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Jumping on a trend is not having a strategy

The 2026 World Cup will concentrate attention, investment and conversation. But not every brand needs to join every trend. In this article, I reflect on the difference between taking advantage of a real opportunity and creating noise just because you want to be everywhere.

The 2026 World Cup will move campaigns, brands and millions.

According to PuroMarketing, with data from WARC, the tournament could inject 10.5 billion dollars into the global advertising market. It will also be the biggest edition so far: 48 national teams, 104 matches and three host countries.

In other words: many brands, many messages and a huge amount of attention at stake.

But also a huge amount of noise.

And that raises an interesting question for any company:

Does it make sense to be part of that conversation?

The temptation to take advantage of everything

Every time a major date comes around, many companies feel the same pressure.

⚽ The World Cup
🛍️ Black Friday
📅 Mother’s Day
🏭 A sector trade fair
📲 A social media trend
📰 A news story everyone is talking about

And the question usually comes up quickly:

“Can we use it to post something?”

The answer is almost always yes.

Of course you can.

You can create a visual. You can launch a promotion. You can prepare a post. You can adapt a message. You can include a reference to the topic everyone is talking about.

But the important question is not whether you can.

The important question is whether it makes sense.

Because using context is one thing. Forcing it is something very different.

Not every trend is for every brand

The problem with major dates is not a lack of opportunities.

The problem is that too many brands try to say something similar at the same time.

In the case of the World Cup, we will see many messages about:

🏆 team
🔥 passion
🥇 victory
💪 effort
🎉 celebration
🌍 unity
⚽ emotion

All of these are valid concepts.

But they are also predictable concepts.

If a brand does not have its own reading, a real connection with its product, its service, its customer or its way of understanding the business, it risks becoming just one more voice in the noise.

And in communication, looking like just another brand is rarely a good strategy.

The difference between opportunity and opportunism

Taking advantage of a trend does not mean simply mentioning it.

It means finding a real connection between the context and the brand.

An opportunity-driven campaign makes sense when it brings something of its own:

📌 an idea
💬 a reflection
🎯 a well-fitted promotion
🧩 useful content
👀 a different point of view
🔗 a natural relationship with the moment

By contrast, opportunistic content usually starts from somewhere else:

“We need to publish something because everyone is talking about this.”

And it usually shows.

It shows when a brand forces the topic. It shows when the message could carry any logo. It shows when the content adds nothing. It shows when the trend weighs more than the brand itself.

In those cases, current events do not help.

They cover the brand.

What is current is not always strategic

Paying attention to current events is important.

Companies do not communicate in a vacuum. They communicate within a social, economic, cultural and media context.

But following current events does not mean reacting to everything.

A digital strategy is also about knowing how to choose.

✅ Choosing which topics fit.
✅ Choosing which conversations are worth opening.
✅ Choosing when a brand has something to contribute.
✅ Choosing when it is better not to enter.

Because not posting about a trend can also be a strategic decision.

Sometimes, the best way to protect a brand is not to place it in conversations where it has nothing clear to say.

Three questions before joining a trend

Before preparing a campaign, a post or an action around a major date, it is worth pausing for a moment and asking a few simple questions:

🎯 Does this really fit our brand?

💬 Does it bring something useful, interesting or relevant to our audience?

🧩 Do we have our own reading, or are we just decorating the calendar?

If the answers are clear, there may be an opportunity.

If the answers are weak, perhaps the trend is not the right path.

Or perhaps the brand needs to enter from somewhere else.

From an idea closer to the business. From a more specific reading. From a less obvious approach. From a connection that does not feel forced.

The 2026 World Cup will be an opportunity for many brands

For many companies, the 2026 World Cup will be a major opportunity.

For sports brands, media, hospitality, food, technology, tourism, entertainment or consumer brands, the context may make a lot of sense.

But for other companies, perhaps not.

And that is perfectly fine.

Not every brand has to be part of every conversation.

The important thing is not to look current at any cost.

The important thing is to build communication that is coherent, recognizable and aligned with what the company wants to convey.

Because a trend without fit is not strategy.

It is noise.

Conclusion

The 2026 World Cup will concentrate attention, investment and conversation.

But precisely because of that, many brands will have to decide whether they want to bring something of their own or simply join the noise.

In digital marketing, being part of a conversation does not always mean having a voice.

And jumping on a trend does not always mean taking advantage of it.

Sometimes, it means losing your voice inside the noise.

Source: PuroMarketing / WARC.

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