Now that the 2026 FIFA World Cup has wrapped up, marketers are taking a closer look at the brands that won the battle for attention, and what their success says about today’s marketing landscape. 

While official sponsors enjoyed unmatched visibility, some of the brands that generated the most conversation weren’t necessarily the ones that paid for the most prominent logos. Instead, they won by tapping into fan culture and creating content people actually engaged with. 

On Fox networks, World Cup advertisers averaged an attention index of 121, according to iSpot, meaning their ads performed 21% better than the average ad. The metric was based on the percentage of viewers who completed watching the full ad message.

Here are three lessons from the brands that captured attention across the screens of viewers, the arenas where players competed, and the billboards that turned the tournament into a global marketing stage. 

Opportunities Exist Beyond the Main Event

This year’s tournament highlighted the power of shared experiences, as fans traveled across continents, explored new cultures, celebrated victories, and shared in the heartbreak of losses together. The cities hosting matches became part of the story, with fan experiences and local moments filling social media feeds throughout the tournament, like in the case of the Boston beer-shortage.

The brands that stood out recognized that fans weren’t just watching the games, they were traveling, discovering new cultures, and becoming part of the global experience surrounding the tournament.

Airbnb brought this idea to life through its “The World Is Meant to Meet” campaign, which centered on the connections and cultural exchanges that happen when people travel. Rather than focusing only on the competition itself, the campaign highlighted the people, places, and experiences that bring a global event like the World Cup to life. The company even offered rewards for those who signed up to host during the event. By celebrating the communities and connections formed around travel, Airbnb showed how brands can create relevance by becoming part of the cultural moments happening beyond the stadium.

Marketing That Feels Interactive, Not Distracting

Michelob Ultra built its World Cup marketing around fan participation. The brand introduced the Superior Player of the Match award, selected through fan engagement, giving viewers a role in recognizing standout performances. It also created fan-focused experiences designed to bring the tournament atmosphere beyond the stadium.

“For more than twenty years, Michelob ULTRA has connected with its fans during the occasions they love. The brand’s playbook has been simple and relentless: invest, learn, and execute as the Official Beer Sponsor of America’s most prominent sports and active-lifestyle moments from Team USA to the NBA to the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026™ and LA 2028 games to a 30+ year partnership with the PGA Tour. This approach has turned Michelob ULTRA into an absolute rocket ship, and we’ve got tremendous opportunity ahead of us,” said Kyle Norrington, chief commercial officer at Anheuser-Busch. Strong marketing doesn’t interrupt the moments people care about; it becomes part of them and invites them further into them. The success shows in the sales, as the beer continues to be the best-selling beer by volume, in America. 

Becoming Part of the Culture

The brands that make a lasting impression find ways to become woven into the event itself, creating products or experiences that fans recognize and remember. Adidas demonstrated the power of turning a sponsorship into a cultural asset that everyone recognizes. 

As the official match ball provider, the brand had a presence in every game, but it went beyond simple visibility by making the ball itself a centerpiece of the tournament experience. The design and storytelling created around the ball helped transform a piece of equipment into a symbol of the competition. The lesson: brands can earn lasting attention when they create something audiences naturally associate with a cultural moment, not just something they see during it.

Erin Behrens is an associate editor at From Day One. 

(Photo by peterschreiber.media/iStock)