It almost happened Thursday…almost. Robert Morris University almost threw Villanova a knockout punch in the first round of the NCAA Regionals in Providence, but in the end too many close calls gone the other way and one shot too few sent the Colonials back to suburban Pittsburgh. However, as pointed out in Thursday's New York Times, the apparel brand coach Mike Rice's team brought to the Dunkin Donuts Center may have been one of the bigger winners in the first round. CRONS, which stands for Come Ready Or Never Start, was one of a handful of teams not to wear Nike or adidas in the field o0f 65 and is the only brand not available at retail. It was also the only brand to not just score coverage with its unique story, but in delivering all the right messages and merchandising the story (a newsletter to all its coaches and partners that followed an email with a link and call to action earlier in the day) to give the story legs well beyond wtaherver RMU did on the opening day of the tournament. The brand also positioned itself for followup with partners should RMU have pulled the upset, which would have given CRONS at least two additional days to re-tell the story, which links Rice, a former assistant at Pitt to company founder Pat Cavanaugh, who played for the Panthers and runs the company from Pittsburgh. The value of the story as a launch point for the brand to grow will be intriguing and seems like the next logical step in their growth process…from a grassroots brand to finding a niche with small colleges to Robert Morris to a deal with the Big South Conference…all the while occupying the same space that many of their clients also fill…that of the underdog. It's a great example of Cinderella showing up and bringing along a friend, and after her ball ends, the friend continues on thanks to a very nice boost. A good story amongst many for the first round, and perhaps one of the better off-court collegiate branding stories in a while.
The lightining in a bottle success for CRONS Thursday raisies a very interesting point for emerging brands looking to break through. Can select brands…apparel, beverages, snacks, electronics…find a niche space among mid-major Universities, take a low-risk shot, and then be ready to ride a wave of success to greater brand recognitio.? A few years ago Slingbox made an unusual buy, taking a good amount of courtside signage during championship week to get brand exposure amongst a core group of hoops followers who they knew might be interested in their product, but may not have heard of it through other brand activation campaigns. throughout championship week there are acres of empty seats in some venues, and lots of advertising space available for enterprising brands with some capital to activate with. The space is unencumbered by the clean look of the NCAA Tournament and has the potential of getting some ancillary publicity for those brands. Maybe it is not the spend a brand would make to sponsor the Big 12 Tournament, but it may make enough financial sense to tie some brand allegiance to six or seven lower seeds and roll the dice. It is no different than the patch program some brands use in tennis…pay low cost match by match sponsorship for a potential rising star who gets quality time against a big name opponent, thus drawing some very solid eyeballs to a brand which could not afford to spend its way into a high ticket item like the US Open or other events. It is ambush in some ways in that the exposure can be quick and with risk, but it is not going at the core of what ambush marketing really is, which is a direct and prolonged attack in a protected category. What CRONS has done, and what others could do, is look at the marketplace in advance, and like anyone with a penchant for gambling or handicapping, figure out what the barriers to entry are and how best to effectively exploit the gaps. It is smart, it can be very effective, and if played and planned right, can have a solid long term bounce for the brand.
So as one weighs the winners and the losers of the first few days of March Madness, take a look at CRONS and a few other brands that may be able to break through the clutter with some smart and efficient moves, and slide them into the W column. If not on the court, then in the branding and activation category.
