Can marketers fully capitalise on what the World Cup has to offer?

The upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America will be a test of whether marketers can still earn attention at scale and prove the value of sponsorships, according to Nicole Greene, Vice President Analyst in the Gartner Marketing Practice. 

In an opinion piece published on the marketing industry news website Marketing Dive, Greene notes that, unlike fragmented digital environments, the World Cup concentrates attention.  

It brings together emotion, ritual and shared context over an extended period of time. These are conditions that are increasingly difficult to replicate in the media landscape, and they create a natural opening for brands to seamlessly participate rather than interrupt. 

Sponsorships can take advantage of that shift, but only when they are approached differently, she believes.  

Many brands still treat large-scale events primarily as visibility plays, focusing on logo placement, reach and exposure. Those elements still matter, but they are no longer enough. When every brand shows up in the same way, visibility becomes the baseline rather than the differentiator. 

“The campaigns that stand out do something more. They contribute to the experience itself, whether through fan engagement, cultural participation or locally relevant activations,” Greene says. 

“They give audiences a reason to interact with the brand beyond simply noticing it. Joining the fandom, instead of distracting from it, is what separates effective sponsorships from forgettable ones.” 

Some marketers may struggle to capitalise 

She notes that, for some marketing teams, capitalising fully on the World Cup may be challenging because their focus has been on digital channels and personalisation. 

“For years, the industry has leaned into digital channels and personalisation to drive relevance. The assumption was that better targeting would lead to better outcomes. That premise is starting to weaken,” Greene states. 

“Marketing budgets remain heavily digital, even as consumers become more adept at avoiding ads, skipping them, blocking them or ignoring them entirely. The result is a growing disconnect between where brands invest and where attention is actually available. 

“Artificial intelligence-fuelled personalisation is not enough to close that gap. In many cases, it makes the experience worse. When messaging feels repetitive or disconnected from context, it erodes trust and drives disengagement. Precision has improved, but impact has not kept pace.” 

Greene emphasises: “The challenge now is less about targeting and more about visibility and presence, specifically showing up in environments where people are already engaged.” 

You can read the full opinion piece here.