Brands turn to creators to build World Cup buzz

June 10, 2026 A U.S.-based World Cup poses unique problems and opportunities for brands. Activating creators away from the games may be the solution. Rather than centering activations in and around stadiums or relying on fans to tune into television broadcasts, brands are investing in creators ahead of kickoff, commissioning bespoke sponsored content, branded long-form series, and more, to drum up World Cup buzz from afar. TOP STORY The Creator Economy Brands turn to creators to build World Cup buzz amid a logistics nightmare A US-based World Cup poses unique problems and opportunities for brands; activating creators away from the games may be the solution. Advertisement OTHER THINGS TO KNOW From Digiday’s sister brand Modern Retail: At many brands and retailers, loyalty programs are organizationally siloed and incentivize only loyalty metrics — disconnecting them from the larger lifecycle marketing strategy. Sponsored by SheerID. With generative AI, teams that once produced five creatives per campaign are now producing 50. This only works if the team has structured creative analysis in place to extract what those ad variants reveal. Partner insights from Celtra. Publishers’ biggest concern about AI’s impact on business in the next two years is AI-powered search reducing referral traffic,according to a new survey from Digiday and Piano. Eight-five percent of respondents selected this. Partner insights from Piano. MARKETING Evolving Agencies Inside the messy middle of January Digital agency's AI adoption Brands and their agency partners have started using agents to plan, execute, and optimize ad purchases. Marketing on Platforms LinkedIn wants to own B2B creator discovery with new creator marketplace LinkedIn is aiming to make B2B creator discovery more scalable for brands looking to tap into its growing creator ecosystem. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM CLINCH Why unified systems lead to AI performance gains When the workflow is connected through a unified operational layer, AI can unlock the full value of engagement data across the campaign lifecycle, turning it into a continuous optimization loop. AI Revenue Generation ChatGPT ads land in U.K. as OpenAI outlines EU privacy rules OpenAI has updated its EU ad policy to confirm personalized ads will only be served to users who explicitly opt in. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM APPSFLYER Mobile’s measurement playbook offers a solution to web fragmentation As web signals fragment, mobile’s measurement playbook offers a solution — independent attribution that sits above platform self-reporting, server-side postbacks that send validated conversion signals, and unified measurement across web and app. Advertisement DIGIDAY+ Member exclusive Future of TV Briefing: How TV and streaming networks are laying the groundwork for outcome-based buying This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how this year’s upfront sets up for outcome-based buying in future upfronts. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM PIANO Why publishers are investing in content that earns citations, not rankings Being cited in an AI Overview drives 35% more organic clicks and 91% more paid clicks than appearing in search results without a citation. ICYMI The Sports Marketing Playbook The World Cup is set to lift demand for digital out-of-home spending Digital out-of-home providers are competing for a greater share of ad spend during the FIFA World Cup. Written by Jim Cooper and Sara Jerde Were you forwarded this email? Sign up to get it daily. Advertise | Digiday+ | Events | Awards Update your email | Unsubscribe | Privacy policy