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The Super Bowl Is a Year-Round Cultural Signal.
Marketers treat the Super Bowl like a single media event.
The data tells a different story.
When we analyzed weekly video conversation around both the Super Bowl and Bad Bunny, what emerged was not a spike. It was a pattern of sustained cultural attention with predictable waves of acceleration.
For brands, that changes everything.
The Super Bowl Conversation Never Turns Off
Looking at weekly video mentions since May 2025, Super Bowl conversation maintains a consistent baseline throughout the year.
Even in early summer, months before kickoff, Super Bowl mentions account for measurable share of total video content analyzed. Conversation does not disappear in the offseason. It contracts and expands.
When training camp opens in late July, mentions increase sharply versus early summer levels. From that point forward, engagement fluctuates but remains elevated.
Across more than 30 weeks of in-season data, week-over-week conversation increased roughly half the time and decreased half the time. That pattern reflects steady audience engagement rather than a one-week burst.
The Most Surprising Super Bowl Stat
The week of the Super Bowl sees mentions at roughly 4 times the year-round baseline.
That sounds dramatic until you reframe it.
It means approximately 25 percent of peak Super Bowl conversation volume exists all year long.
The biggest advertising week of the year is built on top of a foundation that never goes quiet.
In share-of-content terms, Super Bowl mentions range around half a percent of all analyzed video content during much of the season. During peak playoff and game weeks, that share rises to roughly 1.7 to 2 percent.
That is a lift of approximately 3 to 4 times baseline share, not 20 times.
For marketers who only activate during Super Bowl week, that means ignoring months of culturally relevant signals.
The Early Season Spike Most Brands Miss
One of the strongest lifts in Super Bowl conversation happens at the start of football season.
Late July and August show meaningful increases versus June baseline levels. In some preseason weeks, mention volume more than doubles compared to early summer.
Conversation builds again:
- During playoff probability discussions
- When matchups become realistic
- When halftime performers are announced
- When brands release commercial teasers
The cultural runway starts long before February.
Bad Bunny Shows the Same Cultural Pattern
The same wave dynamic appears in music and entertainment.
Bad Bunny maintained a steady baseline of weekly mentions throughout 2025. Then, when he was announced as the Super Bowl halftime performer, conversation surged.
The week of the announcement delivered a spike of more than 10 times his typical weekly baseline.
The following week remained elevated at roughly 4 to 5 times normal levels.
Even after the initial shockwave, conversation stabilized at a level meaningfully higher than pre-announcement averages.
This is what cultural acceleration looks like:
- Baseline relevance
- Trigger moment
- Exponential lift
- Sustained elevated interest
Brands that wait until game week miss the earliest and often most explosive phase of engagement.
Cultural Moments Behave in Waves, Not Dots
The Academy Awards reflect a similar, but not as aggressive, pattern.
Nominee announcements drive a sharp percentage lift versus baseline share of content. In some weeks, mention share more than doubles. After the spike, conversation tapers but does not vanish.
These cultural signals expand and contract.
They do not turn on and off.
The Efficiency Opportunity
A 30-second Super Bowl spot may cost $10 million.
But the data shows that:
- Roughly one quarter of peak Super Bowl conversation exists year round
- Early season weeks deliver meaningful lift versus offseason baseline
- Entertainment tie-ins like halftime performers can drive double-digit multiples versus normal attention
Instead of competing only during the most expensive week in advertising, brands can:
- Capture early intent signals
- Align with rising cultural momentum
- Reinforce messaging across multiple waves
- Arrive at peak week with established relevance
The real opportunity is not choosing between year-round activation and the game.
The opportunity is combining both.
What This Means for Advertisers
The data changes how Super Bowl strategy should be built.
If roughly one quarter of peak Super Bowl conversation exists all year long, and halftime announcements can drive 10 times normal artist attention, then waiting until the week before the game leaves significant opportunity untapped.
For advertisers, this creates three strategic advantages:
Capture Early Intent
When training camp opens and speculation begins, audiences are already forming opinions, planning watch parties, researching products, and engaging with football content.
Reaching them at this stage means influencing decisions before competitors flood the market during peak week.
Build Cultural Association Over Time
Repeated contextual alignment across preseason, playoffs, halftime announcements, and post-game analysis strengthens brand memory.
Instead of appearing once during the loudest moment, brands can build familiarity across multiple waves of attention.
By the time peak week arrives, the brand already feels connected to the conversation.
Improve Efficiency
Peak Super Bowl inventory is among the most expensive media placements in the world.
Earlier phases of the cultural cycle often deliver:
- Meaningful percentage of peak attention
- Lower competitive clutter
- Greater flexibility to test creative
- More opportunities to personalize messaging
Activating across the full cultural curve allows advertisers to extend reach, improve frequency strategy, and reinforce impact without relying entirely on one high-cost placement.
The Super Bowl is a sustained cultural signal that expands and contracts throughout the year. The brands that win are not only present at the loudest moment. They are present when interest begins, when it accelerates, and when it echoes, and the data shows that those windows are open far longer than most advertisers realize.
Qortex builds content-based audience segments around the conversation itself.
That means brands can activate when:
- Super Bowl mentions rise above offseason averages
- Training camp drives preseason lift
- Playoff speculation increases week-over-week share
- Halftime announcements generate 10x surges in artist conversation
- Post-game analysis sustains elevated cultural relevance
The Super Bowl and Bad Bunny follow the same rule.
Cultural attention behaves like a living signal. The brands that win are present across the entire curve, not just at the loudest point.
And the data makes one thing clear. The curve never goes flat.
