Two years ago, one of my Tufts Marketing alums asked me if I thought a part-time time interim gig job would be of value while she continued her still unsuccessful search following the rules of "The Marketing of Me".
I know her well and she had left a sports-related marketing position where there had been an unexpected big layoff, so I was overly cautious in my coaching.
The work was with FIFA, and my advice was to keep looking for a real job:
-Part time, interim, no guarantees, low compensation: when it's over, it's over.
-Americans don't understand soccer and it's unlikely that it will be successful.
-What's to market anyhow? Tickets? The events? Sponsorships?
The day after a global audience in the billions, including my wife and me who had never before watched a soccer game of any kind, my advice, in hindsight, would have been the same:
1. Focus on the outcome, not short-term diversions.
2. Plan the details as best you can but don't over plan.
3. Act quickly when you have the opportunity directly in front of you.
She's an exceptional marketer, and she needed to keep focused and lock in a real full-time job, which she has very successfully done.
So how do you measure what actually happenned with FIFA?
- Always revenue first: estimated before yesterday's success to be $8.9 billion.
- Plus, the other numbers: attended, watched, FIFA swag sold and sponsorship dollars.
and then there's Kraft's Marketing plan to sell Ranch Dressing!
Their phenomenon was organic. European visitors arriving for the tournament discovered ranch dressing, went wild for it on TikTok and Instagram, and TSA started noticing travelers trying to figure out how to get bottles home...even chugging it at security checkpoints. TSA then issued a no-chugging warning.
Kraft's move was pure opportunism, executed wicked fast. Their Kraft Sauces unit announced on Instagram a limited-edition run of ranch packets in clear, TSA-compliant quart-sized bags. Their brand manager framed it as jumping into action to meet the moment. TSA itself replied publicly: "It's about time" which is pure organic media that money simply can't buy!
-Kraft got World Cup-adjacent brand lift without paying FIFA a dollar.
-They demonstrated true social listening skills
-They reacted in hours and days, not weeks, by moving plans to immediate actions.
My guess is that most of you this Monday morning before settling in for a full and exciting day of sales and marketing will be talking about yesterday's game.
You already know you have the expertise, you have the products, you have the brand, just ask yourself: Do you have a culture of speed?
Have a great week selling!
Have sales or marketing questions? Just reach out anytime!
Jack is a Managing Partner of Derby Management, a strategy consulting firm, and founder of the Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts University, where he has taught for 20 years. Every semester is significantly updated, with heavy emphasis in 2026 on AI in Marketing & Sales. At Derby Management, Jack and his team architect and build business strategies focused on sales and marketing processes, tools, and technology platforms.
www.derbymanagement.com | Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts
