Twitter Marketing held its version of March Madness over the last few weeks, with more than 500,000 votes determining the winner.

The Public Votes Xbox as Their Favorite Brand on Twitter

On Friday, Twitter closed the week by announcing the winner of its #BestOfTweets Brand Bracket tournament: Microsoft's @Xbox.

As a result, fan tweets about Xbox will be featured on digital billboards on trucks that'll be driving around the neighborhoods of those on the Xbox marketing team (all of whom, are working from home at the moment). The team will also receive a special trophy.

The brackets of the tournament were announced on March 15. For every bracket, the official Twitter Marketing account would hold a 24-hour poll, asking users which brand account they like more on the website.

A Twitter spokesperson told Adweek that the Brand Bracket was meant to "celebrate those that do this [social media marketing] the best."

We know the conversational nature of Twitter makes it a place where brands can be their most human-sounding selves. Brands can have two-way conversations with their audience that are real and unfiltered, and can’t be replicated anywhere else.

In order to emerge victorious, Xbox had to beat out the likes of Spotify, MTV, Geico, and finally Skittles to become Twitter's first ever #BestOfTweets Brand Bracket champion.

There were 16 competing brands, all of which fell into one of four conferences:

  • Entertainment – Bravo, MTV, Spotify, Xbox
  • Food – Oreo, Pizza Hut, Skittles, Wendy's
  • Sports – Bud Light, Gatorade, Geico, Mr. Peanut
  • People's Choice – Airbnb, Alexa, Doritos, Uber Eats

Related: Microsoft Is Rebranding Xbox Live to "Xbox Network"

As the tournament continued, it was interesting to see brands in the same industry cheer each other on.

For instance, in the final bracket between Xbox and Skittles, Sour Patch Kids pushed for its following to vote for Skittles. "In times of war, a Kid [is] always loyal to candy," the company wrote. EA Play tweeted similar sentiments advocating for Xbox.

Some companies went went so far as to say that they would release new products or re-release retired ones if they were to win their bracket.

Brand Presence on Social Media Is Powerful

The pandemic definitely made it a more common thing, but it feels as though it took a little while for brands to really realize how far you can reach with social media. When done right, establishing your brand's personality online can make all the difference.

Xbox's current marketing strategy is working on Twitter, it seems. But is it still worth buying an Xbox One in 2021? Read our guide to help you weigh the pros and cons of getting one on today's market.