Dive Brief:
- Major upsets in the NCAA basketball tournament—including University of Alabama-Birmingham's win over Iowa State and Georgia State's win over Baylor—has caused a flurry of brand activity on Twitter.
- Companies trying to join the March Madness conversation spanned from Pizza Hut, to Nationwide, to Dove Men+Care.
- Before the games began, Pizza Hut purchased promoted tweets for the search term "Georgia St bball"—despite the team's prediction to be a strong underdog to Baylor. Even stranger: The tweets didn't mention basketball.
Stuffed Crust turned 20 and you can get a 1-topping for $9.99, flavored up 10 ways. Happy Birthday, hot stuff. https://t.co/eHY1kfaOXT
— Pizza Hut (@pizzahut) March 18, 2015
.@mindykaling hoops it up for the #Tourney in the latest #InvisibleMindy commercial. Watch now! https://t.co/T9edC0cEE1
— Nationwide (@Nationwide) March 17, 2015
What brings a team together? Caring for each other. RT to show that Care Makes a Man Stronger. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/tPjqRDr7DW
— Dove Men+Care (@DoveMenCare) March 15, 2015
Dive Insight:
March Madness always inspires Twitter activity from brands, but the two upsets offered a timely, relevant way into the conversation. Whether to cheer or lament, people take to Twitter after a surprising win—offering a prime opportunity for promoted tweets to succeed. Pizza Hut's search term win shows that it sometimes pays to bet on the underdog.
