Christopher Heine | March 19, 2012 | Comments
Which brands are winning March Madness so far? According to new data from comScore, sponsors of the tournament's mobile and tablet experiences may have the most to shout about.
Andrew Lipsman, comScore spokesperson, told ClickZ News that "early results show a really high percentage of activity coming from tablets and mobile."
Buick, Coke, and Capital One are sponsoring the NCAA basketball tourney's official iPhone and iPad apps, while Infiniti, AT&T, and LG are the Android sponsors. AT&T, Coke, and Capital One are the chief sponsors of the official NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament video player, which can be accessed at NCAA.com, CBSSports.com, TBS.com, and TNT.com.
Cord cutters who love their college basketball can get all of March Madness online this year for $3.99. That charge is subsidized in part by brands, including the aforementioned.
During each game, the same sponsors appear simultaneously whether a viewer is watching on a digital platform or via broadcast on CBS, TBS, or TNT. However the creative is liable to vary since online, tablet, and mobile ad insertion require device-based customization.
Digital advertising continues to converge with broadcast. The March Madness efforts come on the heels of NBC selling digital ads for Super Bowl XLVI. This year was the first time the big game had been streamed online live.
For digital users, the $3.99 flat fee for all 65 March Madness games breaks down to 16 cents per match-up. As ClickZ overheard one TV-less sports fan say over the weekend, "Man, it's cheap. But they sure do make you pay for it with the advertising."
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Christopher Heine was a senior writer for ClickZ through June 2012. He covered social media, sports/entertainment marketing, retail, and more. Heine's work has also appeared via Mashable, Brandweek, DM News, MarketingSherpa, and other tech- and ad-centric publications. USA Today, Bloomberg Radio, and The Los Angeles Times have cited him as an expert journalist.
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