NCAA Tournament Basketball Marketing: What we can learn from #11 Seed Washington

We continue our evaluation of this year's NCAA Tournament field, from a marketing point of view. (I realize the tourney's over but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be checking out the programs that gave us a run this year!)

We're in search of inspiration - things that all of us can take and apply into our worlds. And, for fans, of each team, that's a look into what makes you special.

Thus far, we've reviewed top seeded Kentucky, #2 West Virginia, #3 New Mexico, #4Wisconsin, #5 Temple, #6 Marquette, #7 Clemson, #8 Texas, #9 Wake Forest, and #10 Missouri.

We previously broke down the UW Huskies Athletics marketing efforts (here), and I'll do my best to add a new perspective.

Let's roll.

East #11 Seed Washington (link here)

What's Inspiring About the Washington Huskies Athletics Marketing?

1. They make the blog front and center (literally)

I admit it. Blogs are becoming something I'm really digging from an athletics website point of view. But in the spirit of innovating in what I'm covering here, I want to give a different take on blogging. Washington's "The Dawg Blog" (here) is not inspiring just because it is an insider blog. It's here because this is one of the better jobs I've seen in integrating and elevating a blog to become literally a circulatory system for a website.

You can see it in the image above, with Dawg Blog elevated into the main window, alongside "News". And, as you'll see in the basketball home page (below or right here), it is pumped up right into the center of the Hoops page as well. Nicely done.

How can we make this better?

• Subscriptions. That's really the only thing that feels missing. Now that you've got a Hoops Blog, front and center we could just use more of it. Enabling fans to easily subscribe so that they can have updates shot their way makes sense and will no doubt make this not just front and center on athletics site but also on your phone or inbox.

2. Elevating The NCAA Tournament

This is one of those moments for me. When I see something and it just makes my mind race and makes me want to get out a pad of paper and start brainstorming the possibilities. Take a look at the image below of the Basketball home page, menu.

If the NCAA Tournament is the goal and a barometer of success, why not always have it in the menu? Doesn't that make it feel like they expect to go? And isn't that a powerful, bold message to hit fans and recruits with when they hit your site?

For now, that link takes you to the image below -- where you can read up on the most recent matchup for the Huskies in the postseason. It's visually powerful and gives you nice info into an upcoming game. But something tells me this will disappear from the site one day this spring.

And that's just too bad. Imagine the possibilities that could emerge from that menu item!

How could this be better?

• Make this a permanent home to the Huskies in the tournament. Include info on all matchups, not just the most recent.
• Get the UW coaching staff and players to talk about their experience and build a statement around the presence the Huskies will have in the tournament!
• Integrate first-hand video accounts of these experiences (which already exist, see the next area of inspiration!) Simple but powerful.

3. Insider Channel on the YouTube

Washington has a strong presence on YouTube, as you can see in the link here. They do two things really well, that all of us can take note of: they offer a good amount (but not too much) content and they organize it well.

Clicking into the YouTube channel (nicely branded "U-Dub on YouTube", you can easily select a playlist of basketball only content.

Then, after clicking in, you'll see a nice collection of Flip Cam style behind the scenes video content that really lets you feel more closely connected to the Huskies.

So all this is great, but how could it be better?

• Let us subscribe for basketball videos. I love the playlist, but it still isn't super easy to subscribe only for the hoops action. I had to sign up for all things UW athletics.
• Take these videos and pump them up. The behind-the-scenes video from the NCAA Tournament fits so many places: The Dawg Blog and the NCAA Tournament button for sure! Don't be afraid to take things and give people access to find them in many areas. Sometimes we feel like that kind of thing would be irritating. But in reality you need to elevate the most original and inspiring things you have and this is pretty incredible stuff!

That's it... Come back tomorrow as we move into the 12-seed...