By Daniel Todaro, CEO at Gekko Group
Global sporting events have long represented some of the biggest opportunities in the marketing calendar and the recent World Cup has been no exception, generating huge audiences, heightened consumer spending and an influx of brand activity. But beyond the headlines, the biggest successes highlight how more brands are adding real value without the hefty spend associated with sponsorship deals and advertising.
Effective sales promotions were not built around the event itself, they are built around consumer behaviour. The brands that were performing best during the World Cup were not necessarily those with the biggest sponsorship deals, but those that understand how fans are watching, shopping, celebrating and sharing throughout the tournament.
Global sporting events still offer real commercial opportunity
According to a Bank of America report, the 2026 World Cup was set to be the biggest in history, with 75% of the world set to engage with the event in some way. The opportunity was not simply the size of the audience, but the opportunity to resonate with them by building promotions around real consumer moments and behaviours.
But adding football branding to existing campaigns will never get the job done. The most successful campaigns highlighted an important lesson for marketers: promotional activity only works when it is timely, relevant and gives fans a reason to engage, offering something genuinely useful, like Lidl’s £500,000 World Cup voucher giveaway, or creating a memorable and shareable photo opportunity, such as the giant World Cup trophy LEGO built from 1.3 million bricks.
England’s progress to the quarter finals was estimated to have generated a £500m boost for the UK economy, while Barclays reported spending increases across beer, pubs, clothing and online retail. The opportunity for brands wasn’t simply visibility, it was about understanding that consumers were already primed to spend, and setting up the most effective promotions to encourage it.
Global retailers responded in different ways. Here in the UK for example, Tesco supported England matchdays with free deliveries, football-themed merchandising and playful in-store touches like packaging redesigns to resemble footballs, recognising that consumers weren’t just watching football; they were shopping, hosting and celebrating around it.
The brands that recognised that consumers stocked up before kick-off, browsed their phones during breaks, celebrated wins with friends and were more willing to spend when emotion and occasion aligned are those scoring the goals.
Promotions are a worthy alternative
Beyond responsive campaigns, this year’s World Cup made it clear that brands do not need an official logo on the pitch or a multimillion-pound media budget to benefit from the tournament. While Fox Sports reportedly charged between $200,000 (£152,000) and $300,000 (£227,000) for a 30-second World Cup advertising slot, rising to around $750,000 (£567,000) during USA matches and the latter stages of the competition, many brands found more accessible ways to capitalise on heightened consumer demand.
This World Cup required non-partner branding to be concealed at tournament stadiums, and as the naming rights partners of two main fixture stadiums, Gillette and Levis both took this into their own hands. Levis masked the wordmark of its distinctive logo with a simple sheet, but its distinct batwing silhouette ensured it was still familiar. Similarly, Gillette covered its stadium branding in shaving foam, with both brands capitalising on the moment across their social channels, and owning the narrative. Among FIFA World Cup fans, Levi’s WOM Exposure rose from 17.4 on June 11 to 22.9 on July 12, while Gillette’s increased from 16.1 to 19.2.
Advertising can play an important role in driving growth, but it does not act alone. WARC notes that advertising is only one contributor to growth, with brand performance shaped by a much broader mix of commercial factors. Advertising still matters, but promotions often become the mechanism that converts awareness into action.
Investing in promotional mechanics is offering a more measurable route to commercial return than competing for expensive broadcast visibility. Instead, many retailers and challenger brands are focusing on these tactics to encourage immediate action. Loyalty offers, limited-time discounts, CRM campaigns and in-store activations allow brands to engage consumers in the moments they are already thinking about food, drink, gatherings and celebrations.
Meet audiences where they are
Leaning into today’s dual screen environment, mobile traffic data from Virgin Media O2 revealed increased smartphone activity during hydration breaks and half-time, reinforcing how naturally audiences now move between watching, scrolling and shopping. Reaching those audiences at exactly the right time is delivering dividends.
Rather than offering standalone discounts, the strongest campaigns integrated with the wider fan experience, rewarding existing customers, encouraging repeat purchases and creating reasons to engage throughout the tournament rather than only during the biggest fixtures. This resulted in worthwhile promotional activity that felt timely and relevant, while delivering clear commercial outcomes, highlighting how promotions can be used during global sporting events – with lessons that can be applied across BAU activity.
Relevance beats visibility
Any major sporting event generates a huge volume of marketing activity, and fans have come to expect that brands will inevitably participate, but generic campaigns can quickly blur into a sea of logos and noise. The most effective campaigns have stood out by interpreting the occasion in a way that still feels true to the brand.
Brands that have acted in the heat of the moment, driving conversation with clever social or activations, and made viewing occasions more than just a gathering with friends to watch the game are those that will earn lasting brand equity.
For example, in the final week of the tournament, UK supermarket Iceland’s decision to rename stores in England players’ hometowns landed well because it was simple, locally resonant and easy for consumers to engage with. The small-budget activity drove headlines while still feeling connected to the event.
During major sporting events, consumers are already shopping differently and the brands that connect marketing activity with those moments authentically are more likely to turn attention into measurable ROI.
Beyond the global pitch, how do marketers stay ready?
Any global event, whether sport or entertainment, creates the same temptation for brands to prioritise presence over purpose. But the biggest lesson from this World Cup is not that brands need to shout louder, it is that promotional activity performs best when it reflects how people actually experience the tournament.
Whether this was through retail offers, loyalty rewards, CRM, local activations or social campaigns, the strongest brands did not simply tap into football’s audience. They understood the moments that matter to consumers and built valuable promotions worth acting on, giving consumers surprise and delight moments that brought a tournament happening thousands of miles away to life.
