Whistle Sports is partnering with the National Football League to create branded NFL-themed content on social media, bringing the football league?s wide appeal to social users around the country.

The partnership was forged in an effort to reach Whistle Sports? network of 257 million followers across its multiple social media accounts. The cross-platform campaign will feature contributions from popular sports content creators from YouTube and other platforms.

?The opportunity to partners is available first to official NFL sponsors but I'm assuming would be very interesting to any brand looking to connect with football fans,? said Brian Selander, executive vice president of Whistle Sports.

Cross-media content
Whistle Sports and NFL?s partnership came out of a desire for brands to be able to reach audiences engaging with sports 24 hours a day. Whistle sees big numbers in terms of content engagement from its social followers, making it an enticing avenue for brands trying to get in touch with sports fans.

The campaign encompasses regularly updated social content across a variety of social media, digital media and TV outlets. Whistle Sports will produce the content in collaboration with its 425 content creators from around the globe.

The cross-media content will take a variety of forms in attempt to satisfy the numerous formats young people consume today. Whistle Sports emphasize digital video will be one of the main formats in use.

Those videos will take the form of short-form comedic spots, instructional workout routines, trick shots and short documentaries. Whistle Sports is banking on the increasing popularity of digital video as form of engagement, and not just empty views.

?Engagement matters so much more than just views,? Mr. Selander said. ?Brand integration into videos, sponsoring content, being featured throughout the conversation - there's so many ways to get involved.?

Video in demand
The NFL is one of the biggest properties in the country, with a huge following that is ready to devour any football-related content. That makes its fans a perfect audience for the kind of digitally engaging content that Whistle Sports hopes to produce.

The NFL is aware of its fans? digital habits, spending a significant amount of its ad spend on digital and social outlets.

Its partnership with brands such as Bud Light have led to social campaigns such as its Cantasy Football contest earlier this month, where sports fans were encouraged to engage on Twitter for the chance to win prizes (see story).

Digital video has also been a focus of the NFL?s marketing strategies. It recently announced the live-streaming of games through Twitter (see story).

Clearly, digital video provides a window for brands trying to position themselves closer to the sports-loving millennial audience that the NFL courts.

?Whistle Sports has over 257 million mostly millennial and young millennial sports fans across social networks and we have been growing by about three million a week,? Mr. Selander said. ?That's millions of conversations daily happening between fans and creators around - a conversation brands can easily join.?