarchMadness

The @NCAA men’s basketball championship game is less than a week away, and many advertisers are bringing their A-game to Twitter. If your brand hasn’t yet joined the action, it’s not too late for a last-minute layup. For a little inspiration, here’s a lineup of some of our favorite #MarchMadness marketing plays, illustrated with great brand examples.

Launch a product
@Acura turned to Twitter to showcase its new line of “tournament ready” vehicles. Adding a site link enabled the brand to drive traffic to its website, and including a hashtag allowed it to easily follow related conversations on Twitter.

Reinforce brand messaging
Whether they take place at a bar or in a friend’s living room, #MarchMadness viewing parties often involve drinking. To remind users to choose @budlight, the brand Tweeted this playful image during the #Elite8.

Buffalo Wild Wings (@BWWings) made sure its restaurants were also top of mind via a series of humorous Promoted Videos.

Extend a TV buy
Research shows that Twitter Ads can increase the impact of TV advertising. @CapitalOne used Promoted Video to share excerpts of its TV ad campaign starring @SamuelLJackson, @SpikeLee and @CharlesBarkley.

Generate engagement
@JackHoney added value to the #MarchMadness conversation by supplying fans with a recipe. The brand also invited Twitter users to enter its #HoneyHysteria contest for a chance to win a trip to the 2015 Pro Draft.

Drive sales and downloads
@pizzahut used a Website Card, a simple call-to-action and a clever play on a basketball term to reach #MarchMadness fans at the moment they’d be most likely to be interested in ordering pizza. Website Cards showcase brands’ website content within a Tweet to drive clicks.

And @DraftKings, a fantasy sports company, used mobile app promotion to drive downloads of a #MarchMadness-related game.

Promote a corporate partnership
@InfinitiUSA used #MarchMadness as an opportunity to send a sports-related message about its support for the Coaches vs. Cancer program.

Looking for more reasons to Tweet during #MarchMadness? Check out this blog post to see why the tournament matters for marketers.