What marketers can learn from the Knicks, the World Cup, and collective culture

There is an undeniable, electric energy pulsing through the United States right now, especially in New York.

It’s on the subway, in the office, clogging the group chats, and spilling out of local bars onto street corners.

Part of it is the afterglow of the Knicks’ historic championship run. Part of it is coming from the FIFA World Cup, which has transformed New York, and much of North America, into a gathering place for fans from around the world.

But beneath the stats and the scores, what strikes me most about this summer is a powerful reminder of how deeply people crave shared experiences.

For years, marketers have focused on personalization, and we've built increasingly sophisticated ways to deliver the right message to the right person at the right moment. But in solving for the individual, we’ve inadvertently fragmented our attention. We’ve traded the bonfire of collective culture for millions of isolated digital screens. 

The Knicks and the World Cup are doing exactly that.

In a world where media consumption is increasingly fragmented and algorithmically tailored, these moments of collective togetherness feel incredibly rare and valuable.

Which is why the recent debate around the World Cup's hydration breaks caught my attention.

Many international fans have criticized what they see as the "Americanization" of football. The stoppages, sponsorships and commercial opportunities feel at odds with a sport traditionally celebrated for its uninterrupted flow.

But from an American perspective, sports have always been designed differently.

The NBA, NFL and MLB have long been built around quarters, timeouts, official stoppages and halftime entertainment. Every break creates a monetizable moment. Commercial infrastructure isn't something being added to the experience. It's been part of the experience for decades.

So the conversation isn't really about whether brands should be present. They already are. The more important question is whether their presence adds value to the experience.

The issue isn't that consumers reject advertising outright. It's that they increasingly expect it to feel relevant, connected and additive to the experience around it.

If a brand is going to step into these sacred community experiences, it needs to add value. It needs to give fans a reason to laugh, a reason to text their friends, or an experience that makes them feel seen.

And we've seen that come to life in New York.

The Knicks didn't just dominate sports conversation. They sparked what many dubbed the "economKNICKS" effect, a cultural and economic ripple that extended far beyond basketball, benefiting local businesses, filling bars and restaurants, driving merchandise sales and creating a renewed sense of civic pride. The brands that resonated weren't necessarily the ones spending the most. They were the ones celebrating alongside fans rather than trying to own the moment for themselves.

It could be as simple as helping fans celebrate in a way that feels authentic. Knicks star Jalen Brunson's favorite bodega order became a city-wide obsession, not because it was planned, but because fans wanted to participate in the culture surrounding a team they loved.

We're seeing the same thing with the World Cup. Fan zones, watch parties, creator collaborations and community activations are thriving because they create spaces for people to belong.

The opportunity isn't simply to buy attention. It's to earn participation.

The media and advertising win isn't interruption. It's to enhance the experience.

People remember where they were when their team won. They will remember who they were with, what the city felt like and how they celebrated.

The Knicks' championship run and the World Cup are reminders that culture remains one of the few forces capable of bringing millions of people together around a shared experience. Brands have a standing invitation to be a part of those lifelong memories, but only if they choose to contribute to the experience rather than just lease space inside it. 

The future isn't about monetizing attention or viewing every hydration break as another advertising opportunity. It's about adding to the shared experiences people remember long after the final whistle.

We still have about four incredible weeks left before the World Cup final takes place. This is a massive window of opportunity for brands to start adding actual value to the fan experience.

Personally, I am incredibly excited to watch how this continues to unfold and to see which brands step up to meet the moment.