When the Saint Peter’s Peacocks unexpectedly qualified for March Madness, Peacock had a fleeting opportunity tie our brands together – and steal the spotlight from CBS.

The odds were against the St. Peter's Peacocks in the first game, facing #1 Seed Kentucky. But in a bracket-busting upset, the Peacocks won.

Not only were fans stunned, even the Peacocks themselves were – they hadn’t sent their spirit squad to the tournament. When SPU tweeted a photo of the squad saying “wish we could be there,” Peacock responded: “Birds of a Feather MUST flock Together. Pack your bags Spirit Squad. We’re Getting You to the Game.”

Peacock’s objective: Differentiate the brand from other streamers with breakthrough, unexpected marketing activations.

This opportunity allowed Peacock to authentically integrate into the cultural conversation around the Saint Peter’s Peacocks’ Cinderella run during March Madness, reacting swiftly given no prior expectations they'd win.

To live up to our namesake -- and break out of the streaming pack – Peacock has to act like one of the most entertaining brands in the world with activations that drive affinity and earned media.

The good news: Peacocks are the showman of the bird world. This is a one-of-a-kind creature that's colorful, confident, and utterly captivates your attention. Sometimes unexpected yet always welcome.​

Our personality comes directly from our show-stopping namesake. When a peacock shows up, you know what happens? ​“Whoa, look at that peacock!” Then someone probably points. We're kinda like that.​​

Our creative approach was to monitor ways Peacock could embrace our mascot and muse -- the peacock -- in unexpected ways.

The idea: Peacock Loves Peacocks.

Launched in December 2022, a small Peacock team spanning brand marketing, strategy, creative, social and activations monitored where our streamer could tie together with the bird to drive cultural reactions.

We evaluated all ideas against four pillars:

Simple concepts travel faster

Context creates a vivid emotion

Act as nimbly as possible

Thread ideas through culture

The best ideas would cut through culture and increase unaided awareness for Peacock, putting us top of mind when streaming consumers were either signing up for a new service or deciding what to watch that night.

The St. Peter's Peacocks began their winning streak at the perfect time.

Peacock transported the Saint Peter’s Spirit Squad from NJ to Indianapolis in time for Game 2 in 24 hours, a journey the team shared in viral social posts.

The move drew rave reviews from fans after CBS gave Peacock an unpaid live shout-out during the game (#5 most-watched program that week with 6.69M average viewers, per Nielsen).

With their spirit squad cheering them on, the Peacocks beat the odds and won again. The next weekend, Peacock teamed up with the university itself to help fans #StrutUp in social and IRL – sponsoring student watch parties, producing and distributing co-branded merch, and displaying OOH and even flying a Peacock banner over the arena. All produced within four days.

Reaching the Elite Eight, the Peacocks made history as the greatest Cinderella team ever. And minutes after their run ended, Peacock posted a tribute video to their fans. A week later, Peacock

This wild ride had huge results:

166 million earned media impressions

Free airtime on CBS during March Madness and local broadcasts in Indianapolis and NYC

22.1K social engagements & 32% lift in social media net positive sentiment for brand

26% lift in unaided awareness for Peacock brand in March 2022 over previous 3 months