This 12 months’s World Cup in Qatar doesn’t begin till Nov. 20, however Coca-Cola is already trotting the World Cup trophy round North America prefer it’s 2026.
For a serious occasion sponsor like Coca-Cola, it pays to plan almost a half decade upfront. In spite of everything, the tender drink large contributes a part of the $1.35 billion that soccer governing physique FIFA expects in advertising income for the World Cup.
Coca-Cola has a protracted historical past to uphold right here as effectively. The brand-turned-conglomerate has sponsored each World Cup since 1978. It’s additionally sponsored each Olympics for the final 94 years.
Since June 2021, it’s served as sponsor for large-scale, quadrennial occasions together with:
- The Union of European Soccer Associations (UEFA) Euro 2020 (delayed to 2021 by Covid-19 lockdowns)
- The 2020 Summer time Olympics in Beijing (additionally delayed by the pandemic)
- The 2022 Winter Olympics in Tokyo
- The UEFA Girls’s Euro 2022
Due to FIFA’s determination to carry the World Cup through the considerably cooler winter months, Coca-Cola will sponsor the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Girls’s World Cup inside roughly seven months of one another. Earlier than both of these occasions kicked off, nonetheless, Coca-Cola put the World Cup trophy onto a branded jet and flew it to 51 nations, together with the 32 nations that certified for the 2022 World Cup.
For the tour’s final leg, the trophy will make its option to the 2026 World Cup host websites in North America. It lands in Los Angeles on Nov. 5. For that day, the trophy will go to the LA Reside leisure advanced subsequent to Crypto.com Area. From there, it’s on to Dallas for 2 days on the Lighthouse Artspace on Nov. 6 and seven. It spends Nov. 8 on the American Dream Mall subsequent to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Its journey ends at BMO Discipline in Toronto on Nov. 9.
Coca-Cola is providing followers free tickets once they scan QR codes of World Cup-branded bottles of Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. The marketer has different plans in retailer for the subsequent part of its trek towards 2026.
Adweek spoke with Brad Ross, Coca-Cola’s vp of worldwide sports activities and leisure advertising, in regards to the model’s highway to the 2026 World Cup and the planning required to sponsor a worldwide, quadrennial sporting spectacle.
Adweek: How have Coca-Cola and FIFA mapped out the North American legs of the World Cup trophy tour to deal with the upcoming World Cup in 2026?
Ross: With recognition of the game on the rise in the USA, and because the U.S., Canada and Mexico would be the hosts in 2026. We wished to make sure that the stops for the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola aligned with the long run host cities to assist drive anticipation for this and the subsequent match.
When planning the FIFA World Cup trophy tour, Coca-Cola and FIFA labored intently to pick out which nations and cities the unique trophy will journey to. We wish to be certain that as many followers as doable are in a position to expertise the magic of the FIFA World Cup. This 12 months, for the primary time, we’re visiting all 32 certified nations and, along with FIFA, are working to satisfy the objective of visiting all 211 member associations by 2030.
Coca-Cola has a greater than 40-year historical past with the World Cup and has sponsored the Olympic Video games since 1928. When does the corporate start planning for these quadrennial occasions in earnest?What different advertisements and activations will we see in North America that may allude to the 2026 World Cup?
We’re extremely happy with our longstanding relationship with each the Worldwide Olympic Committee and FIFA, and plans to assist each these occasions start a few years upfront.
As one of many lead companions—and likewise as one of many host nations—plans for 2026 are already underway throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Welcoming the unique FIFA World Cup trophy to a few of the 11 host cities within the U.S., in addition to host cities in Mexico and Canada, will assist create pleasure for 2026 and provides followers an concept of what’s to come back. We received’t be sharing any extra data at this stage, however there will likely be a lot to come back.
Twenty years in the past, Coca-Cola sponsored a World Cup hosted by two totally different nations. What did it study from its expertise in Japan and South Korea that it might probably apply throughout the three totally different nations and 4 totally different official languages awaiting in 2026?
The FIFA World Cup is a worldwide platform. And we’re organized as a networked group. Whether or not the match is hosted in a single nation or a number of, there are at all times distinctive units of alternatives and challenges.
One key studying from earlier tournaments is the necessity for collaboration and planning—and noting that no two occasions are precisely the identical. We’re very lucky to have such an skilled workforce which can be effectively versed in managing the complexity of those world occasions, and dealing with rights holders like FIFA.
As we have a look at the FIFA World Cup 2026, we’re already within the strategy of planning. Beginning early ensures our groups establish challenges effectively upfront of the match’s starting. It additionally builds system pleasure and robust collaboration with companions like FIFA so we are able to ship an distinctive expertise for customers.
Are there any advertising benefits to quadrennial occasions that aren’t shared by annual championships for the NFL, EPL, UEFA, NCAA, NASCAR and others? Are there distinctive challenges posed by the preparation time and the breadth of Olympic and World Cup occasions?
We don’t view these quadrennial occasions as “one offs.” We use them to enhance our model methods and act as main tent poles inside our model calendar planning.
Given the worldwide scale of those occasions, one benefit is that they honestly resonate internationally the place now we have over 180 nations activating this at one time. In relation to quadrennial occasions, fan anticipation is likely one of the strongest components for assist.
The Olympic Video games, FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Girls’s World Cup are really world occasions and ones that seize the creativeness of sports activities followers in all places. From a advertising perspective, having extra time to plan is at all times higher, and as we all know what these occasions imply to our customers, it’s nice to have as a lot time as doable to create activations and experiences that they are going to be enthusiastic about.
Coca-Cola additionally sponsored the final North American World Cup in 1994. Although that appears extremely distant given advances in media and expertise, had been there parts of that course of which will show helpful to Coca-Cola in 2026?
We had been additionally lucky to have the final North American Summer time Olympic Video games within the metropolis of Atlanta – the house of Coca-Cola – in 1996, so now we have some expertise in activating huge occasions in our yard.
There are at all times learnings we take ahead from each world occasion we activate, and that is no exception. We’re at all times constructing on the earlier occasions and studying and iterating each time. We all know that there will likely be numerous modifications since ‘94 and we’re excited to see the brand new, and ever-growing, stage of soccer (soccer) fandom on present within the U.S. since they final hosted the FIFA World Cup.
