How are marketers preparing for the World Cup?

The FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026 is just four months away. While it may seem like a long wait for football fans, it’s imminent for brands and marketers weighing up how they activate, when they kick off and what they focus their marketing budgets on.  

The last time a World Cup took place in the US, there were just 24 countries involved. This year, 48 teams will compete in the US, Mexico and Canada in what is being dubbed the biggest tournament of all time.  

But it is with its challenges. From political tensions to time zone disruption for European fans, much is riding on brands’ marketing efforts.  

Many brands and official partners have their plans in place, but are some being slower than usual? Agencies working with brands on the tournament suggest so. Meanwhile, the more reactive and unofficial will have a different entry point and point of view.  

Here are some of the key trends and considerations for UK marketers ahead of the biggest, and potentially contentious, World Cup to date.  

A creator-led tournament

The upcoming World Cup isn’t the first to include creators. However, there has been a seismic shift in influencer marketing since Qatar 2022.  

Social media’s strategic influence for brands has grown. We’ve seen the likes of Unilever shift half of its marketing budget into the channel, and more brands follow suit.  

Meanwhile, TikTok signed a first-of-its-kind deal with FIFA in January to make it the “preferred platform” for the tournament.  

This is unsurprising as the majority (93%) of fans think they will ‘second screen’ the tournament. Meaning they will have another device – likely their phones – open while watching World Cup matches, according to media company FootballCo.  

Reasons range from checking match statistics and line-ups (63% of fans), to looking at content on social media for 39% – rising to half of those aged 17 and under, and 18-27. ‘Not just transactional’: Dove on the value of treating influencers as ‘strategic partners’

This tournament will be “creator-led”, argues Sandy Mair, senior director of global partnerships at Rising Ballers Group. 

“Consumption habits will be more proliferated than ever,” says Mair, meaning brand touchpoints will be “broader than ever” too.  

“Creators are publishers in their own right and can explore spaces that brands and broadcasters can’t, matching that with how fans will consume creators alongside the games, provides a unique opportunity for brands.”  

For many fans, “watching the match becomes the second screen really”, suggests Andy Baker, head of strategy at FootballCo, as engaging with content online and gaming take precedent over paying attention to the game live.  

“Football fans and casual followers will have a different cadence of keeping up with the tournament this time around,” suggests Baker, given that many games are taking place in the early hours of the morning for UK fans. 

For many, they’ll get their updates by checking their phones “when they first wake up” and finding out what’s happening “through creators” and watching highlights. 

Netflix signed a deal with Goalhanger’s Rest is Football podcast in December to host the visual podcast on its platform during the tournament. It’s not a “surprise” says Tuppen, “because it’s such a smart thing to do, it puts you in the conversation every single day.”  

Time zone disruption and regional complexities

Kick off times for England and Scotland during the group stages range between 9pm and 2am UK time.  

While this adds a pretty thick layer of complexity for marketers, not all is lost. Let’s not forget, this isn’t the first – and won’t be the last – time matches don’t align with typical watch times.  

There’s a big opportunity for supermarkets, retailers and food delivery services this tournament, says Baker.  

The majority of fans prefer to watch games at home, according to FootballCo data. Almost two-thirds (60%) of fans aged 18-27 say they prefer to watch from home, compared with 69% of under-17s.  

For those aged 28-34 and 35-44, the figure drops to 52% and 56%, with millennial fans the most likely to seek social viewing at pubs and bars, for example. Meanwhile, 62% of those 45-54 and 70% of over-55s prefer to watch from home. Guinness on using its London ‘brand home’ to ’embrace’ new and existing consumers

Brands that can “forge a connection” with fans watching from home will be “well regarded”, says Nico Tuppen, co-founder of sports creative agency Homeground.  

It will be “more of a challenge” for pubs, bars and on-trade venues to “capitalise on”, says Baker, with businesses needing to think about how they activate and target fans to watch games outside their four walls.  

“Brands will adapt to the time of the matches depending on what they want to achieve from it,” says Lucy Basden-Smith, managing director at global sports and entertainment marketing agency Fuse, likely through digital content.

For brands where it will be more of a struggle because of the time zone issue, activation may come from working around “punditry shows” and commentary throughout the day.  

“No one stops talking about the World Cup when the match finishes,” she points out. “That conversation never stops.”  

No one stops talking about the World Cup when the match finishes.

Lucy Basden-Smith, Fuse

She urges marketers to properly consider “what they want to get out of it” and what audience they want to hit, rather than attempting to target everyone, everywhere.  

“There are so many opportunities to buy space within a relevant broadcast moment, whether that is online or offline,” she says. “It’s the beauty of the World Cup.”  

Marketers should already be looking beyond the tournament itself, she adds. “What is the plan afterwards?”  

Brands shouldn’t be in a position where they’ve spent a lot of time and budget on reaching people, but don’t know what they “want to do next”. Having a plan in place before, “and knowing what you’re going to do afterwards” with the results or momentum, will be key for brands.  

Are brands hesitating?

Political tensions in the US may be causing some brands to think more carefully about how they show up during the tournament.  

However, brands shouldn’t forget there are multiple countries hosting the World Cup. 

“Football is a unifying force. There is nothing like a World Cup, and remember, there are two other host countries alongside the US. If the US is the issue, then focus on the fans that can relate to your brand, enhance their experience or focus on telling stories from Canada or Mexico,” says Mair, who acknowledges it’s a “tricky” topic for brands.  

One way brands could approach it is by isolating the host from the tournament. There are 47 other countries competing, “all with their own takes and opinions and fandom to be a part of”.  ‘More impact, less waste’: Coca-Cola CFO praises impact of marketing ‘transformation’

“The easy answer is that it’s all about context. Is your brand trying to enhance the fan viewing experience? Can you take the politics out of it?” says Mair. “Ultimately, the past two to three World Cups have had issues; if a brand took a stand when it was in Russia and Qatar, then that stance should be maintained.”  

“There’s no way they’re not going to be nervous going into it and committing spend,” says Basden-Smith, noting how political the tournament has become in recent years.  

Coca-Cola went live with its World Cup campaign at the end of January, one of the first brands to debut. “That sort of settles everyone down a bit,” says Basden-Smith.  

For brands to “make the most” of their partnerships, “they need to get in there early” to get a return, particularly as the closer we get to kick off, the more cluttered the landscape.  

Brands need to be wary of jumping “on the bandwagon”, says Mair. “Yes, it’s going to be the biggest World Cup ever, and yes, it’s going to be a cluttered space, but how do you enrich the fans’ experience? Find out if you can facilitate something that others can’t, and that is how to cut through.”