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The 2020 NFL season kicked-off Sep 10, with the Kansas City Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl LIV champs, defeating the Houston Texans. BrandGraph, IZEA’s, social intelligence platform, recorded an increase in social media content and engagement for NFL teams following the start of the season. Fans worried on social media that the season would be delayed, like other professionals sports, because football is such a contact sport. The NFL season was only partially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and actually started on time as scheduled. Still, the NFL made some serious changes this year in response to the pandemic. The most notable difference is the lack of fans in stadiums. Out of 30 teams, 22 have decided to play behind closed doors prohibiting spectators from being in the audience. For some teams, the decision to not allow fans will only last for the first couple of home games. And after that reduced admittance will be allowed. The other teams will wait until further notice to decide when to open their doors to do what is safest for their fans. The regular season is set to end on Jan 3, 2021, with the Playoffs starting on Jan 9. And if everything goes as plan Super Bowl LV will be played in Tampa, Fla. on Feb 7, 2021.

Also trending this week on BrandGraph were brands like McDonald’s and Microsoft. BrandGraph tracks and records the performance of these brands across social media platforms. See what got these brands trending by taking a closer look at the Top Trending Brands for this week:

Trending Brands for the Week of August 31, 2020

  1. Kansas City Chiefs(@chiefs)
  2. McDonald’s(@mcdonalds)
  3. Microsoft(@microsoft)
  4. Super Mario(SuperMarioEN)
  5. Pittsburgh Steelers(@steelers)

The Kansas City Chiefs opened the NFL season on Sep 10, 2020, by facing off against the Houston Texans. The reigning Super Bowl champs defeated the Texans 34-20 on their home turf with limited fans in Arrowhead Stadium. Chiefs fans were not allowed to wear headdresses or war paint in the stadium, as they have in the past, because the Chiefs organization is pushing for more cultural sensitivity. A pre-recorder version of the “Star-Spangled Banner” sung by Chloe X Halle played on the video board. Alex Okafor, Chiefs defensive end, took a knee and raising his fist in the air during the presentation. The Texans stayed in their locker room during the anthem and faced boos from fans whole emerging from the tunnel after the anthem. Fans continued to boo while Chiefs and Texans players interlocked arms at the 50-yard-line for a moment of silence against racism.

kc chiefs brandgraph trend

Top Content for Kansas City Chiefs

Popular fast-food restaurant McDonald’s trended on social media after collaborating with rapper Travis Scott. A few weeks ago, an email leaked from McDonald’s that alluded to the collaboration causing fans on social media to speculate what it could be. Finally, on Sep 8, 2020, McDonald’s released the Travis Scott Meal. The highly anticipated $6 meal features a Quarter Pounder with cheese plus lettuce and bacon, medium fries with BBQ sauce, and a Sprite. Scott even made an appearance at a McDonald’s in California. While outside of the restaurant, he went on Instagram Live where he can be seen being swarmed by supporters excited to see their favorite performer in person. Across Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok fans are showing their support for Scott by recording themselves ordering the meal at their local McDonald’s.

mcdonalds brandgraph trend

Top Content for McDonald’s

Tech company Microsoft trended this past week after announcing its newest Xbox. According to their website, the Xbox Series X will be Microsoft’s most powerful console to date. While the Xbox Series S is the smallest console its ever built for a more affordable price. Pre-orders for both consoles start Sep 22, and the global launch is set for Nov 10. Microsoft is promising gamers faster load times and higher frame rates. Gamers are beyond excited for this upcoming release and look forward to the chance to have a high-quality gaming console for an affordable price. The estimated retail price for the Xbox Series X is $499 and is $299 for the Xbox Series S. Microsoft also trended on social media after their proposal to purchase the U.S operations of TikTok was rejected by ByteDance. Shortly after Microsoft’s bid was denied, computer tech company Oracle successfully purchased TikTok but the extent of the deal is not known.

microsoft brandgraph trend

Top Content for Microsoft

Super Mario trends on BrandGraph after Nintendo announced they’ll be releasing a new Super Mario Bros. game to celebrate 35 years of the game series. According to Nintendo, Super Mario Bros. 35 will be an online competitive platform game with battle Royale elements. Super Mario is the third-best-selling video game series and is one of Nintendo’s most successful franchises. The first Super Mario Bros. game was released on Sep 13, 1985, on the NES console. Nintendo released a new Super Mario Bros. game almost every year after the first Super Mario Bros. came out in 1985. Gamers are taking to social media to reminisce on the first Super Mario Bros. game they ever played as they wait for the newest installment of the game. Super Mario Bros. 35’s worldwide release is Oct 1, 2020.

super mario brandgraph trend

Top Content for Super Mario

The Pittsburg Steelers also trended on BrandGraph this week after defeating the New York Giants with a 26-16 score on Sep 14, 2020. The game was audience-less due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The win thrilled Steeler fans especially after Cam Heyward finalized a four-year extension with the team for $71.4M. The Steelers also welcome QB Joshua Dobbs after releasing Delvin Hodges on Sep 6. Hodges ended up signing to the Steelers practice squad the next day. Fans are eager to see how far the Steelers will go this season with high hopes that they’ll win a 7th Super Bowl Championship.

steelers brandgraph trend

Top Content for Pittsburgh Steelers

BrandGraph Trends is designed to help marketers identify, compare, and contrast momentum among brands, topics, and concepts in social media. Powered by IZEA’s proprietary content classification engine, BrandGraph Trends allows marketers to benchmark any keyword against a brand or groups of brands in a general industry or specific category.

Those interested in learning more about BrandGraph Trends can request a product demonstration at izea.com/brandgraph/get-a-demo