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Buffalo Wild Wings leverages social to drive March Madness conversations

Buffalo Wild Wings is tapping the natural affinity between social and major sports events to drive customer engagement in a campaign that brands the casual dining chain as the official hangout of the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament.

The campaign, #WingWisdom, also leverages TV, digital, in-restaurant activations and on-site Final Four experiences to bring to life Buffalo Wild Wings? take on sports, food and fandom during one of the sports calendar?s most-watched events. Social media?s role points to why the channel is attracting more of marketers? budgets during mass viewership TV events such as the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards.
 
?Social will play an integral role throughout the campaign,? said Bob Ruhland, vice president of marketing for Buffalo Wild Wings, Minneapolis. ?It provides Buffalo Wild Wings with a platform to talk about March Madness and engage in a two-way conversation with fans around key, real-time moments during the tournament.?

Hangin? with B-Dubs
Before the tournament starts, fans can use social to invite friends to enjoy the tournament at Buffalo Wild Wings, also known as B-Dubs for its BWW or B double-U abbreviation.

The campaign?s objective is to let Buffalo Wild Wings engage in relevant and meaningful conversations with fans, no matter where they view or talk about sports.
 
Steve Rannazzisi in mobile video ad.

In the TV portion of the campaign, an episodic series of TV commercials stars ?The League? actor-comedian Steve Rannazzisi. The ads will run on Facebook and Twitter. 

The first spot, ?Pizza to Your Home,? which made its debut Saturday, spotlighted the different experiences fans encounter enjoying the NCAA Division I Men?s Basketball Championship at a Buffalo Wild Wings outlet, versus watching from home.
 
Nine spots will run on TV and online at relevant times throughout March Madness. 

The ads will deliver Buffalo Wild Wings? own #WingWisdom related to the proper way to fill out a tournament bracket, the NCAA Sweet 16, bandwagon fans, overtime and the finals. 

Post-tourney spots will spotlight menu items, from wings to beer, that guests can enjoy every day at B-Dubs.
 
Buffalo Wild Wings will extend the reach of the #WingWisdom conversation during the tournament on CBS Sports and TBS Sports through ?Basketball Wisdom? studio segments featuring the campaign hashtag (#WingWisdom) in which on-air talent will offer fans analysis and insight related to upcoming games.
 
A tournament tracker Web site lets fans stay on top of March Madness news and s scores. The site features a real-time feed of final game scores and schedules, including reaction GIFs to major moments, B-Dubs commentary on games and social media content from fans.

?We're searching Twitter and Instagram for brand mentions, March Madness hashtags and a variety of other keywords to help feed the Tourney Tracker,? Mr. Ruhland said. ?On the site, fans can explore by hour and day to see what's going on, and we have an algorithm that serves content based on date and time.

?It's a responsive design with full functionality on all devices.? 

In restaurants, fans will have opportunities to test their skill and knowledge of NCAA basketball.
 
During the Final Four in Indianapolis, Buffalo Wild Wings will conduct a tour with the NCAA Division I Men?s Championship trophy and allow fans to take photos for sharing across social channels, while also hosting ticket giveaways at select locations.
 
Other big players in social in this year?s tournament are Coca-Cola, AT&T, Capital One, Allstate, Buick and Burger King.

Leaders also may include Enterprise, Infiniti, Lowes, Nabisco, Reeses, Unilever and UPS.

March Madness drew more than 60 million viewers last year and averaged an audience of 10.7 million per game. 

Organic mentions
Last year, Burger King, Capital One, Reese?s and Enterprise accumulated mentions through contests that encouraged social sharing. Buffalo Wild Wings seemed to benefit the most from organic mentions, with people talking about eating there while watching games or mentioning their commercials.

Tourney Tracker, across mobile platforms.

?March Madness is a key time for Buffalo Wild Wings to bring the tournament alive for our passionate customers who flock to our more than 1,000 locations looking for the ultimate sports experience, or follow us across social channels,? Mr. Ruhland said. 

?As millions of fans are talking about the tournament this March, we want to ensure that Buffalo Wild Wings is part of that conversation, and that we?re bringing fans a unique take and outlook on the action happening on the court, in a way that only our brand can deliver.?

Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York