For brands March is synonymous with March Madness, an action-packed month filled with activations from tournament sponsors, teams, and athletes. Coca-Cola, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Wendy’s, and AT&T rank among the most active brands during this perennial celebration of college basketball, as well as the 30 most searched brands on our platform last month.
Cloud security startup Wiz ranked #1 on last month’s list. On March 7th, the fast-growing company announced an exclusive strategic partnership with cybersecurity platform SentinelOne, with the goal of offering customers a top-tier cloud security solution to detect, prevent, and respond to cloud security threats. A week before, Wiz–now the top-valued, venture-backed cybersecurity vendor with a valuation of $10 billion–announced its first formal partner program, designed to help further accelerate the company’s sales by expanding its already robust value-added reseller (VAR) channels.
EasyPost took the #4 spot, on the heels of becoming the Official Shipping Solutions Partner of LIV Golf in late February. The agreement marks the first global partnership for the groundbreaking LIV Golf League, which features many of the world’s best golfers competing in 14 events in seven different countries throughout the year.
Soft drink giant Coca-Cola snagged 6th place after kicking off the month in high gear on March 5th, when Coca-Cola Zero Sugar partnered with 2023 Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and JTG Daugherty Racing as co-primary sponsor on the No. 47 Camaro ZL1 for the NASCAR Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The soda icon also launched an ambitious new global campaign, “Masterpiece,” last month, which follows the path of an ice-cold Coke as it journeys from canvas to canvas–spanning the works of masters like Andy Warhol and Vincent Van Gogh, as well as emerging contemporary talents–to highlight the importance of bringing inspiration to everyday moments. Meanwhile, BodyArmor, the brand’s energy drink subsidiary, debuted its biggest campaign to date on March 15th starring Jennifer Lopez, in hopes the superstar can help boost flagging sales of its low-calorie BodyArmor Lyte beverage. Coca-Cola also continued to partner with celebrities including Magic Johnson, Lil Dicky, Travis “Taco” Bennett, and Tamika Catching in its March Madness “Best Coke Ever?” campaign, promoting Coke Zero Sugar with TV spots, outdoor advertising, and experiential activations in the Final Four host cities.
Dick’s Sporting Goods landed at #9 after announcing a new partnership anointing the brand the Official Sporting Goods Retail Partner of the NCAA. DSG launched its biggest ad campaign yet, “Sports Change Lives,” and as part of the deal, which included frequent commercials during March Madness broadcasts. Ahead of the Final Four, the brand also inked NIL deals with eight college basketball standouts: South Carolina‘s Aliyah Boston, Stanford‘s Haley Jones, Villanova‘s Maddie Siegrist, and Indiana‘s Mackenzie Holmes on the women’s side, and Gonzaga‘s Drew Timme, UCLA‘s Jaime Jaquez, Kansas‘ Jalen Wilson, and Houston‘s Marcus Sasser on the men’s roster.
