Many big international brands have taken the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup as a golden opportunity to capture China's multi-level consumer demand, with continued promotion of localized product innovation and scenario marketing.
Compared to the previous World Cup, the event this year has seen a greater number of international brands partnering with China Media Group, including Budweiser, Adidas and Intel. Through diverse collaborations with China Media Group's World Cup coverage, these brands are promoting new products to the Chinese market, coupled with the conveyance of brand concepts such as "shared passion" and "sustainable development."
Sports brand Adidas, together with various FIFA sponsors, has created an immersive football theme park in Shanghai to enhance the reach to and experience for fans and consumers. Adidas has also launched World Cup-themed events and pop-up stores in several large Chinese cities, including Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shenzhen.
Budweiser, the official beer sponsor of the World Cup, has launched a variety of exclusive packaged products of different sizes, packaging and flavors in the Chinese market. At the same time, it has partnered with food delivery platforms to launch a late-night instant delivery service for iced beer, transforming food streets into the gathering and match-watching spots for football fans.
"By partnering with these big events, I saw how vibrant the night life is in China. And our partners, many of them, they live from the night economy," said Michel Doukeris, CEO of AB InBev.
Chipmaker Intel, together with its partners, has created an "iWatch Sports AI Assistant," which can analyze match content in real time using local AI computing power.
"We believe that China has maintained stable opening to the outside world, and its business environment is getting better and better. Therefore, Intel is full of confidence in its future operations in China," said Wang Zhicong, chairman of Intel China.
Experts said that as the sports economy flourishes and the potential of sports consumption continues to be unleashed, the Chinese market will remain a core battleground for transnationals.
"We can also see these brands' confidence in the Chinese market, and they have high expectations for further expansion in the Chinese market. They pay close attention to the changing consumption patterns in the Chinese consumer market and are expanding their reach into various consumption scenarios and lifestyles, including watching the World Cup and other sporting events, to find more growth opportunities," said Wang Yuxiong, director of the Sports Economics Research Center under the Central University of Finance and Economics.
Big international brands leverage FIFA World Cup to expand into Chinese market
