Key takeaways:
– Major sporting events like the Super Bowl now generate the most value when they are treated as long-running content engines, with momentum built before kickoff and sustained well after the final whistle across multiple platforms.
– The shift toward short-form, on-demand, and socially native content reflects how younger audiences engage with sports, requiring rights holders to design experiences that circulate continuously rather than peak around a single broadcast window.
– AI-powered content creation has become a foundational capability for executing this approach at scale, enabling rights holders to capture moments instantly, adapt them for every platform and market, and keep global audiences engaged in real time.
Kimberly Whitler is an associate professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. In the year leading up to Super Bowl LIX, Whitler led a research team that analyzed more than 500 Super Bowl commercials from the past decade. Among the recent trends they noticed was advertisers’ tendency to stretch the impact of campaigns; last year, for example, more than 15 brands released teaser ads to build anticipation for game day.
This trend continued in the run-up to Super Bowl LX. Brands such as Pepsi, Budweiser, Pringles, and Hellmann’s have opted for weeks-long campaigns, releasing teaser clips, images, and digital Easter eggs that slowly pull back the curtain on their spots. According to estimates, only 10%-20% of the brands that bought airtime for commercials – with prices running as high as $8 million per 30-second spot – will keep their ads under wraps until the Super Bowl.
The rest are focusing on viral attention online, which has proven just as valuable – if not more so – as a good TV spot. “When you look at last year’s Super Bowl,” said Jimmy Spano, head of Dentsu Media Sports, “when you put together all of the social media views and engagement, I think it significantly exceeded what the Super Bowl delivered.”
From internet moment to Super Bowl win
Perhaps the best example of this was CeraVe’s 2024 Super Bowl campaign. The skincare company collaborated with actor Michael Cera – and 450 influencers – to push a fake narrative on social media that he was the creative mastermind behind it. CeraVe’s Super Bowl spot then leveraged the brand’s viral buzz, playfully debunking the “Cera myth” while emphasizing that their products are developed with dermatologists. The results were striking:
– The campaign had 15.4 billion social impressions before the Super Bowl.
– Following the game, there was a 2,200% increase in online searches for CeraVe.
– The company recorded a 25% sales bump post-game.
Capitalizing on the campaign’s momentum after the Super Bowl is just as important as building it in the lead-up. Kimberly Whitler’s study revealed that advertisers are now producing longer versions of their commercials for online release. Ice cream brand Drumstick, for instance, created a 5-minute short film to complement their Super Bowl spot in 2024. “It is a smart way to take all the earned media before the game and drive deeper, longer engagement,” said Whitler.
What it all comes down to, say industry leaders, is a change in perception. “The Super Bowl is now a distribution strategy, not just a media buy,” said Nicole Greene, vice president and analyst at research and advisory firm Gartner. “The ‘win’ isn’t only what happens during the game; it’s how effectively a brand sustains momentum before, during, and after – across earned coverage, social conversation, and downstream channels like email, retail, apps, and loyalty.”
How major events live longer
If this reminds you of the modern rights holders’ content playbook, it should. The Super Bowl has become a showcase for how major events now live far beyond the kickoff. The game itself is just one moment in a much longer arc that includes build-up storytelling, talent-driven narratives, live social reactions, and post-event breakdowns. The value no longer sits solely in the broadcast, but in how effectively every surrounding moment is packaged and distributed.
That shift mirrors broader changes in how audiences consume sports. Younger fans, in particular, gravitate toward short-form content they can watch on their own terms. For rights holders, this means moving past a single-channel mindset and designing content for constant circulation across platforms. Extending the lifespan of moments before and after the final whistle isn’t just about reach; it unlocks sustained engagement and new commercial upside.
“This is the era of the content continuum – a seamless blend of live, linear, on-demand, social, and interactive experiences,” said Robert Szabó-Rowe, Head of Product Management at Tata Communications, which provides content delivery network services for sports organizations. “Fans expect content that extends beyond the live broadcast, with bite-sized, on-demand clips and interactive digital engagement becoming just as crucial as the event itself.”
Where strategy meets automation
What advertisers have recently figured out is exactly what forward-thinking rights holders are applying at scale: the biggest games don’t win on spectacle alone. They win by being designed for momentum. Anticipation, participation, and follow-through matter as much as the event itself. In both cases, success comes from treating attention as something to be earned repeatedly, not captured once.
Executing that consistently, however, requires more than creative ambition. AI-powered content creation platforms give rights holders the ability to detect moments instantly, turn them into platform-ready assets, localize them at scale, and keep narratives alive before and after the final play. That’s how marquee events stay culturally relevant in real time. With that approach in place, Super Bowl LX won’t just dominate a Sunday; it will be a multi-week cultural moment.
Actionable insights:
– Plan content around momentum, not just matchday: map out pre-event teases, live social moments, and post-event extensions in advance so every major game fuels weeks of storytelling.
– Design every asset for circulation: prioritize short, platform-native formats that can be quickly repurposed across social, owned channels, and partners, ensuring moments travel far beyond the broadcast.
– Use AI to move at the speed of attention: automate moment detection, clipping, localization, and distribution so content teams can keep narratives alive in real time without increasing headcount.
