Edelman vs The Trust Project

FIFA’s World Cup Reputation Damaged Sponsors' Trust

An opinion piece in The Drum argues FIFA — positioned as a B2B brand that sells trust to sponsors — damaged that trust during the recent World Cup. The article cites multiple incidents: Gianni Infantino’s informal presentation style, FIFA’s reversal of a referee’s automatic suspension for USA striker Folarin Balogun following a phone call from Donald Trump, FIFA creating and awarding a newly invented 'Peace Prize' to Trump, dynamic/surge ticket pricing, and a short-lived plan to sell a 20% stake in FIFA’s commercial arm to private investors (reported buyers included the Kushners). The stake announcement triggered revolts from confederations, public criticism from UEFA, the resignation of senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, and the later sacking of COO Kevin Lamour. The author frames these events as eroding the core commercial asset FIFA offers sponsors: trust.

• FIFA reported a record $12bn in World Cup revenue before announcing a plan to sell a 20% stake in its commercial arm valued at $20bn.
• FIFA announced the planned sale to private investors (the article says the Kushners were among the buyers); the plan lasted three days amid confederation revolt and criticism from UEFA.
• Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser, resigned in protest after the stake announcement; FIFA later sacked its chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour.

AI Makes Thought Leadership Strategically Valuable

This opinion piece argues that generative AI is increasing the strategic value of genuine thought leadership by making proprietary research, expert voices and original evidence more influential for both human buyers and the AI systems that increasingly surface information. Citing findings from the Edelman‑LinkedIn Thought Leadership Impact Report and Forrester, the article stresses that high‑quality, attributable thought leadership helps organizations be discovered and judged by complex B2B buying groups and by AI intermediaries. It recommends treating thought leadership as intellectual capital—defining, proving, distributing, measuring and compounding authoritative knowledge over time.

• Generative AI is shifting discovery so AI systems increasingly influence what buyers find and understand about businesses.
• Edelman‑LinkedIn Thought Leadership Impact Report finding: 73% of B2B buyers consider thought leadership a more trustworthy basis for judging a company’s capabilities than conventional marketing materials.
• Edelman‑LinkedIn finding: 75% of respondents said a piece of thought leadership led them to research a product or service they were not previously considering.

Cannes Marketing Vanguard: Saying No Is Power

ADWEEK's Marketing Vanguard recorded a live conversation at Cannes Lions 2026 where Jenny Rooney interviewed Mainardo de Nardis (global president & COO of Edelman) and Rani Al Hajji (chief growth and transformation officer, personal care at Unilever). The discussion argued that the best marketers win by doing less—making sharper bets, saying no to distractions, and converting visibility into real attention and engagement. Speakers emphasized that paid media should amplify earned relevance, that big ideas must be easy for creators and communities to adopt, and that brands should build around cultural moments (e.g., Unilever and FIFA) without simply buying attention.

• ADWEEK recorded a Marketing Vanguard vidcast live at Cannes Lions 2026 featuring Mainardo de Nardis and Rani Al Hajji.
• Mainardo de Nardis is global president and COO of Edelman.
• Rani Al Hajji is chief growth and transformation officer of personal care at Unilever.

The Trust Project and TOMO Mags Launch the News Reading Club™

The News Reading Club™ is a program to exercise our brains and strengthen our communities, a bit like a running club.