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Football in America is still growing, says Roger Bennett, co-founder of Men in Blazers, which has grown from a single podcast in 2010 into a network of U.S.-focused soccer content. So when brands come in, they are remembered. Last year, Men in Blazers content attracted more than 2 billion impressions, but it also works directly with brands to reach soccer fans, including Coca-Cola, Verizon, Michelob Ultra, Marriott, and Visa. With the World Cup being hosted across the U.S. in just 10 months, brands are turning to Men in Blazers to form their own winning game plans. He shared some intel with me, and in this piece premium subscribers will learn: The two key questions you should be asking when shaping a World Cup strategy A counterintuitive approach to marketing that will help your brand stand out What you need to know about Verizon and AB InBev’s early World Cup work [Photo: courtesy Men In Blazers] You’re late, but not too late The most significant challenge in planning for an event like the World Cup is time. Not simply the time it takes to create a strategy and execute it, but also trying to predict the best approach to tap into culture this many months in advance. Major global soccer sponsors have had their World Cup planning in motion for more than a year. Verizons vice-president of partnerships says the brands planning began in September 2024. Anheuser Buschs vice-president of media and entertainment Matt Davis says the company has been fine tuning its soccer strategy for several years through various sponsorships in the sport, including Major League Soccer, and the Mexican National team. Bennett says that many brands hes spoken to feel like theyre late on their World Cup planning. But theres a big difference between being late and being too late. Bennett says at this point brands can still find the right approach to connect with soccer fans. My advice is to get in now, but get in in a way that you want to, he says. Do you want to speak to a women’s audience? A Hispanic audience. Do you want to target a specific region of Texas? Are you looking for high net worth fans? We found that 29% of our audience says that they fly over at least once a year to England to watch the Premier League team that they obsess about. Soccer attracts a diverse audience that likes to spend money on its passion, and the brands that support it. Stok Cold Brew has been a long-time sponsor of the Men in Blazers’ flagship podcast, and reported brand awareness up 186%, brand consideration up 17%, and brand favorability up 19%. [Photo: courtesy Men In Blazers] Soccer is every audience Starting with the audience is always key for any marketer, but whats unique about the World Cup, and soccer in general, is that it attracts just about any and every type of audience. Men in Blazers recently conducted a study of more than 9,000 U.S. fans, and found that 60% were aged between 18-24, but also that 37% of American adults over 18 now consider themselves soccer fans. The joy of football [soccer] is that you can unlock whatever audience you want to speak to, its diversity is its strength, says Bennett. Once you know the audience, there is the small matter of what you want to say to them, and how youre going to say it. With massive sporting events, particularly global multi-week extravaganzas like the World Cup and Olympics, its easy for some brands to become just logos in the background, lost in the crowd. Or what McDonalds global CMO Morgan Flatley once called cultural wallpaper. For major World Cup sponsors like Coca-Cola and Visa, the wallpaper is just table stakes. And since a global World Cup sponsorship costs a reported $100 million, there needs to be a much deeper connection with fans beyond that awareness. Know your message, and then find your messenger, says Bennett. Football luckily contains infinite human stories that transcend the everyday, make you feel alive and make you feel inspired. Verizons vice-president of partnerships Justin Toman says the scale of this World Cup brings huge opportunities, but its also a fiercely competitive moment for brands. One of the biggest challenges is that this is the biggest World Cup in history, and is hosted in 16 markets across three countries, Toman says. Soccer fandom is different across the U.S. based on generational and regional differences. To cut through the clutter, we need to be focused, understanding where and when to connect with our customers. Toman sees Men in Blazers as a unique platform that helps the brand better connect with core groups of soccer fans. They thread non-football culture and lifestyle into each of their platforms in a way that amplifies the impact and resonates with more casual fans, he says. Keegan Michael Key and Roger Bennett [Photo: courtesy Men In Blazers] Fan culture is the key The best way to avoid becoming (incredibly expensive) wallpaper is to look beyond the soccer pitch, outside the stadium, and invest in the culture around the game. This is a strategy that resonates globally, but as Bennett pointed out earlier, it is particularly impactful in the U.S. These fans remember the brands who are telling their stories. The culture of the game is always bigger than the game itself, says Bennett. The smartest brands that we work with are finding ways to tell those stories. Football is human decision-making played out live without a safety net, with the world watching and the conditions of historic pressure. Men in Blazers recently worked with Coca-Cola and talked to comedian Keegan Michael Key about why hes a fan of the Belgium national team. @meninblazers CONFIDENCE. SHOCK. ELATION. Keegan-Michael Keys emotional roller coaster ride during Belgiums 2018 World Cup Knockout Round original sound – Men in Blazers Bennett has also been working with AB Inbev for yearsmost recently with Michelob Ultra. Anheuser Buschs Davis says this tournament represents unique situations: international fanbases, live games across multiple time zones and countries, and unpredictable outcomes on the pitch. Our strategy has been to focus on the fans, and this is the largest moment for fans globally to come together, he says. To be able to position our brands at the center of that fandom, on U.S. soil, will be an unparalleled opportunity. "Pulisic wanted to go to his prom. I didn't know what a prom was. I had to ask the guys, is it OK if the kid goes to a high-school dance? I asked my wife what I should do, and she said, 'You've got to let him go.'"Jürgen Klinsmann on coaching the USMNT as a German pic.twitter.com/cuZ7f7NMed— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) July 11, 2025 Verizons Toman identifies two key questions any brand should be asking itself: What is the authentic role my brand can play in enhancing the World Cup fandom and experience for our customers? says Toman. And what is our strategy to remain visible and deliver value to soccer fans once the World Cup is over? For Bennett, as brands are thinking about their options, ultimately it should be about finding the life truths that are trapped in football. Since Men in Blazers launched 15 years ago, the podcast has had an inside joke about soccer being Americas sport of the future since 1972. But in 2026, there is a very real chance that gag will become a reality. That future is very much now. And the joy for brands is that they can not just market themselves to an audience in this moment, but they can help build this final stage that has been so long dreamed of, says Bennett. We’re just about to enter the Promised Land, and brands who partner now in a serious, thoughtful, meaningful fashion will always be remembered.
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E-Commerce
Concert barriers are built to be baked in the hot sun, transported through busy venues, battered by excited concert-goers, and, ultimately, disposed of. A company in Paris is giving them a second life. Maximum, a French furniture designer that specializes in turning industrial and municipal waste into luxe home goods, has now transformed defunct concert barriers into customizable, office-ready bench seating as part of its latest project called Bultan. The firm works by first identifying industrial surplus that, because of overproduction, imperfections, or wear and tear, can no longer serve its original purpose. Then, they find a way to extend the lifetime of that material by fashioning it into something entirely new. Past projects include a line of chairs made from discarded ground plastics, a stool fashioned from imperfect banknotes, and a chic lamp built out of used fluorescent tubes. [Photo: courtesy Maximum] Yesterday’s concert barriers become today’s found material While concert barriers may be built to withstand force, theyre surprisingly susceptible to fatal flaws, according to Maximum. Their legs are their Achilles’ heel, the Bultans product description reads. Often crushed, they condemn the entire frame to the dumpster, even when it remains intact. A few bends are enough to transform a Vauban barrier into a structure for Bultan. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maximum (@maximum_officiel) Maximum is rescuing these out-of-commission frames to serve as the structure of its Bultan benches, offering them in either a colorful powder coated option or a sleek galvanized steel. And the company isn’t stopping thereevery other element of the Bultan seat is also fashioned from a recycled material. [Photo: courtesy Maximum] Repurposing unappealing wood and plastic scraps into works of art To structurally support the benches seating and back rest, Maximum sourced wood from local workshops that was discarded due to the presence of wood knots, which caused them to be deemed aesthetically unusable. Because these slats are hidden under the Bultans cushions, theyre perfectly suitable for the task. For the cushions themselves, Maximum turned to La Maison de la Mousse et du Caoutchouc, a rubber goods supplier. [Photo: courtesy Maximum] Below a certain size, the production waste from La Maison de la Mousse et du Caoutchouc is deemed unusable, the product page reads. As thin and elongated as they are, the Bultan cushions fit between the bars and exploit this waste, which results in the scrapping of several cubic meters of high-quality foam every day. [Photo: courtesy Maximum] As a finishing touch, the company pulled rejected fabrics from the automotive interiors company Tesca to serve as the chairs dark-toned upholstery. The result is a chair that visually evokes its origins as a concert barrier, but also appears perfectly suited for a professional or commercial setting. Its a compelling case for reimagining how we might use industrial waste to more sustainably furnish our offices, waiting rooms, and public spaces.
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E-Commerce
In late July, the Trump administration released its long-awaited AI Action Plan, which includes steps to cut environmental requirements and streamline permitting policies to make it easier to build data centers and power infrastructure. But even with massive deregulation, the fact remains: we have no idea where well find all the energy, water, and grid capacity to meet the enormous speed and scale of the emerging AI revolution. Recently, experts from the International Energy Agency estimated that electricity use from data centers could more than double in the next five years. By 2030, these facilities could use nearly 9% of all electricity in the United States. Without major investments, this growth will strain our power grid and lead to higher energy bills for everyone. And its not just energy. Globally, by 2027, water consumption from AI alone is estimated to reach the equivalent of more than half the annual water usage of the U.K. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, estimate that a ChatGPT user session that involves a series of between 5 and 50 prompts or questions can consume up to 500 milliliters of water (about the amount in a 16-ounce bottle). Google used a fifth more water in 2022 compared to 2021 as it ramped up its artificial intelligence work. Microsofts water usage increased by 34% over the same period. On top of all this, many communities are protesting or rejecting data center construction due to factors like noise disturbances and limited job-creation benefits. Its easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the task before us as a nation, especially considering that winning the AI race with China requires overcoming all these constraints, quickly. But the answer isnt despair, or even just deregulation. We need to innovate. Lets imagine and build data centers that stack as many functions as possible for sustainability, efficiency, and even social good. While the most obvious sustainability move for data centers is clean energy, permitting wait times and baseload requirements mean many new constructions are developing behind-the-meter power plants with natural gas. Even these systems can transform their environmental impact. Imagine if data centers could capture waste heat and CO and put it to the best possible usefor example, fueling nearby industrial-scale greenhouses that grow fresh, high-quality food. The CO emissions, when introduced into greenhouses, could accelerate photosynthesis, significantly boosting crop yields. Heat captured from servers can also keep greenhouses warm year-round. In other words, you could grow local tomatoes, lettuce, and herbs in the middle of a Northeast or Midwest winter by harnessing data center emissions. Because data centers often choose less populated areas for affordable land and available space, these projects could provide fresh produce to rural food deserts, addressing nutritional gaps and stimulating local economies. In summer months, when greenhouses require less CO, innovative data centers could convert excess emissions into clean hydrogen fuel. Emerging carbon-capture and electrolysis technologies can transform emissions into hydrogen, which could power backup systems, fuel cells, or even local transit. Likewise, organic waste from the greenhouses could be composted or converted into biochar onsite, enriching soils, sequestering carbon, and further contributing to local agriculture. Multiple sustainability functions can be creatively stacked, maximizing environmental benefits and turning traditional liabilities into assets. Data centers also offer major untapped potential for sustainable water solutions. Their expansive, flat roofsoften exceeding 100,000 square feetare ideal for rainwater harvesting. Just one inch of rain on a 50,000-square-foot roof can yield over 31,000 gallons of water, significantly offsetting cooling demands and reducing dependence on local municipal sources. This harvested rainwater can directly irrigate adjacent greenhouses, creating further efficiencies. Tech giants like Google and Microsoft are already starting to demonstrate the value of this straightforward yet promising approach. Traditionally, data centers are criticized for providing few long-term jobs. Construction might employ up to 1,500 people temporarily, but ongoing operations usually support only about 50 permanent workers. By integrating greenhouse agriculture and carbon capture, data centers can significantly expand employment opportunities. These integrated campuses could provide apprenticeships, educational programs, and hands-on training in data operations, energy management, sustainable agriculture, and related fields. This approach would promote diverse, long-term job creation and deeper community integration, ensuring more meaningful local benefits. Right now, were embarking on the biggest infrastructure development project in multiple generations. We need to think seriously about the choices were making regarding emissions, water, and local economies. Weve done this kind of big thinking before.When America needed cheap power in the 1930s, we built the TennesseeValleyAuthority and strung wires to virtually every farmhouse through the Rural ElectrificationAct.When commerce demanded speed, we carved the ErieCanal and later laced the continent with the Interstate Highway System.When the ColdWar caled for a moonshot, we answered with Apolloturning slide-rule sketches into a lunar landing in less than a decade and achieving scores of technological innovations along the way.Each project looked audacious at the outset. Each rewrote what was possible. AI infrastructure now demands a leap of similar scale.If we pair data center capacity with on-site microgrids, rain-harvesting roofs, carbon-fed greenhouses, hydrogen production, workforce academies, and other innovations, we can meet the demands of AI without undermining communities or nature. President Trumps new AI Action Plan includes some sensible and important steps, including expediting permitting for some data centers and semiconductor fabs as well as new initiatives to boost needed occupations like electricians and HVAC technicians. Yet any comprehensive plan to address the AI challenge needs much more serious attention to questions like energy and water sustainability as well as community resilience. The AI infrastructure race can be a positive opportunity for society, but we need to get creative
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E-Commerce
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