What March Madness Can Teach You About Media Planning

One of my favorite sporting events, March Madness, is less than two weeks away! Last year’s tournament was a particularly exciting time for me. Considering I went to Syracuse and not Villanova, you’re probably wondering why. While my alma mater was not the champion, I was. By correctly picking Villanova as the winner and Michigan as the runner-up, I won my bracket. I also got some first-round upsets right, like Marshall over Wichita State and Loyola Chicago over Miami.
How did I get so lucky? I wouldn’t call it luck. Prior to the tournament, I attended a seminar on the science of bracketology, where I learned the factors that can predict who is going to win each game. Some of these factors include Sagarin ratings (both overall and recent), the momentum certain teams may have gained from doing well in their conference tournament, and which teams have the best point guards. I used this knowledge when making my picks. For example, though Marshall was a 12-seed and Wichita State was a 4-seed, Marshall had a higher recent rating than Wichita State.
I used comprehensive analysis to predict the outcome. And that’s what I do when developing a media strategy. There are several quantitative and qualitative factors I take into consideration when determining where you should spend your ad dollars. In the same way there is a science to bracketology, there is a science to strategic ad placement. JS Media uses this science to help your advertising message reach the right audience at the right time, stand out among your competitors, and yield the best ROI.