Sign in with Google The Super Bowl has never been just a game. It’s one of those rare moments when sports, entertainment, and brands converge; where brand storytelling becomes part of cultural conversations, halftime shows are remembered for years to come, and millions of fans experience the same moment at the same time.
Year after year, it stands as a massive global moment on YouTube, when fans go beyond the broadcast, brands share exclusive content, and creators deliver everything from reactions to in-stadium vlogs, fueling surround-sound conversations that last long after the game.
The NFL itself is reaching fans in new ways, using YouTube as a stage for its annual Super Bowl Flag Football Game. Now in its second year, the event brings together YouTube creators, celebrities, and artists, and has emerged as one of Super Bowl week’s most anticipated moments, drawing 6 million live views last year.
So if this year’s Super Bowl feels bigger than ever, there’s a reason. What once peaked on game day now starts earlier and lasts longer, as fans, creators, athletes, and the NFL expand game day into an always-on experience.
For brands, this new landscape offers an incredible opportunity to effectively place themselves at the epicenter of sports culture on YouTube. Read on for insights into mastering this element of the YouTube Formula.
Sports fandom, redefined
This shift isn’t limited to just the Super Bowl. In recent years, the NFL has increasingly leaned into an ever-expanding universe of content on YouTube that extends every game and offseason moment far beyond the field. Last season, the league invited top YouTube Shorts creators to 24 games so they could offer a unique game-day experience to their fans in their own style. This NFL Creator of the Week program resulted in 170+ million views across the NFL and creator channels.1
Even offseason activations, like the NFL schedule release, have become highly anticipated moments on YouTube. For example, for the last few years, the LA Chargers have built anticipation among fans by releasing their schedule in the aesthetics of popular online communities, like anime and “The Sims.” Last year, its Minecraft-edition schedule release video was perfectly timed with the hype around the “Minecraft” movie. Full of pop culture references and Easter eggs, it gave fans ways to engage, even during the offseason.
Brands can take inspiration from the Chargers’ playbook: Tapping into video trends and anchoring your content in pop culture is a great way to capture attention and reach new fans.
Creators are the ‘voice of the game’
Creators are at the center of this always-on content. And Gen Z is especially interested in fan or creator content that surrounds big cultural moments: 74% of Gen Z respondents said they often spend more time watching content that discusses or unpacks something than the thing itself (for example, a movie trailer, a new music video, or a big cultural event).2
With their unique styles and different areas of expertise, YouTube creators bring the Big Game to life in ways that go beyond what fans get from a traditional broadcast, including:
- Unfiltered perspectives from NFL players-turned-YouTube creators, like two-time Super Bowl champion Von Miller (Free Range podcast) and Jason Kelce (New Heights podcast)
- Analysis and prediction videos from creators like MMG and Tom Grossi
- Pregame food content and recipe-related videos
- Reaction videos to Bad Bunny’s announcement as the Super Bowl halftime performer
- Get Ready with Me videos for game-day outfit and makeup inspiration
- Videos of creators vlogging from the game and much more
This vast ecosystem of creator content — throughout the football season and in the lead-up to the Big Game — creates more opportunities than ever before for brands to engage their audiences. To drive reach for awareness campaigns, brands can own 100% share of voice on top sports creator channels with YouTube Select Takeovers and make the most of this always-on fan-creator relationship.
How brands are winning in the surround-sound era
As big cultural moments in sports are celebrated over an extended period of time, brands are increasingly expanding their storytelling beyond a single spot.
This year, brands that participate in Super Bowl ads are already posting exclusive content on YouTube, such as teasers, trailers, or extended versions, evolving their tactics to reach and connect with their audiences long before kickoff.
- MrBeast, the most followed YouTube creator, openly offered to make a game-day ad for a brand. Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff jumped on it. The How I made a Super Bowl ad Shorts teaser from MrBeast already has 12 million views on YouTube.
- Budweiser generated pregame buzz by launching two new teasers on YouTube, followed by the entire 60-second spot. The result? Weeks ahead of the game, the videos already have millions of views and more than 2,000 comments.
- With its Football is for Food campaign starring Bradley Cooper, Uber Eats has been building momentum toward the Big Game all season long. A week before the game, its Super Bowl playlist on YouTube already has five assets.
But in this era where fans and creators are diving deep into their sports passions all year long, brands can do even more to compete. When brands book YouTube Select NFL Lineups, it maximizes their performance by giving them access to NFL content on YouTube and YouTube TV with a highly engaged and expanded audience, spanning live NFL games (including NFL Sunday Ticket games), highlights, analysis, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Spotlights are another way for brands to be at heart of the moments they care about. These sponsorships give brands a high share of voice across the most popular videos surrounding the world’s biggest cultural moments.
Even beyond this moment, brands can use these tactics to put themselves at the epicenter of culture on YouTube. It’s all part of an approach we call the YouTube Formula, which helps brands make the most of YouTube.
