07/21/2026
The world's biggest soccer event generated billions of impressions, but impressions alone don't build brands. What stood out wasn't who spent the most, but who understood people the best.
Here are some lessons learned after the brands displayed their large campaigns:
ā½ Relevance beats visibility.
Official sponsors like Michelob ULTRA, LEGO, Nike or Lay's became part of the fan experience by creating ideas that felt timely, social, and shareable, adding value to the conversation.
ā½ Brands like Adidas, Visa, and Coca-Cola used participation to keep fans engaged beyond the matches. That's why the strongest brands build communities, not audiences. It's also a playbook perfected by fast-food brands, which routinely extend sporting events into weeks of promotions, social conversations and fan experiences that outlive the event itself.
ā½ Every touchpoint tells the same story.
Brands like Visa, Coca-Cola and Hyundai carried one consistent narrative across TV, social media, PR, creators, activations and digital experiences. Every channel reinforced the others.
āAnd perhaps the biggest lesson? You don't have to be an official sponsor to be part of the conversation.
Some of the smartest campaigns came from brands with no official tournament rights. Companies like IKEA, Duolingo, Ryanair and Aldi leveraged football culture, fan behaviors and real-time moments to create content that felt relevant, without using protected FIFA assets or claiming any official association.
Because great marketing is about owning a meaningful moment within it.
