📺 NYC Summit 2026: Bettina Garibaldi Keynote — Chief Marketing and Communications Officer @ FIFA World Cup 2026

This week's mainstage feature is one you won't want to miss. With the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicking off this month — right here in the US — Bettina Garibaldi gave us a rare behind-the-scenes look at how you market the biggest sporting event on the planet. And yes, there were plenty of lessons for every communicator and marketer in the room.

👉 Watch the full keynote

Here are a few highlights worth watching for:

The scale is staggering: 48 teams, 104 matches across 40 days, three countries, and 16 host cities. To put it in perspective, the Qatar final alone drew the equivalent viewership of 13 Super Bowls combined — and the NY/NJ region is hosting the final.

It's not a soccer tournament, it's a cultural moment: Bettina's approach isn't about selling tickets — those sell themselves. Her job is designing moments around music, fashion, food, and community that draw in people who may never have watched a match in their life.

On working with creators: FIFA doesn't just tap sports creators. They deliberately work with food, culture, and lifestyle voices to tell the story through the lens of people who are genuine experts in those spaces.

Clarity beats budget: For brands and communicators wondering whether to activate around the World Cup, her advice is simple — relevancy beats reach. Don't force it, but if there's a genuine connection to your brand or audience, now is the time to lean in.

On AI: A self-described big proponent — she uses it daily and actively looks for team members who go well beyond the basics. Her framing: "Agentic marketing is a phenomenon right now, and I'm learning on a daily basis too."

Best line of the session: "Agility is earned with preparedness." Whether you're managing a live campaign or a crisis, the room to be creative comes from the groundwork you lay in advance.