NCAA partner Buick’s 2023 March Madness activation brings to life the brand’s commitment to investing in an equal number of paid ads in the men’s and women’s tournaments by building on its existing ‘See Her Greatness’ women’s sports platform and challenging hoops fans to ‘Watch Me’ through integrated content starring a team of five female college sports stars.
In an expansion of the auto brand’s #SeeHerGreatness programme, which launched in 2022 and champions inequity in women’s sports coverage, Buick’s marketing around the 2023 Division One college hoops tournament features multiple initiatives aimed at boosting women’s sports and female athlete visibility, driving equity and inclusion and firing up inspirational, insightful and meaningful conversations.
The activation is led by a series of TV and online ads, developed in harness with Dentsu Creative, featuring five leading female college athletes – Aliyah Boston, Cameron Brink, Caitlin Clark, Azzi Fudd and Kiki Rice – and providing a platform for them to tell their own stories and share reasons to ‘Watch Me’.
The hero ad, titled ‘The Next: See Her Greatness’ dropped across the brand’s own channels from 12 March which asks ‘who will be the next great female athlete?’ and then seeks to drive viewers to its ‘See Her Greatness’ online platform to learn more about our mission to increase women’s visibility.
Working with NCAA broadcaster ESPN, Buick’s marketers and its agency team deployed the campaign’s commercials during times aligned with the Women’s March Madness games and the online versions of the ads are clickable leading viewers directly to the WatchESPN streaming hub to drive incremental viewership of the games.
The car company also sponsored a #SeeHerGreatness TikTok challenge designed to encourage players/consumers to share their own personal ‘moments of greatness’ through trick-shots, speed and strength drills, in-game clips and other skills feats. This challenge was amplified by an influencer team of talented women from across several sports and fitness spaces and ventures.
To further amplify the female sports equity conversation, Buick is continuing its collaboration with TOGETHXR (a female-athlete founded and female-led media company started by Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird) which was created to showcase women and girls as game changers. The tie-up revolves around hosting a series of live ‘Mentor Huddles’ for viewers to watch and be part of discussions between well-known female athletes at major NCAA athletic events.
Hosted on the bespoke ‘See Her Greatness’ website, these huddles were developed for the brand to connect to consumers/fans through iconic female athletes, coaches and teams from around the NCAA through interviews, Q&A sessions and additional content.
The site also promotes Women’s March Madness with a game calendar and another film series titled ‘In Her Words’ which offers an insider’s look at March Madness from a line-up of athlete ambassador perspectives taking viewers behind the scenes with some of the best women athletes on the court.
There is also a section called ‘Expanding The Conversation’: a ‘powerful discussion’ with women’s sports media expert Dr Cheryl Cooky and Buick VP of Marketing Molly Peck. The idea behind the set-up is that ‘behind every drive for change is meaningful conversation, individual effort, and support from the community’ and this strand showcases how Buick, fans and experts like Dr Cooky are helping to increase women’s visibility in sports.
A further 2023 tournament activation strand sees Buick take over Portland’s ‘The Sports Bra’ (the only bar in the USA to exclusively broadcast women’s sports) on 24 and 25 March and work with bar owner and executive chef Jenny Nguyen to host watch parties (with female sports star guests) for the ‘Women’s Sweet 16’ games.
A fresh wave of ‘huddles’ take place beside Dallas’ American Airlines Center – the host arena for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four games between 31 March and 2 April.
The tournament’s automotive partner also provides a transport and shuttle fleet – Including bespoke wrapped Buick Encore GXs, Envisions and Enclaves – and those attending the Men’s and Women’s Final Four and Championship games in Houston and Dallas can use Buick’s free shuttles to and from stadiums and surrounding sites.
“At Buick we feel an inherent responsibility to advocate for inclusivity and the equity of women, it’s in our DNA” said Buick and GMC CMO Molly Peck. “As a brand, we have the highest percentage of female buyers in the industry, and a long history of supporting companies and causes that empower women. This year, we’re being even more expansive in our efforts to drive recognition for these amazing athletes.”
The campaign was created for client and NCAA partner Buick/General Motors where the brief was developed by President Annette Warring, Planner Theresa Thomas and Planning Director Brian Obenauf and the agency team at Dentsu Creative included Planning Directors Elizabeth Campbell and Kelsey Meier and Planners Chris Curtenius, Vanessa Gonzalez and Ashley Enriquez.
Comment
As a long-time partner of the NCAA, Buick has long celebrated the achievements of college athletes, but now its mission is to drive equity between male and female university sports.
The mission emerged after brand research revealed that while over 40% of all athletes are women, they get less than 10% of the total media coverage. Buick is tackling this imbalance by helping to increase women’s visibility in sports by encouraging viewership, supporting initiatives that drive equity and inclusion, and creating platforms for women to have meaningful conversations about the issues that face them.
Buick’s ‘See Her Greatness’ project first launched last year during March Madness 2022 which shines a spotlight on women’s sports through a multi-pronged creative programme which brings to life the brand’s commitment to increasing women’s sporting visibility by encouraging viewership, supporting initiatives that drive equity and creating platforms for women to have meaningful conversations about the issues that face them.
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