RECENT CASE STUDY - IT & SOFTWARE
SURFSHARK x MATCHVIBE:
DRIVING VPN AWARENESS
BEN BLACK:TRAIN LIKE ERLING HAALAND
CLIENT: SURFSHARK VPN STREAMING
AGENCY: MATCHVIBE
CREATOR: BEN BLACK
MARKET: GLOBAL
A high-trust YouTube integration putting Surfshark in front of a deeply engaged football and lifestyle audience.
BACKGROUND
Surfshark, the global cybersecurity and privacy platform, partnered with MatchVibe to deliver a high-impact YouTube sponsorship through one of the UK's most influential entertainment and football creators, Ben Black. The objective: drive awareness, consideration and direct conversion for Surfshark VPN among Ben's predominantly UK-based audience of football fans, lifestyle viewers and Gen Z / younger millennial consumers, a demographic that increasingly cares about digital privacy, secure streaming and content access across borders.
Surfshark needed an integration that felt native to Ben's content, carried his authentic tone of voice, and converted viewers through a dedicated promo code and microsite, without disrupting the entertainment value that drives his channel's performance.
THE STRATEGY
MatchVibe positioned Ben Black as the ideal voice for Surfshark in the UK market for three core reasons:
1. Audience alignment
Ben's 10M+ following spans football, lifestyle and entertainment — a high-value cross-section of viewers who stream sports content, use multiple devices, and increasingly seek digital privacy tools. This audience overlaps directly with Surfshark's primary growth target.
2. Format fluency
Ben's YouTube channel is built around long-form entertainment, where 60-second integrated sponsor reads consistently outperform mid-roll ads. The format allows for a genuine product demonstration and personalised CTA — exactly the kind of integration that drives VPN conversion.
3. Brand-safe storytelling
Ben's tone is high-energy and culturally relevant but consistently brand-safe — a critical requirement for global brands like Surfshark operating across regulated markets. MatchVibe managed editorial approvals end-to-end to ensure complete alignment with Surfshark's CAP Code and ASA-compliant disclosure requirements.
THE EXECUTION
MatchVibe delivered a fully managed creator integration covering creative direction, contracting, compliance and post-publication reporting:
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One bespoke YouTube video featuring a 60+ second Surfshark integration within the first five minutes of the video
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Custom CTA driving viewers to surfshark.com/benblack with the promo code BENBLACK for four extra months of Surfshark VPN
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On-screen QR code, logo placement and product-in-use demonstration delivered within Ben's natural editorial style
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Full ASA-compliant ad disclosure using YouTube's paid promotion flag, pinned comment and top-of-description placement
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One-year content lifespan with worldwide royalty-free organic usage rights for Surfshark across owned and operated channels
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Category exclusivity locked across the 45-day campaign term, blocking competing VPN, antivirus, proxy and data-protection sponsorships
WHY IT WORKED
Trust over reach
Ben's audience treats his recommendations as peer-to-peer endorsements rather than advertising. By embedding Surfshark within entertainment-led content, the integration converted attention into action.
Native to the platform
The integration was built for YouTubE, not retrofitted from a TVC. Long-form, conversational, and structured around viewer behaviour on the platform.
End-to-end management
MatchVibe owned the full process from creator selection through to live performance including compliance, editorial approvals, and post-campaign reporting, letting Surfshark focus on strategic outcomes rather than operational delivery.
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