Case Study | Narcity Media Group

Airbnb Brought the FIFA World Cup to Life for Fans, Reaching 4.4M Canadians and Lifting Brand Love 7 Points

Written by Angelika Dela Torre | Nov 13, 2026, 3:10:09 PM

DRAFT: confirm the client feedback wording and credit, the brand lift wording and client approvals before publishing. Delete this note when done. Summer '26.

Flight

Jun 1 to Aug 6, 2026, spanning all six Toronto matches (Jun 12 to Jul 2)

Audience

Young families, travellers, millennials and Gen Z

Markets

Toronto focus, with paid media targeted to Ontario and reach extending to Quebec and British Columbia. English (Narcity Canada)

Background

As an Official Supporter of FIFA World Cup 26, Airbnb set out to make its mark with fans. Partnering with Narcity Media Group, the brand's goal was clear: build awareness around its message that the world is meant to meet, and show fans how to stay in real local neighbourhoods and discover experiences hosted by locals.

Narcity Media Group brought the story to life by pairing three articles with two Host-Led Social Videos, amplified across Narcity's social channels and paid media, with bonus display and pre-roll extending the reach.

Results

Airbnb's FIFA World Cup push scored big, beating its impression guarantees across both articles and video.

  • Articles delivered 113% and videos 112% of their impression guarantees, with 671K bonus display and pre-roll impressions included in the total
  • The Celebrini soccer camp article was the clear standout, with the strongest click-through and longest attention time of the three, helped by its contest entry call to action
  • Grace's video delivered 119% and Geerthan's 105% of their impression guarantees, with a 10.71% TikTok 6s view rate topping the 6-10% benchmark

Key Results

13.2M+

total campaign impressions

4.4M

people reached, seeing Airbnb about 3x each

244K

pageviews, with every article at 5-6x the pageview benchmark

3,100+

fans clicked through from the soccer camp article (4.09% CTR vs. 2-3% benchmark)

2.6M

views of local hosts' stories

+7 pts

brand love*

* Directional read; see Brand Lift.

Brand Lift

Airbnb matched the ad recall of FIFA's long-standing partner Visa, and brand love rose 7 points over the campaign.

47% → 54%

agreement with “Airbnb is a brand I love”* (+7 pts)

29%

of surveyed readers recalled Airbnb advertising, on par with FIFA partner Visa (29%)

* Directional read from two independent social survey samples (May n=242, July n=146). Ad recall is from the in-content survey (n=452). Source: Narcity Insights Airbnb brand study.

Deliverables

  • 2 Premium+ articles and 1 Standard article package (Celebrini soccer camp, Toronto game day guide, Host City Impact Fund story)
  • 2 Host-Led Social Videos (Geerthan and Grace)
  • Social amplification on Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok, including Instagram stories
  • Paid amplification to extend article and video reach
  • Bonus display: Mini Brand Snippets and pre-roll (671K impressions)
  • Brand lift survey

Creative

“Campaign production was done in a timely manner and the pre-sale process was efficient and clear.”

WPP Media, on behalf of Airbnb

Why Narcity

Local voices, at national scale

Narcity works with local creators, so the story comes from voices fans recognise, not just a brand message.

One partner, every format

Articles, Host-Led Social Videos, social, paid and display from one team.

Built to measure

Guarantees, benchmarks, a brand lift study and clear reporting.

Fast and easy to work with

WPP Media agreed production was timely and the pre-sale process was clear and efficient.

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