Tiffany recently published this blog highlighting how smaller organizations can effectively leverage the Super Bowl's massive audience without spending millions on a 30-second ad. She outlined practical strategies we're using to help healthcare and human services clients in New Jersey tap into sports betting trends to raise awareness about gambling addiction services by using the right mix of touchpoints and strategies across paid, earned, shared and owned channels.
I'd like to zoom out a bit to show how these same principles are playing out among the high-profile, big brands who spent millions around the game. What's fascinating is that even brands with eight-figure advertising budgets are fundamentally changing their strategies in ways that mirror what we're doing for smaller clients.
Our job is simple: help clients find their audience(s) and connect with them in ways that matter. We've been doing this for 40 years, and our approach has consistently evolved. But it's never changed this fast.
The old playbook for mega brands was straightforward: concentrate your resources on one big channel or event to make a huge splash. Buy the Super Bowl ad. Run the national TV campaign and dominate the shared experience. The strategy was about reach and frequency through a handful of dominant channels.
That playbook is obsolete, even for brands with the biggest budgets. Today's most effective marketing strategies spread resources across the right mix of PESO channels (paid, earned, shared, and owned) to raise awareness, create engagement, build community, and make a lasting impact. It's not just about being seen anymore. It's about being part of ongoing conversations that matter to your audience. The Super Bowl ad itself is part of an experience shared by over 100 million viewers… but the best brands are creating more shared experiences and building a sense of community among smaller groups of people before, during and well after the game has ended.
Look at how major advertisers approached this year's Super Bowl. These aren't scrappy startups or budget-conscious organizations. These are household names with massive marketing budgets. And even they're fundamentally changing their strategies.
The goal now extends far beyond game day itself. Creating ongoing buzz, conversation, and community on social media in the weeks leading up to the event has become just as important, if not more important, than a 30-second spot during the broadcast (which set advertisers back around $10 million this year). According to Sportico, only 10% to 20% of brands kept their ads under wraps before the 2026 game. Budweiser and the NFL released their ads two weeks in advance, while GrubHub, State Farm, Uber Eats, and TurboTax all released teasers for theirs online.
Disney and ESPN have already launched their campaign for next year’s Super Bowl with their “We’re Going” campaign, 370 days in advance (it’s a leap year). If that doesn’t signal a paradigm shift, I don’t know what does.
Some brands are skipping the traditional TV spot altogether. Avocados From Mexico sat out the Super Bowl for the third year in a row, choosing instead to create a web-based experience around an AI-generated “Guac Guru” and focus on digital experiences that they believe will extend far beyond game day.
Sound familiar? These big brands are doing exactly what Tiffany described in her post. They’re leveraging data and trends, creating organic social content, using targeted paid strategies, and generating earned media. They're just doing it at a different scale. The fundamental approach is the same: meet audiences where they already are, engage them with relevant content, and build connections that last beyond a single moment.
Here's the critical insight: if brands with millions to spend on a single 30-second ad are pivoting to multi-channel, community-building strategies, what does that tell you?
It tells you the transformation is complete. The next chapter isn't coming, it’s here. And the playbook that worked for decades doesn't work anymore, regardless of your budget.
As Tiffany pointed out in her post, nearly 70% of Americans use two or more additional media platforms to engage with Super Bowl content, and last year’s game generated 2.83 billion total engagements across Instagram, X, and YouTube. The audience isn't just watching anymore, they’re participating, sharing, and creating their own content around the event.
The biggest brands in the world have recognized this shift and are adapting their strategies accordingly. They're no longer just buying a spot during the game and calling it a day. They're thinking about how to create sustained engagement across multiple touchpoints, how to generate earned media, and how to build community around their campaigns.
The same digital channels and strategies that are forcing big brands to rethink their approach have also leveled the playing field. You don't need $8 million to create buzz. You don't need celebrity endorsements to build community. You need to understand where your audience is, meet them there with authentic and relevant content, and engage them across the right mix of paid, earned, shared, and owned channels.
Smaller organizations can, and are, using these exact strategies to punch above their weight. The Super Bowl examples prove that even the biggest brands in the world have recognized this shift. The difference between big brands and small brands isn't the strategy, it's the scale.
The question isn't whether you should evolve your approach. The question is whether you can afford not to.
Transformational changes are well underway at every budget level, in every industry. Smart, effective marketers are reaching people across multiple channels, building lasting connections, and creating communities around their brands.
The channels have fragmented. Audiences consume content much differently than they did even five years ago. But the core principle remains the same: find your people where they are, engage them in ways that matter to them, and create authentic connections that last beyond a single touchpoint.
No matter the size of your brand or your budget, the transformation is universal. You need to keep up or be left behind.
Our team has spent 40 years helping organizations find their audience and connect with them in ways that matter. We'd love to do the same for you.