Football fever hits its climax every January leading up to the Super Bowl, and advertisers are already lining up for the big game. But there’s also another place where fans of the sport are scoring big – YouTube.
Google discussed how its video channel is effectively reaching out to football fans, using specialized content and creating new opportunities for partners, in a report released Thursday.
The company estimates that about 110 million viewers tune in to the game every year (since 2011), and a lot of those fans tune in to YouTube to check out ads before they air during the Super Bowl. It also provides a venue to tune in to commentator analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes vignettes and other pieces relating to the game. Everything that’s football related manages to be a tremendous draw on YouTube.
Google sees football coverage over entire season, not just for Super Bowl
“Viewers watch millions of hours of Super Bowl-related videos in the weeks before and after kickoff,” explains the report. “In the first two weeks of 2015, Super Bowl ads were viewed more than 16 million times, a number that steadily rose to more than 260 million through game day on February 1st.” That’s more than seven million hours of content.
Brands also benefitted from running full versions of ads before the game, with 2.2 times more views and 3.1 times more social shares than just airing during the Super Bowl.
Google advised that posting an ad before game day is a very effective process, as it recently explained in the video below, showcasing its AdBlitz channel, where a number of Super Bowl teasers from Wix, Kentucky Fried Chicken and others are already compiled.
The chart below also shows just how much traffic spikes over the course of a season, starting from the NFL Draft all the way through the Super Bowl. It’s easy to see that anticipation builds as the game draws closer.
The culture surrounding the game is as important as the game itself. Gameday highlight reels, commentator clips and a look back at triumphs for specific teams are vital to football fans, and Google noted how this could serve as a backbone for creative content from partners that will relate to them. This includes a variety of content, such as Dude Perfect’s Slip ‘n Slide Football Battle.
Evergreen content revolving around football also fares well. “Established categories, like football-related food and recipes, continue to rise, with video watch time growing 77 percent in the last year,” said the report. “Top YouTube searches include fan favorites like hot wings and nachos.” The chart below shows growth in various categories, including not only food, but also video games and comedy.
Football fans can be found, even if they’re not watching football
Google measured viewership patterns of fans to see what kind of content they were into. “Those who index high in watching football content are also interested in auto and cooking videos,” it notes. “Millennial fans specifically favor comedy and movie content, while fans that are fathers tend to turn in to auto and news content.”
Nissan’s previous Super Bowl campaign, focusing on the #WithDad hashtag, managed to feed into the excitement while stretching beyond the usual football-oriented content. It also benefitted from partnering with various YouTube stars, including Roman Atwood and Epic Meal Time, to reach a broader audience, instead of strictly staying on the football path. Those videos have managed to garner 76 million views to date, and is considered a fan favorite on the AdBlitz channel.
“As the big game has evolved into the big month – and the football season into an all-year affair – the opportunity for advertisers looking to connect with football fans has expanded,” says the report. “By understanding what types of video content football fans turn to in their video micro-moments, brands can find opportunities to connect, engage, and remain relevant and useful from the season’s kickoff to its grand finale.”
The company also launched an interactive dashboard, which can be found here and details the online football advertising experience even further. It also noted that over 70 percent of football content is watched on mobile, indicating that there’s more than enough reach on smartphones and tablets – even more so than desktop computers.
The charts below also break down how each group specifically benefits from advertising, with products that tie in with the Super Bowl, ranging from Madden NFL 16 to the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which last year featured Katy Perry and will focus on the band Coldplay this year.
Indeed, the “big game” is more than just about the game itself.
