The Solution: An 'all hands on deck' mentality and deployment of nearly every Postgame resource dedicated to making the impossible happen.

With no time to waste, Postgame quickly went into overdrive - thinking through every logisitical aspect of a complex campaign and what it would take to achieve 100% participation - all while being careful not to drop the ball with our other brand partners during the tournament. :) Some of the planning and organization involved included:

Step 1: Predicting the 128 Teams

All 128 tournment teams (64 Men's & 64 Women's) are announced on Sunday (aka 'Selection Sunday) just prior to the opening round games only a few days later (Thursday) - requiring Postgame to spend the weeks prior 1). Predicting with a high degree of acuracy - which teams would make the tournament - and subsequently contracting players from each of those potential teams  2). Planning for every possible scenario - which meant engaging with 100 players from At-Large and G5 Conference teams (and having many create content) who inevitably would not end up making the tournament and be a part of the campaign. 

Step 2: Payment Negotiation & Contracting at Scale:

Postgame would negotiate payments and create contracts for every potential player involved - which included a caveat that would make the contract null and void should a player not make the tournament.  Over 200 total contracts were negotiated and signed within a two week period - with a number of players negotiated 24 hours after Selection Sunday. 

Step 3: Product Shipment / Timing:

To add to the complexity, 200+ players who were  traveling to conference tournament games, would need  1). A can of C4 Energy to create their 'tunnel walk' photos and 2). A C4 Energy Bracket Breakers tournament kit (which were in limited supply - requiring us to be perfect) in order to create and post content before the opening round.

To accomplish this, Postgame would provide a number of options to the players including: a). using Door Dash to deliver a can of C4 to their campus apartment or hotel room while on the road b). ship a tournament kit to their apartment or hotel c). ship a tournament kit to videographers in cities where conference tournaments were being held. d). ship tournament kits to videographers in cities where opening round games (Round 1) were happening - to capture content within 24 hours of opening round tip-offs.  

Content Scheduling & Backup Plans:

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the campaign was coordinating dozens of videographers around the country with hundreds of players who had a small window of time to create content. Constant communication between Postgame and players/agents/videographers to coordinate content shoots - while working around travel times, team meetings, practices, and press conferences - required a level of organization not seen in the NIL space. 

A single miss on a player would prevent history from being made.  To provide additional support, Postgame would also deploy a dozen employees across the country to a majority of the Round 1 locations to serve as back-ups in the event a videographer (and the products) fell through. 

Content Creation, Deliverables & Posting Timeline

Each player was required to post up to 5 'tunnel walk' photos to their Instagram Feed within 24 hours of their first round game - including a caption with the appropriate tags and mentions.  Concurrently, each player was also required to post an Instagram Story Video featuring themselves unboxing the C4 Energy tournament kit - tag correctly and using a custom affiliate link to drive customers to C4 Energy's e-commerce site. 

Champagne Bottle Planning

During the final rounds of the tournament, Postgame began implementing the final phase of the campaign (Champagne Bottle Locker Room celebration) starting with player outreach to at least one player from each of the Final Four Teams - 8 total).  Outreach was to determine interest, discuss logisitics and negotiate payment terms should they win and deliver on the ask of 'smuggling' C4 Energy into the locker room to create celebration style content.

As it became clear which teams were playing in the Finals (Florida vs. Houston and UCONN vs. South Carolina) - Postgame would then meeet withthe 4 chosen players (Alijah Martin, Emanuel Sharp, Kaitlyn Chen, Tehina PaoPao) the day before the Championship game to hand-off duffle bags of C4 Energy champagne bottles and goggles. 

Each player was then reminded repeatedly on the day of the championship game, to carry those bags into the locker rooms upon arrival - with bottles ready to be 'popped' should they win.