Super Bowl ads sell reach, but creator marketing masters closeness

The Super Bowl has long been considered the only day a year when consumers care about ads, but the creator economy has dispersed the fight for consumer attention across the marketing calendar. While the reach of the Super Bowl is undeniable—CBS reported that this year’s game was the most-watched program in television history—marketers are recognizing that creators bring personalized value to their messaging. 

“What’s happening after the Super Bowl is really what I’m leading into,” said Lauren Benedict, chief revenue officer at Spotter, a platform that funds creator growth on YouTube. “What’s the lasting impact these advertisers have to drive the consumer through the purchase funnel? How can they have an ongoing impact with these multimillion dollar creatives that they produced for 30 seconds of time?”

The creator economy is projected to reach $5.89 billion in 2024, and brands legitimized the industry during this year’s game by marrying creative and celebrity talent. While the reach of the Super Bowl is unmatched, advertisers have the opportunity to achieve a new type of consumer impact when working with creators—whether that means launching partnerships leading up to the ad campaign or opting for a Super Bowl-adjacent campaign that lives outside of the big screen. I spoke with Benedict, as well as Spotter’s Chief Operating Officer Nic Paul, on creator marketing as a pathway to consistent and bespoke messaging that spans beyond blanket creative.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

‍Question: As the creator economy continues to grow, do events like the Super Bowl  maintain the same relevance? ‍

Lauren Benedict: The ROI (for Super Bowl ads) has always been about reach and frequency, but we’re talking about reach, frequency and impact. The Super Bowl will always have its place, but marrying that upper funnel and lower funnel is always really powerful for brands. IAB released a study in December comparing creator content to studio content, and ads that fit more in the YouTube ecosystem drive a much higher purchase intent for a campaign. 

Q: Your company has exclusively invested in YouTube creators. What are the benefits of living on this platform? 
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Nic Paul: YouTube has a very predictable monetization stream, and it is absolutely rewarding creators for longer form content. You’re also seeing valuable appointment-based viewing: Mr. Beast uploads at noon on Saturday, the dudes from Dude Perfect upload every Saturday and Jordan Matter uploads every Thursday. 

If I’m a barbecue creator with 4 million subscribers, every time I post a video, that’s kind of like the barbecue Super Bowl. It’s that obsessive kind of fandom. Platforms are winning the attention game, but creators are dominating the engagement game. 

LB: YouTube is really winning in terms of dominance and time spent. Finding audiences where viewers come with purpose has always been the highest driver of engagement.

‍Q: In a recent blog post, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said “YouTube’s next frontier is the living room and subscriptions” in 2024. Are you seeing this  push for long-form content across your creator network? 

NP: The KPI that brands are really making us run into this year is attention, like average view duration, watch time completion rates, likes and comments, which is refreshing since it’s how we run our business. Brands are saying ‘How can I be where audiences are congregating and living with these creators?’

Content from our creators is 50% longer than it was 12 months ago. Long form is becoming longer, and creators are getting rewarded for it as ad fill rates go up.

Q: Looking at your overall strategy, how are you positioning the power of creator partnerships to brands? 

LB: The research is showing that creators really inspire and drive consideration all the way down to purchase at a much higher capacity. Ads feel more relevant and fit into a viewing experience, and the expectation is now relevance powered with great storytelling. It’s this beautiful combination of creativity, coupled with data and audience insights, that drive results for advertisers. 

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