Google Cloud
March Madness

Companies everywhere are sitting on enormous amounts of untapped data. In fact, only 1% of the world’s data is actually being put to use. So to show businesses what Google Cloud can do with data, we used it to make the world’s first live in-game predictions in front of 44 million people during March Madness.

Press:
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AdWeek (Ad of the Day) Creativity
TechCrunch Engadget ZDNet Egotist

Accolades:
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Cannes Gold Lion for Creative Data
Cannes Silver Lion for Digital Craft
Effie Silver for Software and Apps
Ad Age B2B Campaign of the Year Gold
D&AD Wood Pencil for Use of TV
One Show Merit for Real-Time Data
One Show Merit for Film Innovation
LIA Finalist for Creative Data

The first real-time TV spots.

During the Final Four and Championship games we aired the most contextual, real-time commerials ever made, featuring six insanely accurate predictions.

_{2nd-half prediction: 37 three-point attempts / Actual: 38 three-point attempts}

_{2nd-half prediction: 29 rebounds / Actual: 29 rebounds}

_{2nd-half prediction: 26 assists / Actual: 28 assists}

_{2nd-half prediction: 55 shot attempts / Actual: 64 shot attempts}

_{2nd-half prediction: 130 possessions / Actual: 134 possessions}

_{2nd-half prediction: 21 three-point attempts / Actual: 24 three-point attempts}

How did we pull it off?

We built an app that enabled us to change copy and visuals in real-time—allowing us to show the logos of the teams playing, their colors, names, our live prediction, and even the current score. With our app we were able to be as live and contextual as possible. So no matter where the data took us, we were prepared.

Dynamic historical footage.

We worked with the talented folks at Gentleman Scholar to make more than 250 unique assets. Our assets were designed to fit with any game situation Google Cloud might predict. This included rebounds, assists, three-pointers, shot attempts, pace of game, bench strength, free throws, and more. Among these assets were our animation overlays—where we took historical footage relevant to these themes and replaced the athletes with delightful animations. This allowed us to show the uniform colors of the two teams the spot was about.

The tool kit.

When game time came we had the ability to produce more than 100,000 unique spots. Below are some of my favorite. Enjoy.