“Beats By Dre” Scores With NCAA Seeding…

The high end audio business tied to sport continues to boom, no pun intended, one of the  brands that continues to make noise in the space is still Beats By Dre.  From their launch that organically dropped LeBron James into the mix as a fan to their attempts at Olympic ambush with athletes to their high end product handed out to the Seahawks and Broncos during the Super Bowl, Beats continues to find ways into the conversation with product seeding and very little in terms of traditional ad buys.

While their biggest coups came with the unique creative they had with Colin Kaepernick and Richard Sherman around the NFL Playoffs and then into the Super Bowl, with Sherman’s post-game rant after the NFC Championship Game coming on the heels of his second half debut commercial, the brand continued to score during NCAA Championship Week as well.  Some of their branding came from traditional buys on-air on ESPN and the networks, but some other great opportunities came through their gifting project with no less than six league tournaments.  

Now it wasn’t the normal headsets in a bag that Beats offered up. What they did was drop different product for each league; a wireless Bluetooth for members of the ACC; in-ear headphones for the Atlantic 10; Dr. Dre pill for the Big 12; different headphones for the Colonial; wireless headphones for the SEC; and a pill for the Pac 12.  Strategically seeding different product amongst a national core of elite basketball student-athletes shows the breadth and depth of Beats accessories and also gives those athletes a chance to share a product conversation down the line. All those athletes then become ambassadors of their brand; loud and large influential ambassadors not just when they return to school but throughout the post-season and the viral pictures of players wearing Beats accessories as they get on and off buses, in locker rooms, in meals etc. will get pickup both by broadcast media and in the social space. Young people love new, so engaging these guys while they are on the road at a tournament gives Beats the best chance at viral exposure without being an NCAA partner.

For sure Beats wasn’t the only audio brand to offer up gift items during conference tournaments. Skull Candy had some ties and Bose even found a spot or two, but no brand had such wide ranging product or such mass offerings as Beats did this past week.

Does the viral seeding with elite athletes work? Their brand studies shows it is successful both subtly and in social media  in what is an ultra-competitive and very crowded space and a quick look around most locker rooms, from high school to the pros, see the simple Beats logo being worn by more and more athletes. Does that translate down into sales? Their records show it has in the past few years, but what is most important is that Beats is seeding the growing market of influencers by building affinity with top college players before they make their big splash, either in March Madness or on the professional side. They have cast a wide net with the conferences, but it is a net that could score some big catches in affinity down the line.

The viral influencer market is not always the easiest to identify, but by being strategic with their choices and knowing their market, Beats by Dre, looks to have scored as college hoops really takes center stage.