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The 2026 World Cup is expected to become the biggest tournament in football history.

With 48 teams, 104 matches, and a projected global audience of more than 5 billion people, the tournament will create a huge spike in online attention, search demand, and consumer spending across multiple industries.

For advertisers, that creates a major opportunity. But success during events like the World Cup isn’t just about increasing budgets once the tournament begins. Brands that perform best are usually the ones that prepare early, build visibility ahead of peak moments, and adapt campaigns as audience behaviour changes throughout the competition.

Here are four areas advertisers should focus on to maximise performance during the tournament.

1. Score Big in Key Industries

The World Cup creates demand far beyond football merchandise. As excitement builds, consumers begin searching for travel, entertainment, food, electronics, finance products, and experiences connected to the tournament.

Travel and Hospitality

Travel demand has already increased since host cities across the US, Canada, and Mexico were announced. Many fans are expected to book late, travel between cities as teams progress, and look for flexible accommodation options throughout the tournament.

For travel advertisers, this creates opportunities around:

• Flights and Accommodation
• Bundled Travel Packages
• Bars and Fan Zones
• Local Tourism
• Flexible Booking Services

Two-thirds of tournament travellers are actively looking for bundled packages, creating a strong opportunity for online travel agents and hospitality brands.

Retail and Ecommerce

Major sporting events consistently drive spikes in retail activity, and the World Cup is expected to be no different. 83% of fans plan to purchase merchandise during the tournament. That demand won’t just apply to football shirts and scarves either.

Brands selling:

• Televisions
• Audio Systems
• Snacks and Drinks
• Home Entertainment
• Streaming Products
• Furniture
• Hosting Supplies

could all benefit as fans prepare for watch parties and at-home viewing experiences.

Finance and Payment Services

Travelling fans are expected to spend heavily during the tournament, with many spreading costs across credit cards, travel finance products, and Buy Now Pay Later services.

Key trends expected during the tournament include:

• 53% of US fans planning to spend over $1,000
• 15% planning to open a new credit card
• 1 in 5 expecting to use BNPL services

This creates opportunities for banks, payment providers, travel cards, finance apps, and credit services to position themselves around convenience and flexibility.

2. Maximising In-Tournament Performance

One of the biggest mistakes advertisers make during major events is waiting until demand peaks before increasing activity.

The World Cup is a fast-moving tournament, and by the time competition intensifies, late starters often struggle to gain visibility.

Start Building Visibility Early

Launching activity early helps brands:

• Build Awareness
• Create Remarketing Audiences
• Collect Conversion Data
• Strengthen Campaign Learning
• Establish Visibility Before Auctions Become More Competitive

Search interest around the tournament is already increasing and is expected to accelerate rapidly as the opening matches approach.

Prepare for Higher Competition

As more advertisers enter the auction, campaign costs are likely to rise. Brands should review:

• Budgets
• Bidding Strategies
• Seasonal Messaging
• Campaign Coverage

before demand peaks. Strict ROAS or CPA targets can sometimes limit visibility during high-demand moments, so advertisers may need to give campaigns more flexibility to remain competitive.

Reach Audiences Beyond Search

The World Cup won’t just dominate search engines. Fans will also consume huge amounts of content across:

• News Websites
• Streaming Platforms
• Gaming Environments
• Sports Coverage
• Entertainment Apps

Audience campaigns can help advertisers stay visible while users consume tournament-related content, not just when they actively search.

Remarketing also becomes particularly valuable during major events, helping brands re-engage visitors who showed interest earlier in the buying journey.

3. Scale Your Success with Performance Max

Performance Max campaigns are especially useful during large-scale events because audience behaviour changes quickly throughout the tournament.

Different teams, matches, and storylines create new trends almost daily, and automation can help campaigns respond faster to those changes.

Structure Campaigns Around Key Themes

Advertisers should group products and messaging into clear categories such as:

• National Teams
• Merchandise
• Travel Services
• Electronics
• Hospitality Experiences

This helps campaigns serve more relevant messaging to different audiences throughout the tournament.

Keep Product Feeds Updated

Feed quality becomes increasingly important during seasonal events. Retailers should ensure:

• Pricing Is Accurate
• Stock Availability Is Updated Frequently
• Product Titles Include Relevant Tournament Keywords
• Promotional Pricing Is Reflected in Feeds

As demand spikes around specific matches or teams, feed updates can help products remain competitive and visible.

Use Audience Signals and Search Themes

Providing campaigns with stronger audience and search signals can help automation learn faster.

Examples could include:

• Football Merchandise Searches
• Travel-Related Intent
• Remarketing Audiences
• Previous Customer Data

The more quality data campaigns receive, the better they can adapt during periods of changing demand.

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4. Turn Browsers to Buyers with Shopping Campaigns

Shopping campaigns remain one of the most effective ways for ecommerce brands to capture high-intent traffic during the World Cup. They allow advertisers to showcase:

• Product Images
• Pricing
• Availability
• Promotions

directly within search results.

Create Dedicated Seasonal Campaigns

Rather than disrupting always-on activity, retailers should consider creating separate World Cup-focused Shopping campaigns. This makes it easier to:

• Adjust Budgets
• Prioritise Trending Products
• Optimise Around Specific Teams or Matches
• React to Changing Demand

Optimise Product Titles and Feeds

Keyword-rich product titles can improve visibility during tournament-related searches.

For example:

• “England Football Shirt”
• “World Cup Watch Party Bundle”
• “Football Viewing Projector”

can help products appear in more relevant searches throughout the tournament.

Re-Engage Interested Shoppers

Dynamic remarketing allows brands to show users products they previously viewed, helping convert browsers who didn’t purchase the first time.

This becomes particularly effective during fast-moving events where purchase urgency is high and consumers may revisit products multiple times before converting.

Final thought

The World Cup represents one of the biggest advertising opportunities of the year.

Brands that prepare early, stay flexible, and adapt campaigns as audience behaviour changes will be in the strongest position to capture attention, traffic, and conversions throughout the tournament.

From travel and retail to finance and entertainment, the opportunity extends far beyond football itself – and advertisers who build visibility before demand peaks are likely to see the strongest results.

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