Consumers’ trust and engagement with established institutions are falling. They’re also becoming more isolated and lonely, despite having perpetual access to social media and even AI chatbots designed to prompt real-life interaction. 

Major sporting events are drawing people back into shared experiences, creating a cultural connection and ritual that few “institutions” still have the power to foster. And it is their growing connection to commerce, fashion, and identity that is making this connection even more powerful. 

Jon Copestake, EY’s Global Consumer Senior Analyst, sees this playing out directly in how younger consumers engage with sports teams and, in turn, with sportswear. "Status and exclusivity in fashion in younger generations has moved beyond being conferred by wealth, but much more by being conferred by values, cultural identifiers, things that bring them a sense of identity.” 

Most Americans (68%) say they are fans of at least one sport, while “super fans” account for only approximately 17% of the population. Following the 80/20 rule would lead us to believe that those “super fans” would lead to the greatest opportunity, but new marketing and activation trends point to a much larger opportunity for brands: when you contribute to the spectacle, the engagement effect will be stronger and more long-term. 

And with the World Cup and F1 seasons both ramping up, brands are exploring how to participate effectively within these communities to capture loyal and passive viewers alike.

The Olympic Effect

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics sold more than 1.3M tickets over the 19-day competition, with 600K people visiting Fan Villages across the host regions, which featured live-streamed event screenings, sponsor activations, interactive moments, and even “championship celebrations” where spectators could meet the athletes in person. 

Yet the power of this shared experience only intensified through digital channels. Across 80+ broadcast sublicensees and 2,537 accredited members of the press, the Games’ ripple effect permeated all markets.

NBCUniversal’s coverage alone attracted 23.5M viewers, the best Winter Games since 2014. Globally, 110M people engaged with the Olympics Web & App platforms (a new record), and more than 10B engagements were generated across all of the Olympics' social media handles over the course of the games. 

The numbers tell a powerful story, but the cultural, more qualitative effects will shape how we engage with sports for the foreseeable future, according to Copestake. "These Winter Olympics are kind of like where the Winter Olympics came of age on social, which is really interesting. The previous Winter Olympics didn’t have the same impact."

Brands ranging from Coca-Cola to Airbnb, even Starbucks, seized the opportunity, turning people’s renewed interest in the Olympics into a major advertising moment. 

From the Court to the Couch

In their analysis of consumers’ engagement with different sporting events, GWI identified several segments, or personas, representing the broader base of spectators who engage with the Olympics and other sporting events. All of them turn to digital platforms in some capacity, whether to watch matches live, communicate with fellow fans, or even co-create with their favorite teams and players. 

“True fans” watch multiple matches live and game multiple times a week using platforms like EA Sports FC, but also travel to attend events. Conversely, “reluctant fans” largely look at sporting events as social experiences first; as ways to explore food, art, and shared traditions. They largely second-screen and are more likely than other personas to use their devices to browse social media (13%), search for products to buy (18%), and look up information related to what they’re watching on TV (18%). 

These different personas have different preferences and behaviors, but social connection is the great unifier. Even “the lone purists,” who typically watch the game by themselves, gravitate towards brand stories and collaborations that illustrate a sport’s heritage and culture. That is still a meaningful mode of connection. 

For brands, these different personas inform how and where to best engage fans. After all, 45% of these fans, according to Ipsos, are more likely to buy products or services from companies that sponsor things they're fans of. And if brands target younger consumers, that number only increases: 49% for consumers ages 35-54 and 64% among consumers 18-34.

GWI found that when watching TV content, consumers aged 16 to 64 had a general “satisfaction score” of 3.66 out of 5. But when they watched TV with loved ones, that score increased substantially to 4.06. This satisfaction trickles into every aspect of the live viewing experience, especially advertising. GWI compared agreement with advertising statements based on whether consumers were unsatisfied or satisfied TV viewers: 

• Advertising is more appealing to me when it’s tailored to my needs and interests (50% vs. 64%)
• There is an acceptable amount of advertising on TV (35% vs. 55%) 
• The advertising on TV is of a higher quality than on other platforms (34% vs. 46%) 
• I am willing to share my personal data to have a more personalized TV Advertising experience (32% vs. 45%)

This is why brands across so many different categories are attempting to cash in. Sporting events are inherently social experiences, and consumers are using them to create moments for gathering. It’s why the Super Bowl quickly became one of America’s top “party days,” and why so many people call out sick the day after. And, it’s why brands like Levi’s turn the Big Game into a pillar storytelling moment that reaffirms its legacy and distinct role in American culture. 

When Digital Becomes Physical

But our desire for interpersonal connection and cultural belonging has become so intense that it is breathing new life into the live events space: 339M people traveled to attend or participate in sporting events in the US last year. This participation, of course, then ripples into local economies, including 191.8M hotel room nights, which then generated $111.2B in revenue for host destinations. Around 44% of people also say they travel internationally for sporting events, with this figure rising to 56% if fans skew younger (16 to 34 years old). 

These numbers paint a very promising picture for brands that want to be part of major cultural events that align with their mission and vision. At the New York City Marathon, New Balance set up a pop-up store on Lafayette Street to embed itself in the local community and provide helpful, entertaining services, including a recovery station and product customization stations. This wasn’t just racks of products on display; commerce was brought into the fold in an authentic yet unobtrusive way. 

Other, more niche sporting events, are creating opportunities for brands to push creative boundaries. Copestake sees the opportunity clearly: "Finding an emerging area of sports and then really owning it is a really, really crucial thing." 

Sephora is taking a similar approach with this year’s F1, a somewhat unexpected partnership that actually makes a lot of strategic sense beneath the surface. As the Official Beauty Retail Partner of F1 Academy, Sephora is sponsoring the end-of-year drivers’ celebration and supporting driver Natalia Granada. She will compete in the ‘SEPHORA operated by PREMA’ car as the brand brings its glam bars to various 18 F1 Paddock Club luxury suites. Sephora is the latest beauty brand to embrace women’s growing interest in sporting events, and is part of a growing roster of unexpected brands showing their love for F1 specifically. 

After FI saw a record-breaking season in 2025, we’re even brands as established (and profitable) as Disney want a piece of the action. The media company has partnered with Gentle Monster on a statement eyewear and apparel collection that will be amplified across race activations, digital comics, and other storytelling channels. 

Disney’s involvement illustrates consumers’ hunger for “nostalgia with a twist.” They enjoy the comfort and familiarity of brand symbols they know and love, but appreciate when they’re contextualized in new ways. 

"If you look at the way that Gen Z and Alpha are behaving right now, that heritage is what is sustaining those brands and creating that goodwill towards them,” Copestake said. “Maybe this hot notion of always looking forward and never looking backward is not going to work for a lot of established brands."

When Geopolitics Becomes a Commercial Force

Brands and retailers have much to gain from associating with large sporting events: familiarity, credibility, cultural relevance, and connection through nostalgia. But the brands betting on these moments are doing so against a backdrop considerably more complicated than the sporting event’s excitement. One that’s rooted in geopolitical tensions, logistics, and the state of local economies that also seek to gain from its involvement. 

The most timely and powerful example is the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off this June, will feature 11 US host cities; it’s the first time the US has hosted since 1994, making it a monumental moment on its own. But the participating cities hope to see a halo effect on their hotels, restaurants, and even shopping malls. For instance, MetLife Stadium, which was rebranded as New York New Jersey Stadium, will host eight matches, including the final one on July 19. New Jersey’s American Dream Mall, which is adjacent to the stadium, has already kicked off its hefty calendar of associated events to commemorate the moment. A 39-day World Cup celebration will position the shopping mall as the “official hub” for off-field events and activities, and its cornucopia of retailers, restaurants, and attraction partners will all play a role in creating curated hospitality moments for locals and tourists alike.

“There's always a halo effect. Anyone hosting a major sporting event will always get a retail and hospitality halo effect."

— Jon Copestake, EY

In the initial pitch, FIFA and the World Trade Organization claimed that the event would bring in 6.5M fans and drive an economic impact of $30.5B for the US. But “a number of headwinds” may temper these results, including the basic cost of participation. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported that sales tax breaks, coupled with additional costs incurred for infrastructure, security, and logistics, could undermine the overall ROI of inclusion. 

Moreover, new US policies have made it increasingly difficult for foreigners to visit the country, prompting some travelers to cancel their plans indefinitely. More than 120 organizations have recently backed a new travel advisory warning that calls out the “serious risks” to travelers visiting US host cities; specifically, immigrants, minority groups, and members of the LGBTQ community. Future Commerce has analyzed how political figures are now influencing brand positioning and even market results. But this scenario shows just how far the halo effect goes.

For Love of the Game

The geopolitical headwinds are real, and the economic promises may not fully materialize for every brand or in every city. But the uncertainties don't change the underlying desire driving the fervor surrounding the sporting events of the past 24 months. 

Copestake puts it simply: people are showing up to these events (in person and online) for reasons far bigger and far more profound than siding with a winning team. "There's a much greater interest in sporting events because people feel an affinity with the sport as an event—as something to watch." It's the gathering itself that matters. The jersey, the stadium, the glam bar in the Paddock Club suite. And the brands that are part of it are helping create the shared space that becomes a memory, even a moment in history.  

There may even be something deeper at work. "There may be something to the notion of digital natives looking back to analog culture," Copestake observed. "That always-on mentality means that suddenly how people express themselves in places is harking back almost to something that went before."

For brands, the question isn't whether to show up. It's whether they understand why people came in the first place. And sometimes, that’s as simple as a love for the game and all that it stands for.