The quickest World Cup fan engagement ideas run on a ready-made template: a sweepstake, a player of the match vote, a tipping competition or prediction league, a squad predictor, a first scorer prediction or a trivia quiz. Each works for a football, rugby or cricket World Cup, goes live in your brand, and adds a consented contact with every entry.
Key takeaways
- A World Cup brings in people who don't follow the sport the rest of the time, so it's a chance to reach a new audience.
- Template campaigns can go live in under an hour, so you can still run something once the tournament is close.
- A sweepstake gives everyone a team to follow, while predictors and votes bring people back match after match.
- Every entry can add a consented contact you keep after the final.
Why run a World Cup campaign, even at the last minute?
A World Cup gives you a reason to talk to people for weeks, with new matches, results and talking points every day. For brands and sponsors, it's a way to be part of the conversation rather than another ad beside it. For clubs, leagues and governing bodies, it keeps supporters engaged between domestic seasons.
- Data you own. Every entry can add a consented contact to your database.
- A cultural moment to connect with. People who never watch the sport still follow a World Cup.
- Consumers and business audiences. The same ideas work for customers, staff and clients.
- Quick to launch. Pick a template, add your branding and go live, or let our team do it for you.
World Cup fan engagement ideas you can launch fast
1. A tournament sweepstake
A sweepstake gives every entrant a team at random before the tournament starts, and a prize if their team wins. Nobody needs to know the sport to take part, which makes it ideal for customers, venues and the office. A sponsor can own the sweep and the prize.
2. Player of the match vote
A simple player of the match vote turns one of the biggest post-match debates into quick engagement and data capture. Run one after every match of a team you follow, and duplicate it each time. NSW Rugby League ran a McDonald's fan vote across the State of Origin series, tailoring it each week with little effort. About 15% of McDonald's total digital campaign impressions in the Origin period came from that one sponsorship activation.
3. Tipping competition or prediction league
A tipping competition, or prediction league in the UK and Europe, asks people to pick the winner of every match and follow a leaderboard through the group stage and the knockouts. Add a margin for an extra layer of challenge.
4. Squad predictor
Before every World Cup, the squad announcement is a big moment. A squad predictor lets your audience pick the players they think will be named, then come back when the squad is announced to see how close they got. Open it when selection talk peaks and close it before the announcement.
5. Predict the first scorer
Another simple pre-match campaign: ask people to predict the first goal scorer in football, the first try scorer in rugby or the top run scorer in cricket. Wolverhampton Wanderers ran a guess the first scorer campaign on its website and app using the voting template.
6. World Cup trivia
A trivia quiz about past tournaments, famous moments and players works for consumer campaigns and for business audiences, such as clients and staff. Run a new quiz before each round to give people a reason to come back. Grimsby Town ran a half-time trivia quiz at a cup tie and captured opted-in data on supporters it hadn't known before.
Bring it all together in one hub
Running more than one idea? Omnihub, our hub template that brings several digital experiences together in one branded page, puts your sweepstake, votes, predictors and quizzes in one place. Football Australia used a sponsored fan hub with Allianz for the Socceroos at the FIFA World Cup, bringing many digital experiences into one branded destination.
How to run it with Campaignware
- Pick a template. Choose the idea that fits your goal and the time you have.
- Put it in your brand. Add your logo, colours and fonts, or your sponsor's, without developers or designers.
- Set prizes and terms. Add prizes and terms and conditions, and check what rights you hold before using tournament names, logos or player images.
- Share it. Promote it on social, by email, in your app and with QR codes in venues, stores and offices.
- Collect consented data. Every entry adds a consented contact, with GDPR-compliant data collection, and the data can go into your CRM.
- Report to your sponsor. Reporting in the platform shows impressions, unique users, clicks through to the sponsor and completion rates.
A typical campaign takes 20 to 40 minutes to build. See how brands run campaigns around major tournaments on our brand activation platform page.
Frequently asked questions
What are good World Cup promotion ideas for brands?
Good World Cup promotion ideas for brands give people something to do, not just something to watch. A sweepstake gives every customer a team, a score predictor or player vote brings them back for each match, and a quiz fills the days in between. Add a prize people want and capture consented data with every entry, so the campaign pays back after the final.
Can we use the World Cup name and logos in our campaign?
Tournament names, logos and imagery are usually protected, and official sponsors pay for the right to use them. Before launch, check what rights you hold, and get advice if you're unsure. Without those rights, keep the campaign in your own brand and focus on the matches, the teams your audience supports and the fun of following a tournament.
How fast can we launch a World Cup campaign?
Most campaigns go live in under an hour, and a typical campaign takes 20 to 40 minutes to build from a template. That means a sweepstake or predictor can still launch in the final days before the opening match. Custom builds from Campaignware Studio are faster than you'd expect, and when time is short, Copilot gives subscribers a team that does the work.
Do these ideas work for rugby and cricket World Cups?
These ideas work for any World Cup with fixtures and teams: football, rugby union, rugby league or cricket, men's or women's. Change the scorer question to first try scorer or top run scorer, load the right fixtures, and the same templates do the rest. For more on planning around big tournaments, read how to use a major sporting event to grow your audience.
Book a demo to see these templates in your brand, or talk through your project with our team.
