Ahead of World Cup, Marketers Can Target Five Types of Fans

The World Cup is coming in 2026 and soccer fans will be watching. Those fans are consumers and marketers are eager to find ways of connecting with their hearts and wallets.

Research company GWI has surveyed consumers and identified five distinct fan segments. Brands that know their passion, habits and purchasing power will have an advantage during the tournament and beyond with these consumers.

The first group is passionate football fans. In this group of “true fans,” 69% watch games multiple times a week. This is a group brands can’t afford to miss, GWI says.

They’ll be following the action, but after a champion is crowned, they’ll continue playing because nearly 70% of this group are also avid video-game players and many watch gaming streams on YouTube or chat about gaming in communities such as Discord.

“It’ll be up to brands to keep the tournament spirit alive in these online communities from in-game content to team-branded accessories. Meet these fans where the competition thrives both on the pitch and in their consoles,” GWI  says in its report.

The second group is dubbed "flag flyers" and their fandom is highlighted by cultural-driven purchases. These fans have loyalty in their heritage and identity and the World Cup is an emotional investment that gives way to key merchandising moments, according to GWI. In the survey, 93% of fans in this cohort say it’s important for their country to be recognized on the world stage. The have higher household incomes and are more likely than average to purchase official merch.

“From limited editions, premium collectibles, or national-themed experiences these fans will want to commemorate the event and align their sense of pride and belonging to their purchases,” the report says. They will want items with World Cup specific branding and premium experiences.

There is a group of “on the go” fans. These folks are twice as likely to travel to watch sports, they stay connected via social content and frequently consume highlights instead of live games. They are 60% more likely to share sports content and 20% more likely to follow brands on social media. These consumers are 42% more likely to explore products they see advertised and 23% more likely to choose premium options. 

“For brands, location-based campaigns and travel touchpoints will resonate with these roadtrippers to turn catching up with the latest match into stand-out experiences that align to their on-the-go pace, “ the report says. 

A group of fans is rooting for at least two of the national teams. In the U.S. in particular, 40% of patriotic followers support more than one team. In some cases the routing interest is about their cultural heritage, with 12% born in another country. Other fans are rooting for another because they appreciate world class athletes and maybe root for a player on their club team. 

This situation doubles the opportunities for engagement, GWI says.

For brands, this dual allegiance is a space to promote multi-nation watch parties, or cross-cultural food experiences that showcase unity and pride,” the report says. “Campaigns that recognize and celebrate these multicultural connections will resonate deeply with those that seek to support more than one team.”

Some people who will be watching the World Cup will not be diehard soccer fans. For many of those fans, the tournament will be seen as a commemoration or a celebration and games won’t get their undivided attention. GWI says that these viewers are socially active and receptive to discovery-driven storytelling. Brands have a real opportunity to seek second-screen engagement to reach this audience in everyday moments that other brands may overlook.

“While this audience may not be rushing to catch every match, they’re still part of the global atmosphere that surrounds the World Cup,” the report says. This group is predominantly Gen X (31%) and women (54%) and they are seasoned multitaskers. “Their interests will lie less in the scoreboard and more in the shared cultural experience that the tournament represents.”

World Cup games will be televised by Fox in English in the U.S. Fox plans to show twice the number of matches live as it did during the last World Cup in 2022, with 340 hours of live first-run programming appearing across Fox platforms. Comcast’s Telemundo has the Spanish-language rights.

The report is based on the GWI Zeitgeist monthly survey from September 2025. GWI Zeitgeist is fielded in 11 markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, UK, and the US. For September 2025, Spain and Mexico were added.

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Innovid said it launched a package of artificial intelligent agents and Orchestrator, billed as a “superagent” designed to organize the agents and connect people, data and technology.

The new agents handle advertising functions including creative, delivery, measurement and optimization. 

“This is a generational leap, not a feature update,” said Zvika Netter, CEO and co-founder of Innovid, which is part of Mediaocean.

“Marketers are trying to run next-gen AI on yesterday’s infrastructure. Our AI agents automate the core part of advertising, while Innovid Orchestrator connects them and everything else into one intelligent system,” Netter said. “It’s the connective foundation for the AI era of advertising, where humans and AI work in concert to deliver measurable business outcomes. And Innovid is the only company positioned to build it.”

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Speaking of AI, Attain said it introduced OutcomeAI Summaries, a new capability that transforms live purchase data into strategic insights in real time and in simple English.

OutcomeAI Summaries can deliver in-flight intelligence about ad campaigns while they are live and can be optimized. 

“Attain’s permissioned, real-time purchase data has already redefined what’s possible in optimization,” said Brian Mandelbaum, CEO of Attain. “OutcomeAI ensures those insights don’t sit waiting for analysis. It surfaces them ahead of the decision point, bridging the last mile between data and the next action.”