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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

China Sent Nearly 700 Brands. The World Paid Attention.

How the World Covered China at Hannover Messe 2026: Robotics, AI, and Sustainable Energy

From Hannover to the World: Where China's Industrial Story Landed

How Meltwater Explore+ Helps  Brands Track Global Narratives

FAQ: Chinese Innovation, Global Visibility, and Media Intelligence at Hannover Messe 2026

Hannover Messe 2026, the world's leading industrial trade fair, took place in Hanover, Germany, in late April, bringing together roughly 3,000–4,000 exhibitors from around the globe. Among them, nearly 700 were Chinese brands, making China the largest international exhibitor contingent after Germany.

Powered by Meltwater Explore+ and Mira AI, this analysis explores how Chinese brands shaped the Hannover Messe conversation, the themes that resonated most strongly with global audiences, and the factors driving their growing visibility.

A large presence does not automatically translate into a large share of voice. Yet at Hannover Messe 2026, Chinese brands turned their exhibitor footprint into meaningful visibility, generating nearly 3,600 media and social mentions — approximately 10% of all event conversation tracked during the period.

Chinese companies secured prominent exhibition space and showcased innovations across robotics, industrial AI, smart manufacturing, and sustainable energy. Their presence attracted significant attention from international media, trade publications, and industry leaders throughout the event.

Perhaps more notable was China's influence on the broader event conversation. Chinese-language terms ranked among the most prominent conversations across all Hannover Messe coverage, not just within China-focused discussions. This reflects both the scale of interest in Chinese companies and their innovations with the smart manufacturing audiences.

Hannover Messe 2026 China Coverage: Key Statistics

Why it matters:  Scale alone does not guarantee share of voice. Hannover Messe 2026 demonstrates how Chinese brands translated a strong physical presence into meaningful influence on the event's global conversation.

The conversations emerging from Hannover Messe 2026 suggested that China arrived not as an emerging player, but as a mature industrial force. China-linked coverage focused on both the technologies shaping the future of manufacturing and the Chinese companies bringing them to market.

The conversation was driven by a mix of established Chinese industrial giants and emerging technology firms. Companies such as Shanghai Electric, one of China's largest industrial and energy technology groups, Zoomlion, a global manufacturer of construction and agricultural equipment, and Deep Robotics, a specialist in autonomous industrial robots, became focal points in international coverage.

Key China-Linked Topics at Hannover Messe 2026

Three themes dominated coverage of Chinese brands at Hannover Messe: robotics, AI manufacturing, and sustainable energy.

In robotics, Deep Robotics showcased a quadruped robot for hazardous industrial inspections, while Zoomlion highlighted its industrial robotics software platform. Coverage across major trade publications in the US, Germany, and Australia reflected growing international interest in China's autonomous industrial systems.

AI manufacturing was another key focus. Shanghai Electric's StarCloud Intelligent Manufacturing platform, featuring nearly 40 AI applications across R&D, production, and operations, attracted attention for its real-world deployment of AI at scale.

Sustainable energy generated the strongest visibility. Shanghai Electric alone received 618 media mentions over five days—more than others brands like ABB and BMW. Its portfolio of solar, wind, energy storage, and smart grid technologies aligned closely with global industrial decarbonisation trends, helping the company account for nearly one-third of all China-linked media coverage.

Together, these stories highlighted more than technological innovation. They reinforced a broader narrative of commercial readiness, positioning Chinese brands as credible partners in the next phase of global industrial development. At an event where trust and industry validation matter, strong visibility across these sectors signals growing international recognition of China's role in shaping the future of manufacturing.

Why it matters: Visibility at Hannover Messe is about more than attention, it signaled industry credibility. Strong coverage across robotics, AI manufacturing, and sustainable energy suggests Chinese brands are increasingly being recognised as serious contributors to the technologies shaping the future of global manufacturing.

While China generated nearly 3,600 Hannover Messe mentions, the conversation was far from confined to Chinese media. Coverage was driven by a diverse mix of international sources, with strong participation from the United States, Germany, Brazil, and Australia.

Top countries with China-linked mentions at Hannover Messe

The channel mix was equally revealing. Online news generated 57.4% of Hannover Messe conversation, while X accounted for 25.8%, indicating that journalists, analysts, and trade publications, not social media, were driving the conversations.

For Chinese brands, this is significant. Visibility in global industrial markets is built through credible third-party coverage, and the prominence of China-linked stories suggests these companies are increasingly viewed as serious players in the future of manufacturing.

The event also showcased the broader ecosystem behind China's industrial ambitions. From the Hunan Opportunities event at the China Pavilion to endorsements from Siemens and Bosch executives, the conversation positioned China not only as a manufacturing powerhouse but also as an important innovation partner in industrial AI and advanced manufacturing.

Why it matters:  International media validation from US and European trade outlets is one of the most powerful trust signals available to Chinese brands in global B2B markets. With the credibility from Hannover Messe, Chinese brands are well-positioned to push their solutions into international markets. 

How Meltwater Explore+ Helps You Track Your Global Narrative

The findings from Hannover Messe 2026 point to three specific intelligence opportunities that most Chinese brands should capitalised on when competing for global narrative share at major international events.

Use Case 1: Track your brand's global coverage in real time, across languages

Most Chinese brands operating internationally know their domestic coverage well. They have limited visibility into what trade media in Germany, technology publications in the US, or manufacturing journals in Brazil are saying about them, in those languages, in real time.

Monitor your brand across 240+ languages and 6M+ unique sources, including global news, trade publications, X, LinkedIn, and forums

Track coverage volume, sentiment, and reach by market, identifying which geographies are picking up your stories and which are not

Set real-time alerts for brand mentions, competitor coverage, and category keywords so your team can respond within the event window

Surface the specific articles and posts driving the most reach, enabling targeted follow-up with key editorial contacts

Business Outcome:  A complete, real-time view of your global narrative. Not a summary delivered weeks after the opportunity has passed.

Use Case 2: Benchmark your brand against global competitors

Most Chinese brands at Hannover Messe 2026 had no real-time view of how their coverage compared to companies like ABB, Siemens, or AWS, or to other Chinese exhibitors. Without competitive benchmarking, share-of-voice analysis is guesswork.

Compare your mention volume, sentiment, and source distribution against named competitors across the same time window

Identify which competitor announcements drove the most coverage and understand why

Track the narrative themes being associated with your brand versus competitors: product leadership, partnership, sustainability, and more

Use Mira AI to generate automated competitive intelligence summaries, reducing manual tracking time

Business Outcome: Competitive narrative benchmarking that informs content strategy, partnership decisions, and market prioritisation in real time.

Use Case 3: Spot partnership and media opportunities 

The Siemens and Bosch endorsement of China as an innovation partner was built over time. But it created a significant media moment at Hannover Messe. Brands that can track which global industry leaders are generating positive commentary about Chinese innovation can identify partnership and PR opportunities earlier.

Monitor named executives, companies, and institutions for statements about Chinese industrial innovation across global news and social

Track which international media outlets most frequently cover Chinese exhibitors and identify the journalists most engaged with your category

Surface influencer and analyst commentary shaping buyer perception in your target markets

Identify positive narrative moments early enough to amplify and build on them

Business Outcome: Earlier identification of the partnerships, endorsements, and media moments that convert event visibility into lasting global brand trust.

Hannover Messe 2026 showed that Chinese innovation in smart manufacturing is attracting meaningful attention from global audiences.

The nearly 3,600 China-linked mentions, representing 10% of all event coverage, were driven not only by Chinese media, but also by outlets in the around the world. Coverage of companies such as Shanghai Electric, Deep Robotics, and Zoomlion, combined with public recognition from industry leaders including Siemens and Bosch, reflected a broader shift in perception: Chinese industrial brands are increasingly being recognised for innovation, scale, and technological leadership.

The challenge now is turning event visibility into long-term influence. Hannover Messe provided a global stage, but sustained credibility will depend on whether brands can continue delivering innovation, building international partnerships, and maintaining relevance in the conversations shaping the future of manufacturing.

How many Chinese companies exhibited at Hannover Messe 2026?

Close to 700 Chinese brands participated in Hannover Messe 2026, making China the largest foreign exhibitor contingent after Germany. The event ran from April 20-24, 2026 in Hannover, Germany, and generated 36,400 total mentions and an estimated 34 billion in reach across global media and social channels, as tracked by Meltwater Explore+.

How much coverage did Chinese brands generate at Hannover Messe 2026?

Meltwater Explore+ found that China-linked conversations generated close to 3,600 mentions, accounting for roughly 10% of total event coverage. That coverage originated from the US, Germany, Brazil, and Australia. Chinese-language terms also appeared prominently in the top keywords across all event data, reflecting broad audience engagement.

Which Chinese companies generated the most coverage?

Shanghai Electric was the standout by coverage volume, with 618 media mentions, more than ABB (149) and BMW (128) combined. Its coverage was driven by two stories: the StarCloud Intelligent Manufacturing platform, spanning close to 40 AI models across the full manufacturing lifecycle, and an integrated green energy solutions portfolio. Deep Robotics generated significant international attention for its quadruped autonomous inspection robot. Zoomlion drew coverage for its robot operating system and AI-integrated manufacturing solutions.

What were the three main innovation themes for Chinese brands at the event?

Meltwater Explore+ identified three primary innovation pillars driving Chinese brand coverage at Hannover Messe 2026. Robotics, led by Deep Robotics' quadruped autonomous inspection robot and Zoomlion's robot operating system, with coverage spreading across the US, Germany, and Australia. AI and manufacturing, centred on Shanghai Electric's StarCloud platform and the Hunan Opportunities event at the China Pavilion. And sustainable energy, driven almost entirely by Shanghai Electric's integrated green solutions showcase, which generated close to one-third of all China-linked event coverage.

How did Western industrial leaders respond to China's presence?

Senior executives from Siemens and Bosch publicly named China as a key innovation partner in industrial AI. Not a competitive threat. A partner. This framing was reported by Xinhua on April 23, 2026 and picked up by international media. When Western industrial giants frame Chinese companies as partners, it affects how global buyers, investors, and decision-makers evaluate Chinese brands across manufacturing, energy, and technology markets.

Which global markets generated the most coverage of Chinese innovation?

The US, Germany, Brazil, and Australia were the leading international contributors to China-linked coverage at Hannover Messe 2026. Germany generated the highest overall event coverage (7,130 mentions) as the host nation, while the US (6,070) reflected its deep interest in tracking the industrial AI competition. Brazil's strong showing (3,870) was partly driven by its partner country status at the event. Australia's consistent contribution points to growing APAC trade media interest in Chinese industrial innovation.

What should Chinese brands do to sustain their Hannover Messe momentum?

The data points to four priorities. First, amplify innovation narratives beyond the event window. Coverage spikes dissipate without sustained amplification through targeted media outreach, thought leadership, and follow-on announcements. Second, deepen partnerships with globally credible institutions and ensure those partnerships generate their own editorial coverage. Third, build global trust through consistent, transparent communication with the media and analyst communities that shape buyer decisions in key markets. Fourth, monitor the global conversation in real time so that amplification and response decisions are grounded in actual data, not assumptions.

How does Meltwater Explore+ help Chinese brands track their global media presence?

Meltwater Explore+ monitors brand mentions, competitor coverage, and narrative themes in real time across 240+ languages and 6M+ unique sources, including global news, trade publications, X, forums, and broadcast. For Chinese brands with international ambitions, this means tracking coverage across US, European, and Asia-Pacific markets simultaneously, benchmarking against global competitors, and using Mira AI to generate automated intelligence summaries. At events like Hannover Messe, Explore+ lets brands track day-by-day coverage shifts, surface the highest-reach stories in real time, and make amplification decisions within the event window.

A snapshot of global conversations around Chinese innovation at the manufacturing industry’s biggest tradeshow.

How China Dominated Hannover Messe 2026 Conversations

Here after the World Cup has been kicked off? Check out our predictions blog with key findings, our week 1 FIFA World Cup 2026 analysis and our FIFA World Cup 2026 prediction dashboard.

Kickoff for the FIFA World Cup 2026 starts on June 11, but the hype around the high-profile tournament started much earlier with input from fans and brands around the globe. As we saw previously with the Super Bowl, this pre-event period is a critical one for brands looking to understand which marketing strategies are resonating with audiences most. In particular, as sponsorship costs rise and brand collaborations grow more competitive, marketers need to know which activations can give them the strongest ROI. 

To understand these factors, we used Explore+ to analyze digital, traditional, and social media content about the World Cup with a focus on identifying the highest-performing brands, campaigns, and individuals. Overall, between January 1 and June 1, 2026, this content generated 2.4 million mentions and 1.3 billion engagements across all tracked source types. However, awareness did not always equal engagement. Instead, the findings show that cultural relevance and audience responsiveness, not sponsorship status, are the main determinants of success during major global events.

Download a one-page summary of this analysis

Why non-sponsor brands generated more engagement than official World Cup sponsors

How Coca-Cola used global influencers to become the most engaging World Cup sponsor

How LEGO's product-led campaign became the most successful World Cup brand collaboration

How Lamine Yamal's TikTok became the biggest World Cup social media moment before kickoff

Why the World Cup song and halftime show drove outsized engagement

How Meltwater helps brands win attention during major cultural events

FAQ: World Cup marketing, sponsorship effectiveness, and social media engagement

<table style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse; font-family:Arial, sans-serif; font-size:14px;">
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td style="padding:12px; border:1px solid #ccc; font-weight:bold; width:30%;">Capability</td>
      <td style="padding:12px; border:1px solid #ccc;">Explore+</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td style="padding:12px; border:1px solid #ccc; font-weight:bold;">Analysis window</td>
      <td style="padding:12px; border:1px solid #ccc;">January 1 – June 21, 2026</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td style="padding:12px; border:1px solid #ccc; font-weight:bold;">Data sources</td>
      <td style="padding:12px; border:1px solid #ccc;">
        30 sources, including broadcast television and radio, online and print news, blogs, comments, reviews, forums, podcasts, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, Pinterest, X, Douyin, Red, YouTube, and more
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td style="padding:12px; border:1px solid #ccc; font-weight:bold;">Brands / entities tracked</td>
      <td style="padding:12px; border:1px solid #ccc;">
        FIFA World Cup 2026 and related terms and hashtags, official sponsor brands, and select athletes, celebrities, events, and most discussed brand collaborations 
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td style="padding:12px; border:1px solid #ccc; font-weight:bold;">Key term definitions</td>
      <td style="padding:12px; border:1px solid #ccc;">
        <strong>Engagement:</strong> The number of shares, comments, likes, retweets, replies, direct messages, etc.<br><br>
 <strong>Engagement per mention (EPM):</strong> The total number of engagement actions divided by the number of mentions<br><br>
      <strong>Mentions:</strong> The number of instances when keywords and phrases appeared within a piece or collection of content.<br><br>
      <strong>Share of Voice (SOV):</strong> The percentage, or share, of total mentions attributed to a particular brand, market, or entity.
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Official World Cup sponsor brands generated about 30% more mentions than non-sponsoring brands that launched campaigns around the event. However, the latter group dominated in terms of audience interaction, generating nearly double the total engagement and 2.8 times the EPM of official sponsors. 

So while official sponsors like Coca-Cola and Adidas won conversation volume, non-sponsor collaborators like LEGO, Nike, and Puma won audience attention. As we explore more thoroughly below, high-production value ads and strategic influencer activation were key factors in differentiating brands within oceans of World Cup content. 

Why it matters: Sponsor or not, earning attention is often more challenging than earning awareness. This year's World Cup demonstrates that a well-executed collaboration, product launch, or influencer strategy can deliver stronger engagement than official sponsorship rights alone.

Of the official World Cup sponsors and partners, Adidas and Coca-Cola were neck-in-neck in terms of discussion, together generating about half of all mentions. However, Coca-Cola emerged as the winner when it came to audience action with over 43% of total engagement compared to Adidas’s 37%.

Its partnership with soccer megastar Lamine Yamal included a wildly successful post on his personal Instagram account that drove 0.8% of all sponsor-period engagement. However, Coca-Cola’s success was also thanks to a number of successful social media activations featuring influencers from around the world. 

So although about half of tracked World Cup conversations originated in the US, the soda brand’s campaign generated high-engagement posts from a wider range of countries. Standouts include: 

this TikTok from a Brazilian humor and lifestyle influencer (2% of total engagement)

this Instagram post from an Indonesian soccer influencer (1.4%)

this TikTok from a US- and Ghana-based dancing influencer visiting Côte d'Ivoire (1.1%)

and this Instagram post from a Thai actor (0.8%)

These and other posts from influencers across Latin America, Africa, and Asia helped Coca-Cola tailor a global campaign to local audiences, in line with the kind of national pride the World Cup naturally inspires. That approach attracted audiences and helped the brand achieve 40% positive sentiment, higher than any other official sponsor. 

Why it matters: Audiences experience global events like the World Cup and the Olympics through local lenses. Coca-Cola's influencer strategy shows how brands can scale campaigns across markets without sacrificing brand identity or consistency.

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LEGO outperformed other top World Cup brand collaborators like Nike and Puma thanks to a coveted new product and partnerships with the world’s leading players.

Instead of being a sponsor, LEGO got in on the event with an official product licence for the iconic trophy. The brand’s resulting World Cup Official Trophy set, part toy, part collector’s item, was the focus of its Everyone Wants a Piece campaign. 

With ads featuring the 2,842-piece set, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, and Vinícius Jr. (and their toy counterparts), the campaign went viral. But it wasn’t just star power and a flashy product that drove its success. 

The ad’s impressive giant lazy Susan got audiences debating over whether or not the video was created with AI. In response, LEGO released a behind-the-scenes video captioned “Still think it’s AI?” showing how the original video was created with practical effects. 

As a result of a multi-wave campaign that tuned into audience conversations, the toy brand generated 82% share of engagement of the top 50 most engaging brand collaborator posts and 13% of the 50 most engaging World Cup posts overall.

Why it matters: LEGO showed that brands don’t necessarily need official sponsorship status to be a leading voice in major cultural moments. By combining a multi-stage launch with big stars and audience interaction (as well as appealing to overlapping football and LEGO collector audiences) the brand turned a licensing deal into one of the tournament's most talked-about campaigns.

<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@lamine.yamal/video/7645346910550691094" data-video-id="7645346910550691094" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;" > <section> <a target="_blank" title="@lamine.yamal" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lamine.yamal?refer=embed">@lamine.yamal</a> <a title="fifaworldcup" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fifaworldcup?refer=embed">#FIFAWORLDCUP</a> <a target="_blank" title="♬ sonido original - Lamine Yamal" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/sonido-original-7645346922064136982?refer=embed">♬ sonido original - Lamine Yamal</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>

Spain’s Lamine Yamal posted a TikTok on May 29 that far outperformed all other FIFA, brand, and athlete posts about the tournament. The video, which uses an official, gamified World Cup 2026 filter, shows him attempting to correctly pronounce the names of other competing players. 

In a funny twist, the filter fails to register his pronunciation of his own name as correct, causing him to lose the game. That single TikTok has generated 19.6 million likes and counting, along with over 196,000 comments, one million saves, and 1.5 million shares. Its success highlights how unpolished, personality-led content (along with interactive filters, as we saw in our Lunar New Year analysis) can be a magnet for audience participation. 

The most strategically significant planned post is Lamine Yamal's @lamineyamal February partnership, generating 0.8% of all sponsor period engagement from 40M reach off a single post. Yamal's personal TikTok generated 12.6% of all event-wide top-50 engagement, more than any brand, FIFA account, or other athlete in the full tournament conversation. A single February partnership post converting that audience into sponsor engagement is the clearest example in the data of athlete reach translating directly into sponsor equity.

Among players driving World Cup engagement, Messi was Yamal’s closest competitor, thanks to his starring role in both the LEGO and Adidas campaigns, as well as Michelob Ultra and Lay’s. The Argentine player is the star of Adidas’ collaborative campaign with fashion brand Kith. A fancam TikTok featuring clips from the main Adidas ad along with Messi’s on-field highlights proved to be the highest-engagement post across all sponsor mentions, accounting for 5.9% of all sponsor-period engagement.

Why it matters: Yamal and Messi's success shows that both authenticity and strategic sponsorships can deliver outsized attention when they align with how fans already consume content online.

The World Cup song, “Dai Dai” by Shakira and Burna Boy, captured 20% of the total engagement of the top 50 most engaging posts, making it the single biggest cultural asset of the pre-tournament period. Ahead of its premiere, audiences around the world were already anticipating the release of a World Cup anthem, a tradition since 1990. So when “Dai Dai” officially dropped in May, it did so to an already involved fan base.

Building on that momentum, the May 14 announcement of the Cup’s first-ever halftime show, headlined by Madonna, Shakira, and BTS, also had a huge impact. Together, it and the World Cup song generated 37% of the engagement of the top 50 posts. So while the sport was the obvious backbone of pre-World Cup hype, the entertainment side of the event expanded its reach beyond die-hard sports fans.

Why it matters: Brands looking to capitalize on major sporting events shouldn't focus exclusively on the game. Some of the tournament's biggest engagement drivers came from adjacent cultural moments, suggesting that entertainment partnerships can be just as effective as sports-focused activations for reaching broad audiences.

Use Case 1: Turning Cultural Moments Into Marketing Opportunities

The Problem: Some of the biggest World Cup conversations emerged from creator content and audience debates.

Monitor emerging conversations, viral trends, and breaking cultural moments with Meltwater Explore+.

Set alerts for sudden spikes in discussion around athletes, creators, campaigns, competitors, and event-related topics.

Identify opportunities to join conversations while audience interest is still growing.

Business Outcome: Increase campaign relevance and earn attention by participating in cultural moments before competitors do.

Use Case 2: Identifying Which Content Resonates Most on Each Social Platform

The Problem: Content that performs well on one platform may underperform on another, making it difficult to know where to invest resources.

Use Meltwater Explore+ to compare engagement, share of voice, and engagement per mention across TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube, and other social channels.

Identify which content formats—from influencer videos and product launches to athlete partnerships and entertainment activations—are generating the strongest results on each platform.

Analyze audience sentiment and interaction patterns to understand why specific posts resonate with users on different channels.

Business Outcome: Optimize platform-specific content strategies and allocate resources toward the channels and formats most likely to drive engagement.

Use Case 3: Activating the Right Influencers in Every Market

The Problem: Global events create worldwide audiences, but engagement often depends on local relevance.

Use Meltwater Influencer Marketing to discover creators by country, audience demographics, interests, and engagement rates.

Evaluate influencer performance across regions to identify the creators generating the strongest audience response.

Measure campaign impact across markets to determine which partnerships are driving awareness, engagement, and positive sentiment.

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