This campaign respected creators as their own independent publishers or media houses. After all, creators have audiences that follow, read, engage, and watch everything they do.

The NFL partnered with these creators to speak to their diverse audiences.

The NFL had never attempted a creator campaign of this scale and speed before. No one had. It was a unique use of creators that set the benchmark for professional league and creator collaborations.

The NFL (National Football League) holds a significant place in American culture. Originating in 1920, it has evolved into a major cultural phenomenon with its own traditions, such as tailgating (pre-game social gatherings in stadium parking lots), elaborate halftime shows, and the Super Bowl—the championship game and one of the most-watched annual TV events in the United States.

Traditionally, the core fan base has been predominantly male, with a significant focus on the 18-49 age demographic. The fan experience is immersive, involving not just attendance at games but also participation in fantasy leagues, buying team merchandise, and getting involved in game day rituals.

To grow the fan base and overall audience, this campaign sought to broaden the NFL's appeal beyond its traditional demographics.

Sports fans tune into a broadcast for the game, but to attract diverse audiences we needed to give them more culture than competition: behind-the-scenes and stadium-specific delights, game-day highlights and reactions, interviews with superfans, team trends, and challenges. We could make the NFL relatable to casual viewers from all walks of life by showing them other aspects of the NFL that they wouldn't already know about unless they were fans.

To do this, we needed content from people they were already tuned into: creators.

The NFL already has the attention of diehard sports fans, but it wanted to reach and engage casual fans too.

The ones who attend a Super Bowl viewing party for the snacks.

Who stop scrolling when they see Taylor Swift is at the game.

Who love the entertainment, in sports entertainment.

The NFL sought to drive social engagement around games and enhance their perception as inclusive and diverse — and so much more than just football.

YouTube, their longtime partner, could help them reach this broader audience via the increasingly popular YouTube Shorts.

To bring new creators into the NFL ecosystem, we got them to the games, behind the scenes, and closer to the action, showing them a world they may not be familiar with and, in turn, giving their followers a new POV on the game.

We called it “Creator of the Week.”

This first-of-its-kind creator campaign kicked off in week one of the season. And every single week thereafter with a new creator hosted by a new team - a feat no other professional sports league had attempted.

Creators were invited to some of their favorite team games with VIP access and exclusive experiences.

We gave creators the freedom to capture the thrill of game day and share their experiences in their own style.

This was a whole new playbook for fan engagement that transformed the sidelines into launchpads for a new generation of NFL ambassadors.

Creators/ influencers/ YouTubers set the tastes of their communities and followers:

Gen Z and Millennials are two times more likely than Boomers to trust influencers (Source: Oracle)

71% of consumers trust advertising, opinions, and product placements from influencers—highlighting the potential for influencers to build personal consumer connections and increase brand awareness (Source: Nielsen)

63% of US and 58% of UK Gen Z audiences trust the product recommendations of content creators (Reaching the Unreachables)

62% of US and 57% of UK Gen Z audiences trust product recommendations of people who follow the same content creators (Reaching the Unreachables)

The NFL had never attempted a creator campaign of this scale and speed before. No one had.

22 NFL teams across 24 games featuring 27 creators in just 23 weeks.

We selected a different creator for every week of the season and partnered them with their local/ state team to explore the stadium and teams’ unique culture.

Creators shared at least two YouTube Shorts. The NFL captured enough content for six YouTube Shorts, which were turned around in lightning-quick time to share with fans during and soon after the game.

Creators showcased their highlights and drew in eyeballs and subscribers from their various communities.

We flew all over the country –and all the way to Germany— to support them on the ground. It was the first time something at this scale had been attempted which meant we were working on four games worth of content at any one time.

From week one to the Super Bowl, the NFL Creator Of The Week campaign didn't just score touchdowns; it expanded the field, reaching new audiences and redefining the game's cultural impact.

The NFL tapped into new audiences more interested in the culture than the competition and proved that it has something for everyone.

Awareness:

160M+ Impressions

50.8M+ Views

11 Viral Videos of 1m+ Views

Engagement:

2.2M+ Engagements

18K+ Comments

72% above YouTube Shorts creator channel benchmark

Subscribers gained:

2,400+ new subscribers

And audience comments like:

"This was a lot better than Taylor Swift."

"Ain't no way the NFL posted this 😂."

"As a Detroit fan, this is valid."

"I love this guy, please feature more of him!"

"AdamW is the only way you can possibly make an ad good 😂."

"NFL cookin'."

"It's Katie!!!! I love her content!!"

"HE'S THE REASON WE WON 🎉🎉."

This entire campaign was creator-led.

The creators were the medium or gateway to a broad range of audiences that the NFL reached.