Who Will Win It All?

by Sam Sova 

Today is the start of the March Madness NCAA basketball tournament. Do you have your bracket in? I heard on ESPN this morning that 27% of office workers are in an office pool and companies in the US will lose $10 billion in the span of the tournament due to lost productivity. Are you one of these people losing big money for your company? Do you feel guilty about it? 

If you have been reading the news you will also see that CBS is streaming all of the games live on the Web. This is the first accessible on-demand broadcast of an event this caliber, which has attracted over 20 sponsors. Take a look at the article.

The coolest thing about this is an application called the “boss button.” If your boss is walking by, you click the button and a spreadsheet pops up!

So people in the office now have access to all of the games and, of course, many will be watching it. Being in a marketing/communications discipline this is the opportunity to figure out how your company can embrace the biggest sports event of the year. How can you take this event and turn it into an office experience in the future. Maybe a culture builder? Yes, it may be too late this year, but it’s never too early to start for the next year. Could you have an office-wide bracket with prizes like an extra vacation day, parking spot in the executive row for a week, etc.?

With video becoming so easily accessible on the Web, it is evident that the workforce has access to a lot more distracting things. In the future, it may be an opportunity for you to make a difference in the culture of your office.