The battle of the brands for NCAA supremacy became a slugfest between wireless carrier AT&T and auto manufacturer Buick during a Finals game that generated more than $150 million in spending, $40 million more than the Final Four games just two days before.
Ultimately, AT&T won the crown. The winning factor was the amount and target of their TV ad spend. Buick spent the most on a single ad, an estimated $26.7 million for its “Experience the New Wi-Fi” spot. That investment bought the most airings than any other ad, at 132 during the tournament. But it fell just behind AT&T as the brand with the highest overall spend, at $62 million.
AT&T spent the most overall, and that investment won the wireless operator both the overall share of voice battle and most online searches.
For a breakdown of the NCAA brand advertising results, see below:
Most Spend for an Ad
Buick – “Experience the New Wi-Fi” $27.5 million
Runner-Up
Samsung Mobile S6 – “The Next Big Thing Coming Soon” $17.5 million
Honorable Mention / third place
UPS – ‘United Problem Solvers’ / $15.8 million
Most Popular Ad by Digital Share of Voice
AT&T – “March Madness Legends: Strong Nickname” 6.94 Digital Share of Voice
Runner-Up
Powerade – “Rose from Concrete” 4.42 Digital Share of Voice
Honorable mention & third place
GEICO – “Free-Range Chicken” 4.07 Digital Share of Voice
Ad with the Highest Number of Airings
Buick – “Experience the New Wi-Fi” 132 national airings
Runner-Up
Infiniti – “Backing Up” 88 national airings
Honorable mention & third place
LG Televisions – “Incredible Awe” 85 national airings
Highest Brand Spend
AT&T
Runner-up
Buick
Honorable mention & third place
Capital One
Brand with Highest Online Searches
AT&T
Runner-up
GEICO
Honorable mention / third & fourth place
Amazon Kindle
Southwest Airlines