The news: As one of the few remaining mass-audience media moments, the 2026 FIFA World Cup offers brands a unique opportunity to drive measurable action—from building awareness and generating buzz to driving product discovery or boosting sales.

And while official sponsorships are costly, retailers, brands, and restaurants far beyond FIFA’s partner roster are finding creative ways to tap into that attention. Total advertising spend around the tournament is expected to reach $10.5 billion, per WARC.

The examples: Consumers’ hyperfocus on the 39-day event presents countless opportunities for brands to get creative.

Being part of the conversation: Unilever and Taco Bell are focused on getting consumers talking, posting, and engaging with their brands. Rather than centering its sponsorship on stadium activations, Unilever created invite-only creator hubs in New York, Miami, and Mexico City for influencers. The spaces are designed to generate shareable content with custom merchandise, interactive games, and branded experiences that extend reach organically across social media.

Taco Bell, which isn’t an official sponsor, launched L.O.C.O.S. (Loss Or Celebration Outcome Support), positioning itself as an “emotional support taco” for fans. The campaign combines a gamified in-app experience for Rewards members, free tacos, merchandise, and in-person activations, with plans to extend beyond the tournament into other key cultural moments. That kind of approach is resonating: On-sponsor brand collaborations have generated nearly double the social media engagement of official sponsors—about 61 million engagements versus 33 million, per Meltwater data cited by CNBC.

Generating buzz: Levi Strauss and Gillette are not official sponsors and had to cover branding at stadiums where they hold naming rights. But that awkward situation created a Streisand effect. The shrouded logos—a white drape over Levi’s that still revealed its logo’s iconic shape and a Gillette cover designed to resemble shaving cream—generated more buzz than their traditional signage would have.

Fostering product discovery: International travelers have chronicled visits to destinations like Waffle House, Chipotle, and Buc-ee’s on TikTok and other platforms, generating earned media that drives discovery among both US and global audiences. In many cases, that organic content is outperforming paid campaigns, which shows how quickly real-world, authentic experiences can turn into viral brand moments.

Driving sales: The World Cup also offers a prime opportunity to drive product demand.

• Adidas generated €250 million ($284.7 million) in tournament-related sales in Q1, with apparel demand up 31% YoY, per Bloomberg Intelligence, which estimates sales could reach €1.2 billion ($1.37 billion) during the event.
• Nike, which supplies kits to major contenders like France, Brazil, and England, is leaning into star power to sell jerseys and items tied to players like Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.

Both brands are going a step further by positioning the World Cup as a lifestyle moment, not just a sporting event. Nike is tapping celebrities like Travis Scott and Kim Kardashian in its “Rip the Script” campaign, which has generated more than 78 million views on YouTube. Adidas is blending nostalgia and culture—reviving designs from the 1994 tournament and partnering with artists like Bad Bunny on products such as the F50 Ghost Sprint sneaker—to turn fan interest into broader consumer demand.

Implications for marketers, retailers, and brands: Few events offer such a high level of concentrated consumer attention, which is why brands are finding creative ways to insert themselves into the conversation.

Success requires both planning and agility. Brands need the foresight to build campaigns like Taco Bell’s L.O.C.O.S. while also being nimble enough to capitalize on unexpected moments, such as the surge of interest in Chipotle and Waffle House. The payoff can be significant, as non-sponsors are proving they can rival—or even outperform—official partners in engagement without the same level of spending. That balance isn’t easy to strike, but when it works, it can deliver outsize returns.