By Fiona Salmon, Managing Director at Mantis
Every four years, the World Cup changes the rhythm of global media. As the biggest sporting event in the world, it is a tremendous opportunity for brands and agencies to connect with emotionally engaged audiences who are paying attention in a way they rarely do elsewhere. Even for those who are not lifelong football fans – myself included, having long endured Everton taking priority in my own household – the World Cup has a unique pull. It falls across birthdays, family gatherings, and shared moments that bring people together in a way few other events can. The 2026 tournament will be no exception. By next summer, the focus of fans, broadcasters, and publishers will be locked on North America, with billions of viewers tuning in across borders and time zones.
With that scale comes both promise and pressure. The World Cup offers brands an unmatched chance to be part of a truly global story, but it also demands agility and emotional intelligence. Those who plan early and approach fans with relevance and sensitivity will capture the moment; those who rely on outdated tactics risk missing it entirely.
History shows the industry is not always ready for what comes with that scale. Recent tournaments revealed how many brands still trip over the same hurdles, often through outdated practices that shrink reach and inflate costs. If 2025 is about preparation, then now is the moment to consider the playbook.
The cost of over-blocking
The reliance on keyword blocklists has been a stubborn issue. During Euro 2024, more than half (56%) of inventory around content on the semi-finals was incorrectly blocked simply because pages contained words like “shoot” or “attack”, even though these were routine match descriptions, particularly when reporting on penalty shoot-outs. At this stage of the tournament, the stakes were even higher for advertisers, with engaged audiences reading match reports during or just after the games.
That kind of over-blocking costs advertisers twice. First, by stripping away access to premium, highly relevant inventory, resulting in less quality reach. Second, by forcing budgets into less valuable placements, often defaulting to house ads that add nothing to campaign performance. Publishers lose out too, with brand-safe content left unsold for no good reason.
It is not a new problem, but it becomes more damaging when the world’s most-watched event is on the line. With the World Cup just under a year away, repeating that mistake at global scale is something few advertisers can afford.
Why context matters
Football is the centre, but the World Cup stretches well beyond ninety minutes on the pitch. It includes watch parties in pubs, travel plans for host cities, national pride spilling into music and fashion, and endless conversations online. Fans live it in stages of emotion. There is anticipation before kick-off, euphoria and anxiety during play, then joyful (or upset) reflections once the final whistle has gone.
Each stage produces stories that are suitable for brands, but blocklists cannot see the difference between emotionally charged yet brand-safe coverage, such as a thrilling penalty shootout, and genuinely unsafe content. Contextual approaches can. Research from Newsworks has shown people are 70% more likely to recall an ad when it aligns with the content they are consuming. For advertisers, it opens the door to experimenting with different messages in different moments, using A/B testing to see what resonates best, employing dynamic creative options, and the ability to target towards fan emotion and content sentiment. That means higher impact, stronger association, and spending that actually works harder.
Reaching a global audience
Unlike most sports, the World Cup is simultaneously local and global. Supporters connect first with their national teams, but the conversation expands across cultures. England’s supporters sing in pubs, France fills the Champs-Élysées, and audiences in markets far from the host nations share in the drama.
This creates both opportunity and risk. A campaign that works well in one market can feel flat or out of tune in another. The lesson from past tournaments is to balance localisation with scale. That means blending first-party insights from each market with contextual tools that dynamically adapt creative to the tone and sentiment of conversation wherever it happens. Done well, this makes campaigns feel closer to the mood of the match and the emotions running through the crowd.
Preparing and looking ahead
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest yet, with matches spanning stadiums in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Its scale means both the potential rewards and the risks will be greater. Brands that treat it as business as usual will find themselves shut out of key conversations, while those who adapt will meet fans where they are, in the moments that matter.
The direction of travel is clear. Over-blocking drains budgets and cuts off access to fans who are most engaged. Contextual precision delivers more suitable placements, greater recall, and campaigns that fit the moment. This is the year to test and refine, not the year to wait.
The tournament will not just measure sporting success. It will test whether the industry has learned from past mistakes and embraced smarter, more relevant ways of reaching people. For advertisers, the choice is already on the table. The winners will be those who understood that context is no longer a supporting tool but a necessity.
