THE BRANDS WINNING WITH WORLD CUP ADVERTISING MAY NOT BE THE SPONSORS

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Non-sponsors are outpacing official World Cup partners on social. Brand collabs drove 61M engagements vs 33M for sponsors, and more total mentions. Nike pulled 70M YouTube views without sponsorship, while Adidas hit 7M. Even Levi's, blocked in-stadium, leaned into social and saw mentions jump 44% and engagement 4X.