Why Super Bowl Advertising Is No Longer a 30-Second Bet: The Big Game Media Strategy Behind Winning Brands in 2026

On the surface, Super Bowl advertising, from a media perspective, can look like a single, expensive decision – buy a TV spot during the game and hope it lands.

But is that truly the case today? With the pre- and post-game moments gathering more importance year by year, and channels beyond the main broadcast acting as vital fields of play for marketers, it seems only logical that media strategy at the Super Bowl is more complex than ever.

​WPP Media’s executive director and US head of sports partnerships and investment, Martin Blich, explains that brands are now approaching the Super Bowl not as a single media moment, but as a broader, long-term cultural opportunity.

“While the Big Game spot remains a powerful tentpole,” he says, “impact is now defined by how brands show up across the entire lifecycle by building anticipation before kickoff, maximising attention during the game, and extending relevance long after the final whistle.”

The word of the day – or game, it seems – is ‘ecosystem’.

“Spending millions for a 30-second in-game spot may get headlines, but the brands seeing ROI treat the Super Bowl as a three- to four-week ecosystem with strategic convergence points before, during and after the game,” says Jeff Gagne, SVP of sports marketing at Havas Media Network North America. “For nearly a month, every demographic and every channel aligns around one event. Brands can show up in pre-game programming when competition is lighter, dominate the in-game window for maximum visibility, or own post-game social when reactions are flooding feeds.”

Speaking with Ben Allison, executive vice president of Media at VaynerMedia, the word appears again as he describes the Super Bowl’s evolution from “broadcast event” to “multi-week attention ecosystem”. He shares, “The linear spot is a high-octane catalyst for an integrated journey across social, streaming, live events, and the emerging AI search landscape.”

For Ben and Vayner, the Big Game media strategy now begins with socials. Pre-game, brands use TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Snap Spotlight and Reels as “real-time laboratories” to validate creative hooks, and even seed ‘Easter eggs’ that trigger specific AI search queries. “By priming LLMs like Gemini and ChatGPT with these narrative signals pre-game, brands ensure they become the ‘definitive answer’ when fans seek context during the broadcast,” he explains.

“During the game, brands can bridge linear reach with streaming precision across simulcast partners, using CTV to capture cord-cutters. The real-time battle, however, is won through community management as live creative – reacting in real-time to cultural micro-moments to maintain second-screen dominance.”

Martin also circles second-screens as a key driver of this evolution – of media plans becoming a “connected ecosystem”, starting with a social-first approach in the build-up.

“The most effective Super Bowl campaigns are built for participation, not just exposure,” he says. “Advertisers are designing campaigns that meet audiences where they are, using creator-led content to fuel pre-game momentum, in-game placements to deliver mass reach and cultural credibility, and post-game extensions across CTV, digital and experiential activations to continue the story.”

Jeff agrees. “Cross-channel integration is everything,” he says. “A 30-second TV spot without supporting presence in streaming, social, search and experiential is just expensive noise. The brands that win, [they] thread one story across every touchpoint, including teasing on social pre-game, landing the message during broadcast, and extending engagement post-game when everyone's still talking about it.

“Done right, the Super Bowl is a strategic platform that compounds value across the entire media ecosystem.”

For Martin, this opens the opportunity to deliver dynamic, personalised content that feels both native to each platform, and cohesive with the wider campaign across channels. But as Jeff points out, when every brand is trying to do this, an extra layer of difficulty is added.

“The challenge is clutter,” he says. “The Super Bowl celebrates multiple categories including music, food, travel, celebrity and gaming, not just football. That gives any brand the chance to participate whether they have a natural sports tie or not. An athletic brand belongs in the game. A snack brand belongs at the party. A travel app belongs when fans are booking flights.

“When everyone's chasing the same moment, cutting through requires knowing exactly when and where your audience is most receptive, and committing to one cohesive narrative across all channels including TV, streaming, social and experiential.”

Timing, he adds, matters by brand. “Endemic sports brands belong in-game. Food and beverage brands maximise value in pre-game and watch-party windows. Travel and entertainment brands can win earlier in the cycle when consumers are planning. The key is matching your category to the moment your audience is making decisions.”

Once the game is all said and done, and either the Patriots or Seahawks stand tall on February 8th, Ben adds that it’s far from over for media teams. “New opportunities arise for bridging the lift in cultural relevance and conversational search,” he says. “To extend a 30-second moment into a month of sustained relevance, discoverability and commerce, brands can utilise platform-native narrative extensions, cut-downs, and behind-the-scenes across social channels.”

And even once the remainder of the Super Bowl buzz dies down, it’s unlikely that media agencies will be resting on their laurels for the rest of the year – especially in the world of sports. “2026 marks a truly monumental year for sports,” says Martin, “with Super Bowl LX, the Winter Olympics, and the FIFA World Cup dominating culture and an unprecedented runway of global attention.”

It’s clear the Super Bowl is just the first instance of this ‘connected media ecosystem’ in action for 2026 – certainly on such a large scale. However, after hearing the experts’ insights, it’s evident that the approach remains evergreen for media teams across the US today. “Shifting from one-off activations,” says Martin, “to integrated strategies that span multiple tentpoles, using each touchpoint to build toward the next.”

Keep up with everything Super Bowl LX here.​