Mobile is likely to be a more important strategy in brands? marketing toolbox for this year?s NCAA basketball tournament, which began this week.

Mobile marketing is beginning to play a bigger role in major sports events such as this year?s Super Bowl, where brands such as Pepsi and Bud Light had well-executed mobile campaigns. Many brands offered second-screen experiences and engaged football fans who had their mobile devices on-hand during the game, a strategy that is likely to be repeated for the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, also known as March Madness.

?This year, the Super Bowl set records for multiscreen viewing - TV and smartphone,? said Shaun Quigley, VP, Digital Practice Director, Brunner, Pittsburgh, PA.

?Look for this year?s NCAA tournament to eclipse those numbers in total mobile-social activity,? he said. 

?There are more games that stretch over a longer period of time. Plus, you have a more socially-connected audience in college kids.?

Leveraging traditional ads
Second screen experiences are likely to play a big role in this year?s March Madness marketing strategies to give at-home viewers who may already be Tweeting or otherwise engaging with a mobile device while watching a game a way to extend the viewing experience with exclusive content delivered via mobile.

The Internet Innovation Alliance predicts that the basketball tournament could garner nearly 18 million hours of streaming video consumption through March Madness Live online and mobile apps, a 29.8 percent increase over last year.

The March Madness Live app, which was developed by CBS Sports, Turner Sports and the NCAA, costs $3.99 and is available for online, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and select Android phones.

The app lets users stream every game live, view game highlights, game alerts and share content via Twitter and Facebook.

?Much like we observed during the last Super Bowl, we will likely see marketers leveraging traditional television advertising during March Madness to drive users to their mobile apps and Web sites,? said Martin Hayward, director of marketing at Mirror Image Internet, Tewksbury, MA.

?Brands will reel in consumers during TV ads, but prompt them to find out what happens next by engaging them in a number of ways: visiting their Web site, downloading a mobile application or "liking" a Facebook page,? he said.

Second-screen activities are on the rise for many brands looking to target a specific type of programming?s audience. These experiences often take place in co-viewing mobile apps such as Viggle, Shazam and IntoNow, which let users check into a particular program and access related content.

Brands can also leverage call-to-action opportunities using mobile technologies such as Zoove, where a user sees a TV ad and is prompted to type a keyword to enter a sweepstakes, view a video, download an app or get a coupon.

?March Madness is a great opportunity to reach key target audiences in their own environment to increase brand engagement and extend the social experience of watching the games,? said Peter H. Flink, group director at Ryan Partnership, Chicago, IL.

Mobile social intersection
Major sports events such as the Super Bowl and March Madness also offer brands a significant opportunity to reach an audience at the intersection of social and mobile.

Sports fans are passionate and increasingly have a smartphone or tablet in hand to express their opinion about a play via Twitter.

Increasingly, there are mobile apps designed for just these purposes, such as Yahoo?s IntoNow, which enables users to tag a game they are watching and instantly receive stats, scores, video commentary and connect with friends on Facebook and Twitter.

?Mobile devices are synonymous with all sports, especially collegiate sports such as the NCAA,? said Vik Kathuria, managing partner, GroupM/MediaCom, New York.

?Volkswagen, a MC client is using this strategy to extend engagement beyond just the TV spot for Passat and is sponsoring on Turner Sports channels along w CBS ? March Madness on Demand,? he said.

?There is seamless integration across a suite of online products as well as multiple channels reaching audiences both on TV and online on all devices including mobile.?

Mr. Kathuria said that nearly one in four United States adults online will be using social media to follow this year?s NCAA Tournament and, among those who plan to use social media for the tournament, approximately 30 percent will be using a mobile app to do so.

Despite the growing opportunities in mobile, some brands missed the mark for the Super Bowl by not including, at the very least, a mobile call to action in their TV advertising.

Mobile could play a bigger role in brands? March Madness strategies because the tournament?s audience is younger.

?Online video is not going away ? it is only growing with the proliferation of mobile devices on the market that now have powerful, fast HD capabilities ? whether they are connected to a Wi-Fi network or they are accessing it through a carrier data plan,? Mirror Image Internet's Mr. Hayward said.