Major sports tournaments require brands to prepare campaigns months in advance. This was the key takeaway from participants at Marketing at Match Speed during the ADWEEK House Sports Summit in New York. MLS began coordinating with FIFA and Fox Sports on the format for shared World Cup viewing months before the tournament to maintain brand visibility during the off-season.
Representatives from MLS, women's club Gotham FC, agency Translation, and platform Sequel discussed their experience organizing advertising campaigns around the 2026 World Cup. Radhika Daggal, MLS Marketing Director, noted that controlled campaign elements need to be locked in early to free up team resources for real-time reactions.
How to leverage the hype of a sports event for your own brand
Gotham FC and the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) demonstrated how to capitalize on a major news event without direct tournament affiliation. The club's home stadium was used to broadcast World Cup matches — the team decided to hold its own game at Citi Field (the home arena of baseball club New York Mets) on the day of the tournament semifinal.
Laura Petro, Vice President of Brand and Fan Experience at Gotham FC, shared that the women's team match drew record attendance for women's sports in New York. The energy and media attention from the daytime World Cup semifinal carried over to the club's evening match — the audience was already "primed" by the soccer narrative.
Content preparation for influencer marketing and media buying
Audio brand Beats demonstrated how to turn limitations into an advantage. During NBA All-Star Weekend 2016 in Toronto, freezing temperatures reduced celebrity activity — celebrity appearances became unpredictable. Translation's team set up a 24-hour studio near the main venues and filmed nonstop for 72 hours.
We prefer to spend time preparing rather than reacting. Preparation is the result of understanding constraints, and that's the foundation of successful execution. — Chosser Barnes, Marketing Director at Translation
The host was provided with three identical outfit sets to maintain visual consistency across the content. The weekend's content supplied the brand with material for a year ahead — the format later became The Shop reality show featuring LeBron James, which HBO acquired.
Best practices for brands: how to integrate influencers into a sports news moment
The MLS, Gotham FC, and Beats cases demonstrate that effective blogger advertising around sports events is built on advance planning of integrations and reserved media buying budgets. Brands need to lock in influencers with relevant audiences 2–3 months ahead, align on formats (live streams, stories with stadium geolocation, match reviews), and set aside budget reserves for spontaneous activations — for example, if an influencer ends up at the stadium on the day of a crucial match. A professional influencer agency builds a media plan accounting for audience interest peaks and helps calculate KPIs before campaign launch — the ETC team regularly works with brands to synchronize influencer reach and offline events.
Controlled and spontaneous campaign elements
Radhika Daggal from MLS divided live event elements into controlled and real-time. The first category includes venue coordination, brand ambassador selection, content planning, and advertising placement purchases. The second includes reactions to unexpected match results, viral moments involving athletes, and tournament schedule changes.
Methodical work with controlled parameters frees up team resources for quick decisions. MLS used a break in its own championship to run a series of public World Cup viewing events — the league stayed in the media spotlight even though it wasn't playing matches. For brands, this means integrating into someone else's event can provide visibility without spending on your own production.
Frequently asked questions
How many months in advance should you prepare an advertising campaign for a sports event?
At minimum, 2–3 months before the tournament you need to finalize agreements with rights holders, book influencers, and launch content production. MLS began preparing integration with FIFA several months ahead to have time to align on shared viewing formats and ensure technical infrastructure at venues.
How can you use the hype of a major tournament to promote your brand?
You can organize your own event on the day of a key match to capture the attention of an already "energized" audience — this is how Gotham FC set the attendance record by holding a match in the evening after the World Cup semifinal. Another option is public viewing events with branding or influencer activations at locations near the main tournament venues.
What content should you create for media buying during sports events?
Real-time formats work well: live streams from venues, stories with reactions to goals, short interviews with fans or experts. Beats filmed for 72 hours straight at NBA All-Star Weekend and generated a year's worth of content — this approach requires a ready-made studio and pre-written scenarios to capitalize on any guest appearance.
In summary
- Major sports events require advertising campaign preparation 2–3 months ahead: venue coordination, influencer booking, content planning.
- MLS maintained brand visibility during the off-season by organizing shared World Cup viewing with FIFA and Fox Sports — integration into someone else's event works without spending on your own production.
- Gotham FC set the NWSL attendance record by holding a match on the day of the World Cup semifinal at a baseball stadium — the tournament's energy carried over to the evening event.
- Beats created a year's supply of content in 72 hours of filming at NBA All-Star Weekend: a round-the-clock studio, identical host outfits, and continuous cameras allowed them to capitalize on every star appearance.
- Effective media buying during tournaments is built on reserving budget for spontaneous activations — for example, if an influencer happens to be at the stadium at a decisive moment.
Want to see where the market is heading before your competitors do? The ETC team builds a media strategy and media plan for your niche — with reach forecasts and KPIs fixed in the contract.
