Yahoo! Inc. teamed up with top brands including Lexus and Pizza Hut for new campaigns to excite basketball fans around the annual Men’s College Basketball Tournament.

“With millions of fans heading to Yahoo Sports every year to create their brackets and watch the action play out among their top college basketball teams, we’re helping brands find compelling ways to be part of that fan experience,” says Lisa Utzschneider, chief revenue officer, Yahoo. “At Yahoo, we know sports fans, their passions, and how advertisers can make fun, authentic connections that drive meaningful results around the tournament.”

Lexus and Pizza Hut will connect with college hoops fans as sponsors of Yahoo Sports’ Tourney Pick’em. Additionally, advertisers will have a chance to connect with fans through custom integrations as well as high-impact display, native and video advertising.

“We’re teaming up with Yahoo again after a very successful Squares Pick’em game, and this time we’re excited to reach millions of college basketball fans,” says David Daniels, vice president of advertising & media at Pizza Hut. “Yahoo has a strong audience of sports fans and many will be enjoying Pizza Hut pizza as they fill out their brackets and tune into the tournament this March.”

For the second year in a row, Lexus will launch a custom branded game on Yahoo Sports around the 2017 Men’s College Basketball Tournament, “0-60 Bracket Challenge.” To get the most out of the games, fans can sign up now by visiting lexus0to60bracketchallenge.com for an opportunity to win a luxury vacation to Las Vegas for next year’s tournament. For each round, players select which matchup will reach a combined 60 points the fastest—a nod to the power and performance of the all-new Lexus LC luxury coupe.

Last year, the custom Lexus branded game and campaign on Yahoo drove more than 23 million video views and a 29 percent lift in consideration to make a purchase among consumers. With millions of sports fans turning to Yahoo Sports as the ultimate destination to create their brackets, brands have an opportunity to connect with this engaged audience during the Men’s College Basketball Tournament.

Fast Food, Marketing & Promotions, News, Pizza Hut