How brands win attention during the World Cup

Scottish fans took over Boston and reportedly drank all the beer. Japanese visitors to Mexico have discovered the wonders of chips and salsa. Norway fans showed New York City the proper way to Viking row. The 2026 FIFA World Cup offers cultural moments alongside the action on the pitch, and fans are documenting their own World Cup experiences alongside the matches themselves. 

With an estimated 6 billion viewers, the World Cup is a global media ecosystem and one of the largest media events in history. For years, brands relied on broadcast advertising to capture attention, but that’s no longer a given because fans split their time between broadcasts and online channels. 

In previous decades, the World Cup largely competed with other television programming. Today, it's competing with the entire internet.

This reality has major implications for marketers. Reach is no longer the primary metric for success. The brands that win attention are those that become part of the fan experience rather than interrupting it. Participation is the new reach. 

In this article, I’ll share how attention is changing and what marketers can learn from brands earning a place in the conversation.

The FIFA World Cup remains one of the largest media events on the planet. But it no longer has a captive audience on the TV screen alone.   For marketers, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity. Attention is more fragmented than ever, but brands can find ways to engage fans on the platforms where they spend time. 

Marketing leaders must think about how attention flows between channels, communities and conversations throughout the customer journey.

Why attention has become marketing’s most valuable asset

For years, advertisers knew they could capture attention by buying advertising spots and sponsorships. Now the challenge is earning the fans’ attention and being remembered without the big budget guaranteeing success. 

A fan might watch the match on television while checking statistics on their phone and catching creator reactions on TikTok. The challenge for brands is showing up for the audience in a way that makes sense as they move between platforms.  

The World Cup’s biggest competitors are not other sports

The World Cup might be the largest sporting event in the world, but it’s also competing with everything else people can do online. 

Streaming platforms offer endless entertainment on demand. Creator-led content provides personalized commentary through football influencers, podcasters and YouTube analysts. Gaming platforms such as EA Sports FC 25 allow fans to play the sport rather than simply watch it, while social media platforms deliver a constant stream of highlights, memes and reactions. 

AI-powered experiences are part of the 2026 World Cup experience too, because fans can ask chatbots for match predictions or to generate fantasy lineups. 

This always-on ecosystem trains fans to expect interactive, personalized content. For marketers, this means attention must be earned across channels.

Fan conversations take multiple forms online, and their behavior is changing sports advertising. MNTN Research found: 

• Nearly 2 in 3 social media users watch TV while using a second screen

• 31% have shopped directly from TV content using QR codes or in-show links 

• 34% of TV viewers have purchased merchandise or apparel inspired by something they were watching 

Second-screen behavior shifts attention, making it easy for viewers to participate and purchase. 

What fans are doing while watching matches

Fans now consume sports within a broader attention ecosystem that offers a “choose your own adventure” experience. They have group chats and follow creators with millions of followers across YouTube who share commentary and post-match analysis within seconds. 

FIFA has embraced this shift in media consumption trends through creator partnerships that give selected influencers access to tournament events and exclusive content. 

The broader lesson is that access has become a form of media. Brands don’t need to own audiences if they can empower creators who already have access to them. 

The result is a more interactive and personalized World Cup experience that extends beyond what traditional broadcast channels provide.

How social platforms have become part of the viewing experience

In the broadcast era, fans watched the same event at the same time and discussed it afterward. Today, the conversation happens in real time with the event because a controversial call might become a trending topic before play resumes, and a goal celebration can generate thousands of memes before halftime. 

Social media now serves as a digital equivalent of watching the game with friends, and the online ecosystem helps fans shape how the game is experienced and remembered. 

Why brands need to plan beyond the broadcast

This means that a 30-second television ad no longer defines a World Cup campaign. Successful brands are finding creative ways to show up in multiple ways and get invited into private conversations around the tournament. For instance, Lay’s extended its long-running “No Lay's, No Game" campaign to WhatsApp for the 2026 World Cup. Through its Epic Watch Party activation, the brand shares voice notes from stars such as Lionel Messi and David Beckham, along with predictions, memes and other exclusive content designed for fans already engaging in match-day group chats. This activation is one example of real-time marketing that doesn’t feel like marketing but earns attention across audiences.

This also means that the brands earning attention during the World Cup aren’t necessarily the ones spending the most on advertising. They’re the ones joining the fan conversations and giving them a reason to engage across platforms. 

Here are a few examples:

Real-time content around match moments

Throughout the 2022 tournament, brands created content around Lionel Messi's pursuit of his first World Cup title. As Argentina advanced through the knockout rounds, sponsors, creators and media companies adapted their content to match the underdog narrative that was picking up steam. By the time Argentina reached the final, marketers had weeks of momentum to build upon rather than a single match to react to. 

But Adidas benefited from years of association with Messi as his World Cup journey unfolded. They didn’t need to create a new campaign; Adidas was positioned to participate in a story fans were already following — and they did, with a real-time reaction to Messi’s win.

Creator-led storytelling

These days, fans may spend as much or more time with creators than they do with traditional sports media. Recognizing this shift, FIFA partnered with TikTok and YouTube to give selected creators behind-the-scenes access typically reserved for journalists.

One of these creators is Rachel DeMita. As one of the  30 Creator Correspondents, she is producing exclusive fan-focused coverage from World Cup venues. The initiative reflects the broader reality that creators have become an important part of how fans discover, discuss and experience major sporting events. 

Interactive fan experiences

Fantasy football competitions remain one of the most successful interactive fan experiences. McDonald's FIFA Fantasy focuses on World Cup players, tapping into an existing behavior. Fans are able to build teams, compare rankings and check scores throughout the tournament. Now, someone has a reason to pay attention every day. 

For brands, that's valuable because attention accumulates. The more often fans return, the more opportunities a brand has to become part of the experience.

Community participation and user-generated content

Fans create some of the most engaging World Cup content today. It feels less produced and more genuine. However, polished brands are also finding new ways to create community with the fans, such as the McDonald’s fantasy league or Lay’s Epic Watch Party mentioned above as well as through quick interactions on trending memes or social posts.  

And when brands give fans ways to engage, they feel part of the experience.

These sports marketing lessons extend beyond the World Cup. As attention continues to fragment across platforms, the marketer’s challenge is how to earn and keep attention. 

Here’s a few tips to keep in mind:

Be useful, not just visible

Visibility is no longer a guarantee of impact as it once was. With so much content available, brands must adapt to earn fans' attention. That can be through entertainment, like the McDonald’s fantasy leagues, which give fans a reason to return throughout the tournament. While Lay’s Epic Watch Party offers exclusive access. In both cases, the brands enhance the experience rather than interrupt it. 

Create content for multiple moments

The World Cup is a month-long series of stories and conversations. Early stories include Scotland’s return after a 28-year absence and Cape Verde's debut against Spain. Japanese fans continue their tradition of cleaning stadiums after matches, and of course, everyone is watching Messi’s possible last World Cup. 

With so many countries coming together, there are plenty of opportunities for brands to interact with and share interesting moments on and off the pitch. 

Design for sharing

Some of the most valuable attention comes from audiences who share content, because fans naturally share predictions and surprising moments. For many brands, they’re trying to become part of these conversations so they’re remembered — as long as it's in a way that makes sense for the brand. 

Adapt creative to different platforms

One of the difficult things about marketing in the attention economy is that the same creative rarely works everywhere. 

A YouTube analysis, a TikTok reaction video and a WhatsApp voice note all serve different purposes and cater to different audience expectations. Yet to meet or exceed those expectations, brands have to create platform-native content. Simply reposting the same content on different platforms doesn’t work.

Attention is more important than ever, and yet, it is one of marketing’s toughest metrics to measure. 

Why reach alone is no longer enough

All impressions are not created equal. A fan may scroll past a logo in a social media feed, but that’s not the same level of attention as someone who invests time in watching creator videos or sharing branded content with friends. 

As attention becomes more fragmented, marketers are looking beyond reach to understand how audiences engage with content and whether that engagement is meaningful. 

Signals that indicate genuine engagement

Unfortunately, no one tool or metric captures attention. Instead, marketers look for patterns across multiple signals.

Video completion rates, watch time, shares, comments, saves, branded search activity and community participation can provide clues about whether content resonated with an audience. While none of these metrics measures attention directly, together they can help marketers distinguish passive exposure from active engagement.

Connecting attention to brand outcomes

Attention is the starting point that hopefully leads to positive business outcomes. The challenge for marketers is understanding which attention signals matter most. Do shares, watch time, branded search or community participation lead to sales? 

For marketing leaders, this is becoming one of the most important measurement questions. Teams can optimize for views, engagement or branded search, but not all attention creates business value. The next generation of measurement will focus on connecting attention signals to brand growth and commercial outcomes.

The World Cup offers a glimpse into the future of media consumption trends. Fans no longer experience major events through a single channel or device. Instead, they move between platforms and digital communities. 

The convergence of sports, entertainment and technology

The modern World Cup is a blend of sports, entertainment, technology and culture. Fans watch matches, follow creators and debate controversial calls on social media. The tournament is a broad ecosystem of connected experiences. 

Why attention will continue to fragment

The forces reshaping the World Cup are affecting media consumption trends. Consumers have more choices than ever about how they spend their time and attention. New platforms and technologies continue to appear, and audiences will have even more ways to discover content in the future. 

This is the new reality. 

How brands can build attention strategies for future global events

The brands that succeed will be the ones that understand audience behavior. They’ll identify how audiences engage with content and what motivates them to participate. 

The most effective campaigns will be the ones designed around behavior, because having the largest media budget no longer guarantees attention.

The World Cup offers a peek into the future of media consumption because it concentrates so many trends into a single event. Fans move among screens, creators, platforms and conversations without a second thought. 

For marketers, the lesson is that attention can’t be bought. It must be earned through participation and relevance. In the new attention economy, brands that become part of the experience are the ones fans remember.