In the first week of March, ahead of the start of the NCAA’s Division 1 college hoops tournament, Great Clips – the official hair salon of March Madness – activated its sponsorship by urging fans to ‘Go Hats Off’.
The multi-stage campaign span college athlete NIL tie-ups, with ad content and a sweepstakes fronted by Illinois forward Matthew Mayer and UConn guard Caroline Ducharme (who both boast significant social followings), plus former college basketball star turned broadcaster Wally Szczerbiak and some of the top trick-shots stars on social media.
A hero social video – running across Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube – sees Mayer and Ducharme joined by social media content creators Trixshot Sam, Lucas Shapiro, Christian + Scooby and Kenny Chao as they showcase their creative hat flips.
After getting fresh haircuts for March Madness from Great Clips of course.
The spots dropped from 7 March and were supported by a suite of social content across the brand and the players’ own social platforms and the executions seeks to drive viewers to learn more about the initiative online at www.GreatClips.com/MarchMadness.
The sweepstakes runs from 7 March through to 19 March and offers players a chance to win a trip and tickets to the NCAA Men’s or Women’s Final Four if they share a photo or video of their own hat flip on social media using #HatsOffSweepstakes or on the Great Clips website.
The prize package includes two tickets to the winner’s choice of either Men’s or Women’s semifinal and championship games, roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodations and $300 for food and local transportation.
“You don’t have to flip out over your hair,” Mayer said in the campaign PR. “Great Clips has you covered. Show us your best hat flip for a chance to win a trip to the Men’s and Women’s Final Four. Looking this great, I don’t need a hat anymore.”
“This March Madness, we’re asking fans to ditch their hats because we know that a fresh haircut from Great Clips can give them an extra boost of confidence when cheering throughout the tournament,” outlined Great Clips VP Of Marketing and Communications Lisa Hake. “We’re excited to see all the different ways college basketball fans will flip their hats for the chance to win a trip and tickets to the Men’s or Women’s Final Four games.”
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Great Clips originally unveiled its multi-year marketing partnership with the NCAA back in 2020 and the tie-up spans NCAA March Madness, NCAA Men’s and Women’s Final Four, as well as marketing, media and activation rights surrounding all 90 NCAA Championships. The Great Clips partnership with the NCAA is linked to a joint agreement with Turner Sports and CBS Sports.
The March Madness work follows on from previous recent sports-led marketing such as its August 2022 back-to-school initiative fronted by former NFL QB Drew Breeze and other sports ads linked to the NHL and American Football.
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