March [Marketing] Madness

Dezenhall Resources / March 24, 2025

One of the things that makes March Madness so fun is its unpredictability. You never know which team will pull off an upset or make an early exit. While this is a sports fan’s dream, it’s a social media manager’s nightmare—sort of. Some of the best viral moments come out of March Madness, but they’re also inherently difficult to plan for. You never know who’s going to take over the airwaves or dominate the meme cycle.

A few years ago, it was Doug Edert leading the St. Peter’s Peacocks on a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight. This year, it wasn’t a player, but McNeese’s boom box-toting manager Amir Khan who stole the spotlight in the first round after their surprise win over Clemson. But his time in the sun was over as quickly as it came with their disappointing second-round loss to Purdue.

For now, social media focus seems to have shifted to ten-seed Arkansas following their upset of two-seed St. Johns. Once again, though, it wasn’t the players generating the social media attention but rather the “Battle of the Coaches” as John Calipari and Rick Pitino went head-to-head 40 years after their first meeting.

However, the problem with any underdog storyline is that success is often fleeting. Calipari’s Razorbacks have a date with the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Thursday that could bring an abrupt end to his social media stardom. Or, in true March Madness fashion, something even more unpredictable and entertaining could happen before that. It’s called madness for a reason.

All of this creates a goldmine for university and brand social media managers, but one that has to move fast—much faster than approval processes often allow for.

Speed Is Everything.

In social media, timing isn’t just important; it’s everything. If your brand is slow to react to a viral moment, you might as well not react at all. This is even more true in the context of fast-moving events like March Madness. Brands like Buffalo Wild Wings and Insomnia Cookies, who already signed historic deals with Amir Khan, were in an especially good position to capitalize on their shocking win. But between their big win over Clemson and loss to Purdue, Buffalo Wild Wings only posted once on X, and Insomnia Cookies failed to post at all. The moment has now passed.

Unlike traditional marketing materials, social content has a short shelf life. A rigid, bureaucratic approval process that treats a TikTok or X post like a full-scale ad campaign will only slow brands down. A tiered approval system—where low-risk posts can be published with limited oversight while high-risk ones go through deeper legal review—can be a game changer.

Many brands acknowledge the need for a streamlined approval process but fail to build one that actually works in practice. The key isn’t just saying, “We need faster approvals.” It’s about ensuring social teams and legal teams work together proactively. Legal should provide guidance, explain rejections, and—rather than defaulting to “no”—work to find ways to say yes.

Building a Smarter Social-Legal Process.

An effective social media strategy bridges the gap between creativity and compliance. The best way to do that is by establishing clear, practical guidelines for what will and won’t get approved.

Legal and communications teams should create dynamic protocols outlining these rules—not just a static “do not post” list, but an evolving guide tailored to key events like March Madness. Social teams need to know in advance that they can’t use NCAA trademarks or official game footage. But they can highlight players, teams, and viral moments in creative ways that stay within legal boundaries. Having structured guidance allows social teams to move quickly without constantly running into roadblocks. It also saves legal from rejecting the same request ten different times.

Legal should also stay up to date on evolving regulations, especially as they pertain to major cultural events. For example, NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rules are constantly changing and can impact how brands use a player’s name or likeness in social media campaigns. Legal teams need to ensure social teams are aware of any changes, whether big or small, to avoid delays and keep everything compliant.

The Importance of Trust and Timing.

Trust, as cliché as it is, is critical. When the social team understands legal’s guardrails, they can flag potential issues early instead of wasting time creating content that will never get approved. If legal understands and trusts the social team’s strategy and their willingness to sound the alarm when a post may push the boundaries, legal will feel more comfortable expediting other posts. This, in turn, allows legal to focus on true edge cases while not creating bottlenecks on everything else.

While we’re talking proactive measures here and not crisis response, some of the same rules apply – especially when it comes to timing and protocols. During content-rich events like March Madness, social teams will have folks working in shifts around the clock. Legal should do the same. This includes who is responsible for what, when, so each function knows who their go-to counterpart is.

Collectively, the result is a smoother, more efficient process where creativity isn’t constantly stifled by legal red tape, and legal isn’t blindsided by rogue social posts.

The Bottom Line.

Investing in a strong relationship with legal and structuring your social team for speed is the key to capitalizing on fast-moving trends. Fostering trust, collaboration, and a shared commitment to making things work is the only way to keep up.

Because, in social media, if you’re late to the conversation, you’re not part of it at all.

Overtime.

Some March Madness content worth a look:

Charles Barkley forgot to watch the game he’s supposed to be covering.