Greetings!

Welcome to the February 2026 issue of Key Notes - Marketing Keys' monthly newsletter! Whether you're a die-hard football fan or just tuning in for the commercials, we hope you enjoy the Big Game this Sunday with friends and family. Key Notes is an informative, quick-read newsletter to get you caught up on all things media and marketing. Our goal is for you to be informed and entertained with the latest media and marketing happenings quickly and efficiently. 

Marketers often fall into the trap of defining their audience by demographics—age, gender, income, or ZIP code. But these categories don’t really explain why people act the way they do anymore. What drives results isn’t the group someone belongs to on paper—it’s the motivations and emotions shaping their choices. A campaign aimed at “women 30–44” may miss the mark if it doesn’t connect with the moments in their lives that actually matter, like seeking control during change, finding community, or needing a little escape.

Consumers respond to what’s happening in their lives, not the boxes they fit into. Two people with completely different backgrounds can feel the same way—overwhelmed, disconnected, or longing for belonging—and respond to the same message. When you tap into those emotional or functional needs, you stop talking to a demographic and start connecting with real people. That’s where true engagement happens.

A lot of campaigns fail because media buying and creative aren’t aligned. The wrong message reaches the wrong audience, leaving marketers frustrated and dollars wasted. The solution is simple: make sure your brief, creative, and media strategies all focus on the same underlying needs and motivations. When everyone is on the same page, campaigns don’t just run—they resonate.

To get there, dig deeper than demographics. Use tools like ethnography, social listening, and psychographic research to uncover the tensions and desires shaping behavior. Define your audience around these needs, not age brackets, and make sure your media plan reaches people experiencing those same realities. Finally, measure impact by connection, not just impressions—look at how your message resonates emotionally and whether it drives meaningful engagement. When campaigns are built around real human motivations, the results speak for themselves.

Most Expensive Two Words?

When millions of Americans tune in for Super Bowl LX this weekend, they’ll notice something strange in the commercials — the event’s actual name is almost never said. That’s because “Super Bowl” isn’t just a cultural phrase, it’s protected intellectual property. The NFL controls the rights to the name, along with other phrases and league branding, which means advertisers can’t use it freely without paying for official permission.

Those permissions come at a massive cost. Brands that want to reference the Super Bowl directly have to pay the league significant licensing fees, which is why most advertisers stick to workarounds like “The Big Game” or indirect references. Only select sponsors can afford full access to the official branding, turning the words themselves into premium ad space.

Over the years, the league has even tried to lock down alternative phrases to stop non-sponsors from riding the hype without paying. While some of those efforts didn’t stick, the strategy made one thing clear: the NFL carefully controls how its biggest event is marketed. For advertisers, creativity isn’t just a strategy — it’s a necessity.

News organizations can still call the event what it is thanks to fair use protections, but brands don’t get that same flexibility. So during the biggest advertising moment of the year, companies either speak in coded language — or pay up for the right to say two of the most valuable words in sports.

YouTube’s presence on the biggest screen in the house is set to expand even further in 2026. According to new research, more U.S. agencies plan to include YouTube on TV screens in their advertising mix, signaling continued confidence in the platform as part of connected TV strategies. While the increase is incremental, it reflects a steady commitment to reaching viewers where streaming habits are strongest.

That confidence is echoed by media leaders themselves. In a survey of U.S. media executives conducted in late 2025, a strong majority said YouTube on TV will play a larger role in CTV campaigns than ever before. Others expect their investment to remain consistent year over year. Importantly, that optimism isn’t just theoretical—agencies reported a significant jump in YouTube ad spending in 2025 compared to the prior year, with expectations that investment will continue climbing into 2026.

However, growth doesn’t come without considerations. Brand suitability remains top of mind for advertisers navigating YouTube’s vast ecosystem of user-generated content. The report notes that without third-party tools in place, a meaningful portion of impressions could appear next to content that doesn’t align with brand standards. To mitigate risk, many advertisers prioritize avoiding kids-focused videos, off-target language, and certain sensitive categories like political or news-related content.

Overall, the findings point to YouTube and CTV continuing to gain momentum as core advertising channels. Alongside other major digital platforms that are also seeing steady or rising investment, YouTube’s expansion on TV screens underscores how advertisers are refining their strategies—balancing scale, engagement, and brand safety as streaming becomes an even bigger part of everyday viewing.

NBCUniversal’s sports-heavy “Legendary February” is doing more than stacking marquee events—it’s nudging the industry to rethink what prime time could look like in the future. The month begins with extensive Winter Olympics coverage, airing across NBC and Peacock from early morning onward. That momentum carries straight into the Super Bowl, still the most-watched single broadcast each year, before rolling into the NBA All-Star Weekend the following week—an event NBC hasn’t produced in two decades. Together, it’s a rare stretch where live sports dominate the network schedule for weeks at a time.

What makes this moment notable is that it reflects a broader strategy, not a one-off stunt. NBC has been steadily increasing its sports footprint throughout the year with college conferences, international soccer, golf, and new additions like the WNBA and Major League Baseball. Competitors are doing the same. Even though live sports account for a relatively small share of total broadcast hours, they consistently command a disproportionate share of viewing. Recent data shows that sports regularly drive more than a third of all broadcast TV consumption, thanks to must-watch moments like football, championship series, and postseason play.

That gap between hours aired and hours watched raises an interesting possibility: could live sports become a nightly fixture in prime time rather than a special occasion? Networks still rely on scripted franchises to fuel promotion and traditional ad revenue, but audience behavior is hard to ignore. As streaming platforms gain strength and live events remain one of the few appointment-viewing experiences left, it’s easy to imagine networks carving out consistent evening slots for sports content—whether major leagues or more unconventional matchups. If that happens, prime time may start to look a lot less scripted and a lot more live.

Valentine’s Day is still on the calendar, and consumers haven’t skipped it—they’re just approaching it differently. New research suggests fewer people are going all out this year, but the holiday still holds weight. While 84% of respondents say they plan to celebrate, overall spending is more restrained, with the average shopper budgeting about $105. That’s a significant pullback from last year and a clear sign that shoppers are being more deliberate with where their dollars go.

Gift buying is no longer just about romantic partners, either. While nearly two-thirds of shoppers are still purchasing for a significant other, many are also shopping for children, grandchildren, and—importantly—themselves. Self-gifting now accounts for a third of purchases, opening the door for retailers to rethink how they segment and message their audiences. Brands that use past purchase behavior or browsing data to personalize offers can better connect with shoppers who are buying across multiple categories.

When it comes to gift choices, familiar favorites dominate. Candy and chocolates lead the pack, followed by dining experiences, gift cards, apparel, and other activities. Consumers are spreading smaller budgets across more people and leaning into early shopping to score better deals and avoid last-minute costs. With merchandise appearing in stores earlier than ever, retailers that plan ahead and promote early may be best positioned to capture Valentine’s Day spending—whatever form it takes this year.

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