Unilever and Yahoo inspire female athletes with a high-energy, educational campaign during March Madness

Brackets, buzzer beaters and Cinderella stories, there’s a reason they call it March Madness. The world’s #1 antiperspirant brand, Degree, has partnered with Yahoo on a content series to empower and inspire female athletes during the most exciting month in women’s college basketball.

The Degree Bracket Gap Challenge champions the NCAA® women’s tournament during 2022 March Madness®, supporting the need for equal investment for female athletes and increasing awareness of Degree’s commitment to inclusivity. The goal of the Bracket Gap Challenge is to draw more attention to the women's game via bracket completion, and in turn, helping drive even more promotion, attendance, and funding for the tournament.

By taking advantage of easy-to-buy solutions through the Yahoo DSP, partnering with Yahoo Creative Studios, and building a presence on consumer-centric properties such as Yahoo Sports, Unilever is able to connect with passionate audiences during key moments.

Yahoo and Unilever’s partnership involves a multipronged approach, with a strategic media & content mix that includes:

• A live Yahoo Sports Womens tournament preview show
• Degree Bracket Gap Challenge
• Tips & tricks video to creating a dynamite women’s bracket
• Interactive multimedia experience
• Yahoo DSP and native banner ads  

Let the madness begin!

Starting Sunday, March 13, the Yahoo Sports College Basketball team will deep dive into the 2022 NCAA® Division I Women’s Basketball Championship brackets on a live show. Women's basketball insider Khristina Wiliams will be joined by WNBA star Natalie Achonwa and Yahoo Hoops writer Cassandra Negley to discuss the matchups and sleepers, and share expert opinions formed from a long-standing and intimate knowledge of women’s college basketball.

Airing live and archived for VOD, March Madness® fans can turn to the projections and predictions all week long to guide them as they complete their brackets. Viewers were encouraged to visit Degree’s Bracket Gap Challenge, where they can fill out up to three brackets for a chance to win the grand prize, follow game results in real time and share with their friends.

Connecting content with inspiring talent

As part of the partnership, we teamed up with Autumn Johnson, a trusted sports journalist and former three-sport athlete. Autumn offers valuable tips and tricks for building a strong March Madness® bracket and encourages viewers to submit their bracket(s) and help fight for gender equity, one bracket at a time.

The video further amplifies Degree’s key messaging, spreads awareness around women’s equity in basketball and offers step-by-step strategies on how viewers can approach their NCAA® women's basketball bracket.

Tune in at the end of March, as the video will be paired with a “Degrees of Equity” multimedia content experience further exploring the importance of equity in women's sports. It’s penned by New York Liberty trainer Theresa Acosta, the first Latinx head athletic trainer in the WNBA, Lauren Betts, currently the nation’s number one women's college basketball recruit, Tiffany Tucker, UNCW’s Deputy Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator, and Sophie Cunningham, young WNBA player for Phoenix.

Playing to win

By leveraging innovative creative from Yahoo, and its massive audience reach, Unilever has a custom consumer experience that connects with fans and positions its brand as high-energy, relevant and inspirational — while promoting inclusivity in sports.

Yahoo is here to help with your end-to-end creative and campaign strategy, ensuring that your vision maintains its power and integrity from concept to consumer. Our global in-house team, Yahoo Creative Studios, helps tell your brand story across multiple screens, including DOOH, CTV, immersive, display, native ads, and more. To learn more about how Yahoo and Yahoo Creative Studios can bring your brand to life in new, exciting ways for your audience, let’s connect today. It’s a slam dunk for your brand.