Turner and Snapchat create ‘Live Stories’ for March Madness
For one of the biggest sports events of the year, Snapchat is taking its partnership with Turner, who holds the multimedia rights, to showcase March Madness. This event will kick off the two-year deal that the two companies signed to create “Live Stories” around events like college basketball for March Madness, college baseball for the College World Series and professional golf for the PGA Championship.
Turner and Snapchat create ‘Live Stories’ for March Madness
For March Madness, Snapchat will create “Our Stories” during the three weeks of gameplay and will show live content from the games themselves, as well as around the country at the participating colleges. Through this Snapchat “Live Story” creation, Snapchatters will have “the opportunity to contribute their unique perspectives through video and photo Snaps to one collective Story, capturing the real story, straight from the fans and people at the event.” Through this creation, fans will have access to official brand marks, scenery and more as they Snap the events. Each day, 10 to 20 million Snapchatters tune into a Live Story daily, according to Turner.
“By partnering with Turner Sports, we’re able to bring Snapchatters closer to the action and behind-the-scenes of the biggest plays, sideline moments, teams, and more starting with March Madness,” said Ben Schwerin, Director of Partnerships at Snapchat, in a statement.
An example of an “Our Story” is called “Bracket Breakdown” where the story looked at a specific day of the tournament. Featuring all of the wins and losses, as well as the camaraderie, the story details that day’s tournament happenings.
Through the partnership, Turner and Snapchat will sell advertising within the “Live Stories.” One of the participating brands, Capital One, who sponsors the NCAA, is promoting full-screen ads that will play throughout the stories. The brand will also sponsor a lens from April 2-3, making it the first time that the brand has run two sponsored lenses in a row.
“There is nothing more powerful on social than a passionate sports fan expressing their emotions during that pivotal moment of a game,” said Seth Ladetsky, senior vice president, Turner Sports Ad Sales, in a statement. “While providing fans the tools to enhance their shared experiences, we are also creating an opportunity for advertisers to showcase their brand in an organic environment rich with engagement and interaction.”
In addition to Snapchat, March Madness will be live streamed across 15 different platforms, according to CBS and Turner, which include Amazon’s Alexa, Amazon’s Fire, Xbox and Roku. Additionally, for fans who are using Apple TVs, a new interactive bracket will accompany previews, highlights and live game coverage on the platform.