Unilever Personal Care’s “House of Fresh” creator activation during the FIFA World Cup 2026 drew more than 2,100 creators and sports figures to events in Mexico, New York and Miami, generating 6,000 pieces of content and 2.5 billion in reach, according to the company’s announcement. Unilever called it the largest in-person influencer event in its history.

The three-city activation, branded Casa Fresh in Mexico, posted a top engagement rate of 16%, more than triple the 5% industry standard the company cites. Sarah Potter, Influencer & Media Director for Unilever Personal Care, said the spaces were built as “a content engine by design,” with personalized Panini-inspired football stickers, custom jerseys, charm bracelets, an LED pitch and appearances from football figures including Roberto Carlos, Daniel Sturridge and Marshawn Lynch. Nano creators with smaller, more engaged followings attended alongside them.

Sarah Potter, Influencer & Media Director for Unilever Personal Care

Individual Unilever brands ran their own spaces within the hubs. Rexona hosted the New York Sweat Club, with gaming and five-a-side matches for a chance at tournament tickets. Dove’s Confidence Arcade paired football choreography with body-confidence experts, supporting the brand’s message of keeping girls confident in sports. Dove Men+Care built its presence around game-day rituals, and Axe let creators build custom fragrances with a scent expert.

Potter said the company deliberately did not require guests to tag Unilever brands, betting that visibility built into the spaces themselves, rather than scripted mentions, would carry into the content creators chose to post. “The vast majority of content was completely organic,” she said, adding that guests began filming as soon as they arrived.

The activation also tied directly to retail. Amazon partner creators produced shoppable content promoting limited-edition products tied to the campaign, which Potter said delivered five times greater reach than traditional brand advertising.

Part of a Larger Global Push

“House of Fresh” is the in-person component of a much larger World Cup program Unilever detailed in June, when it said more than 50,000 creators would produce content across more than 120 markets and 35-plus brands over the tournament’s 39 days, backed by 180 limited-edition products. That announcement placed the sponsorship inside a broader shift in Unilever’s marketing strategy: in March 2025, CEO Fernando Fernandez said the company would direct half its ad budget to social media and work with 20 times more influencers, pushing influencer marketing from roughly 30% to 50% of total ad spend.

Potter said Unilever is now “codifying” House of Fresh into a repeatable format ahead of its sponsorship of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027, describing the goal as turning “a successful activation into a scalable marketing opportunity” for use beyond football sponsorships.

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