Tube Trends: How Are Brands Scoring On Social With March Madness?
The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments captivate U.S. audiences every March. Yet this year, video trends seem to indicate that some brands aren’t cashing in to the fullest extent as media and creators drive conversations.
Data from Tubular Labs showcases how — especially on YouTube — NCAA and tournament sponsor brands are/aren’t engaging with fans around the games and basketball-themed ads at a time when college hoops interest it at its highest levels all year.
Wendy’s Wins With Dunks
Wendy’s, an NCAA sponsor, is airing basketball-themed ads during March Madness this year — but of those that explicitly note March Madness, there’s only clear sponsored money behind one (“The Most Dramatic Dunks In History,” with 9.6 million views).
The quick-serve chain has been a staple during tournament time, and remains one on TV this year. Yet the YouTube strategy this year is less about creating tournament buzz related to its brand than it is encouraging audience engagement via Frostie “dunking” and in-store visits.
Across social video platforms in March, Wendy’s has generated over 6,540 user-generated uploads, amounting to more than 108 million views. The audience engagement content play has been a success to-date, with the brand setting a 13-month high for user-generated uploads in March 2026 — with time left to spare — and a 48% increase already compared to last March.
(via Tubular Labs)
More To Squeeze From Madness
Some other sponsors have additional opportunities available to optimize March Madness investments that already exist on TV.
Capital One, for instance, is an NCAA Corporate Champion (highest tier) and a tournament ad regular. Yet, their typical run of spots featuring Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson and Charles Barkley — plus additional appearances from Caitlin Clark and Jennifer Garner — are not necessarily getting the same push on YouTube to engage with fans there.
Despite using “March Madness” in video titles, Capital One has 28 million YouTube views this month and its tournament-related spots are not among its most-seen.
Another Corporate Champion, AT&T, has the views and uploads related to March Madness. But videos are not optimized to capitalize on fan interest in tournament-related topics. Its most-seen video (“Share the Pic”) has over 30 million views and is clearly a March Madness spot. Yet its title, tags and description do not aid discoverability around that topic.
Brands don’t have to be explicit about sponsorships in every ad, of course. However, the money spent around these events can also be better optimized and extended into social by at least aligning with the most discoverable terms.
How Non-Sponsors Slide In
The NCAA has specific rules around how non-sponsors can associate with the tournament, which can be a challenge — but also encourage cleverness on the part of marketers.
Social video is one place where that cleverness can help lead to real-time engagement, and several brands tried this route in March 2026.
FanDuel and Hard Rock Bet have uploaded over 50 combined videos at least tangentially related to March Madness, and do show up in related YouTube searches at a time when sports betting is at its highest all year, save perhaps the Super Bowl and the NFL’s opening weekend.
Other advertisers find effective uses for phrases like “madness” to imply relation while staying within the NCAA guidelines. This year, that list included plenty of smaller companies from regional mattress retailers and car dealerships, to state lotteries and grocery stores.
On these smaller scales, too, these advertisers don’t have to generate millions of views — though several found ways to reach 50-100K views just the same. By tying audience targeting to a trendy topic like March Madness, they’re able to capitalize on perceived relevance, without breaking the bank via sponsorship.
