Brands Account for Under 1% of World Cup Social Media Conversations

Jun. 05, 2026

New data from social-first agency SAMY has revealed that ‘everything but the soccer’ is driving American online tournament conversations ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

The analysis, using SAMY’s CXM platform partner, Sprinklr, found that the World Cup Final halftime show announcement, featuring World Cup “veteran” Shakira, sparked the most US discussion (49,385 mentions) across social media platforms. 

Meanwhile, Denmark and Italy’s dual eliminations during qualifications came in a distant second place, with roughly one-fifth of the conversation volume (10,328). Meanwhile, much-hyped soccer documentaries such as HBO's “Us Against the World” only just broke the 2,000 mentions mark.

SAMY also measured conversational sentiment, with US social users feeling largely positive (74%) about the halftime show, a stark contrast to global reactions, including the UK, where broadcasters are choosing not to show performances and stick to analysis of the match.

“World Cup queen”, Shakira, cemented herself as the number one artist performing, receiving 2,548 mentions of her own. She beat other announced acts as BTS (2,169), Madonna (1,075), and Coldplay (1,058) fell behind her.

SAMY’s data suggests that the World Cup may provide a similar launchpad to the Super Bowl Halftime Show, for brands looking to capitalize on culturally adjacent moments to the product on the pitch.

The potential uplift for brands in these moments should not be underestimated, with Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance drawing 34,326 US-based mentions on February 8th 2026.

SAMY’s research also showed that official brand partners of the World Cup are currently being drowned out by the noise around the tournament, with only 1% of total US World Cup-related conversations featuring brand mentions.

Adidas claimed the sponsor trophy, though, as its “Backyard legends” campaign helped the brand to a 58% share in brand-centric World Cup social conversations. It beat long-time sponsors Coca-Cola (12%) and DoorDash (7%), of which 45% were negative, in part due to New Jersey’s under-fire governor publicly praising the partnership.

Jayson Fittipaldi, Head of Product Innovation at SAMY, said: 

"This is the largest World Cup to date, giving brands more opportunities than ever to build awareness amongst a global audience. But SAMY’s data suggests that the lead up to the tournament has been noisier than ever, making cut-through difficult, even for giants such as Adidas and Coca-Cola. And most of those online conversations are being dominated by everything but the soccer. Despite the much-publicized negative stories around affordability and global perceptions, US audiences aren't rejecting the World Cup entirely. The opportunity, therefore, lies with brands that demonstrate genuine, local value to US communities, as well as tapping into those huge cultural moments such as the Shakira-led halftime performance. We’ve seen the impact the Super Bowl halftime show can have for brands, and many will be hoping to have their "Bad Bunny" moment at this tournament. It is also going to be the most 'social' World Cup in history, with TikTok announcing a roster of global creators acting as ‘official correspondents’, giving fans behind-the-scenes access. The platform is set to be the epicentre for those unfiltered fan narratives, making it the essential platform for real-time brand activations."