To blend the sport that shaped my life with the passion that shapes my future, my M.A. Final Capstone project was born. After several months in development, I am pleased to share the final product of a Ralph Lauren collaboration with FIFA for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Overview
Sports have the ability to unite the world. Despite geopolitical conflict, language barriers, and differing values, sports always seem to bring a global population together. With approximately 3.5 billion fans worldwide, soccer is the world’s largest sport (Kasimov). According to journalist Ian Thomas, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted in North America from June 11th to July 19th, 2026, and will be the largest World Cup ever held. The tournament will be hosted across 16 cities in three countries, featuring 104 matches from 48 teams. This means nearly half of the world is paying attention to the sport in one way or another. Any brand venturing into soccer, whether through marketing, product, or sponsorship/partnership, has a unique opportunity to capitalize on the massive international fan base. This is an opportunity for brands in many industries and can ideally result in the growth of brand awareness and, in turn, revenue.
Ralph Lauren is a brand rooted in heritage and elegance, yet it has never shied away from the opportunity to promote unity, diversity, and innovation. The brand has been involved in several sports since its conception and is well-recognized for its involvement. While the company has been experiencing an upturn recently, there are signs of North American dependency. With an extensive history within the sports world, the 2026 FIFA World Cup presents Ralph Lauren with a unique opportunity to continue its sports collaboration into soccer and capitalize on its international nature and fan base. The project Ralph Lauren x FIFA aims to utilize the scope of the 2026 World Cup in North America to outline a sponsorship agreement, create a game site experience, and design a capsule collection to increase brand resonance and revenue in international markets while solidifying a domestic stronghold.
Key Activities
Gather Research & Develop Key Insights: Conduct extensive primary and secondary research on brand, industry, market, and consumer to develop key insights and drive strategy.
Select the Target Market: Select a strategic target market after extensive consumer research.
Select Key Initiatives & Create the Strategy: Determine the key initiatives for the collaboration between Ralph Lauren and FIFA, then create and execute a strategy for each.
Determine Sponsorship Parameters: Based on research, craft the sponsorship, determine the cost, and note the benefits received by Ralph Lauren as a result, then incorporate them into the complementary initiatives.
Design a Game Site Brand Experience: Partner with an interior designer major to design and construct space design mock-ups for a game site brand experience at MetLife Stadium.
Create a Capsule Collection for the Event: Based on consumer desires, while maintaining brand image, a capsule collection was designed for the 2026 World Cup
Implement a Promotional Campaign: Based on sponsorship advertising rights and including complementary promotion mediums, create a promotional plan and design mock-ups.
Create Financial Projections: Create sales forecasts for all products, as well as develop a detailed promotional budget, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, and then talk to further return on investment as guided by extensive research.
Capsule Collection Designs
Space Design
Promotional Mock-Ups
