Non-sponsors outperformed paid partners at 2026 World Cup, report finds

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Adidas was the outlier; prediction market app Kalshi delivered the tournament’s biggest hit with 126 million views, dwarfing McDonald’s Beckham and Henry campaign.

by Campaign Asia staff reporters July 20 2026

Non-sponsors generated more earned media value than FIFA’s official partners combined at this year’s World Cup, capturing 53% of the total compared with 44% for all official sponsors.

According to a Nectar Social analysis of 2.7 million pieces of content across TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, X, and YouTube, non-sponsors delivered US$5 million in earned media value (EMV) from the top 100 branded posts. The study, which examined content generating over 64 billion impressions before the quarter-finals, highlights how smart activation often beats big spending.