Emirates Group

What Would Make a FIFA Sponsor Walk Away?

Mark Palmer argues that despite repeated FIFA scandals, most official World Cup sponsors remain publicly silent because commercial incentives outweigh ethical statements. He cites examples (Carlsberg’s topical ad, past sponsor exits after 2015, and rapid brand reactions to other controversies) and references an MIT Sloan study showing widespread corporate value claims like 'integrity' that often don’t match behavior. Palmer outlines four commercial calculations that keep sponsors engaged—'flesh wound' delusion, the eyeball economy, corporate affairs risk aversion, and fear of crowd backlash—and urges collective action: top sponsors should coordinate a joint ultimatum, restoring brand leadership and protecting fans. The piece is an opinion calling on brands to align stated values with actions around FIFA leadership and governance.

College Athlete Carson Roney Moves From TikTok to Gatorade Ads

Carson Roney, a college basketball and volleyball athlete, grew from posting TikTok dances in 2020 to building a multi-platform creator business with about 5 million TikTok followers and nearly 700,000 Instagram followers. Managed by Erin Convey of Wasserman for four years, Roney diversified beyond sports-dance content into beauty, lifestyle and fashion, landing long-term partnerships with brands including Gatorade and the NBA and appearing in a Gatorade TV commercial. Her team reports a more than 275% increase in earnings from 2024 to 2025 and engagement rates above 10%. Roney has worked with additional brands (Abercrombie, Coach, Celsius, Pro Lash) and commanded fees as high as $45,000 for a single TikTok. Her management emphasizes platform diversification (Instagram Reels) as TikTok business dynamics shift.

Perplexity Ditches Ads, Havas Thrives, Nvidia-Meta Deal Soars

ExchangeWire’s digest reports three industry items: Perplexity AI has withdrawn from advertising, phasing out sponsored content to protect user trust and prioritise answer accuracy with no current plans to reintroduce ads. Havas posted a ‘transformative’ 2025 with global organic growth of +3.1%, net revenue of €2.78bn, net income of €210m and a 53% rise in operating cash flow after working capital; the group cited major account wins (including Emirates), a public listing on Euronext Amsterdam and the rollout of its Converged.AI operating system. Meta struck a multiyear, multibillion-dollar agreement to buy millions of Nvidia chips — including forthcoming “Vera Rubin” chips — and to deploy Nvidia standalone CPUs at scale as it expands AI infrastructure to power next‑generation systems.