The Celebrity Endorsement Model Is Stalling, But Brands Will Struggle to Adjust The World Cup's marketing strategy has long been built on signing big name celebrities, producing polished spots, and buying media around them.
This year's tournament saw major brands like Adidas, McDonald's, and Airbnb follow this tried and true approach, but the numbers tell a different story.
Data from Nectar Social suggests that creator partnerships outperformed celebrity endorsements by nearly 60%. Creator led campaigns pulled in a median 929,000 views, compared to 580,000 for celebrity endorsements.