This year’s Digiday Content Marketing Awards winners demonstrate how brands are shifting toward more authentic, community-driven approaches to content. By partnering with creators, experts and complementary brands, organizations are building trust while reaching audiences through more relevant storytelling. The winning work also highlights the rise of interactive experiences that move beyond traditional campaigns, creating opportunities for audiences to participate, engage and form deeper connections with brands.
NFL “Race to the End Zone,” powered by Verizon, created a new model for sports storytelling by combining NFL culture with gaming communities, earning the pair the Best Use of Native Advertising/Sponsored Content award. The cross-platform series paired players with creators to produce YouTube-native content that reached younger audiences through authentic interactions and branded integrations. Across 21 episodes, the program generated 173 million views, more than 242 million minutes of watch time and attracted hundreds of thousands of new NFL viewers weekly, demonstrating the potential of creator-led content to expand fan engagement.
Most Innovative Marketing Team winner NBCUniversal transformed BravoCon from a fan event into a multi-platform marketing engine that connected content, community, commerce and brand partnerships. The team expanded the event’s reach through live experiences, Peacock programming, social storytelling and shoppable integrations, creating new opportunities for sponsors to engage Bravo’s audience. In 2025, BravoCon delivered more than 400 million cross-platform engagements, reached more than 3 million Peacock accounts and demonstrated how fandom-driven marketing can generate measurable business impact.
Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.