WORLD CUP 2026 ACTIVATION PROPOSAL × 39 DAYS × LOS ANGELES + TEXAS
Pilot-ready in 2–4 weeks · Full deployment included

Retail has a dwell time problem.
We've already solved it.

2 → 20
Minutes of in-store time
With Volkswagen — same retail format, transformed into an experience customers stayed for.
+6,000
Participants
In just 30 days of activation.

Now imagine this across 150 WSS stores during the World Cup.

Presented by C2B × Rainbow Lobster × flatelier
Proposal · World Cup 2026

Your Neighborhood
World Cup.

Five stations to make every WSS store stop being a store during the World Cup. And start being barrio again.

Your Neighborhood Shoe Store ↗ Your Neighborhood World Cup.
Duration
39 Days
Markets
LA + Texas
Kickoff
June 11, 2026

What this unlocks

5
Quests integrated into the WSS app for 39 days.
150
Stores activated as in-app game checkpoints.
39
Days to build the habit of opening the WSS app every day.
∴ Proven engagement system ∴

This is not a one-time activation. It's a behavioral loop.

01 / The Premise

WSS isn't a shoe retailer.
It's where the Latino community in America recognizes itself without having to translate.

That is a brand asset Nike can't buy, Adidas can't manufacture, and a global sponsor can't fake.

And right now, it's under-leveraged.

What WSS already has

  • 1 150 physical stores in the right neighborhoods Reach
  • 2 A live mobile app Channel
  • 3 A working Rewards program Loyalty
  • 4 30 years of community trust Equity

The infrastructure is built. What's missing is the reason for the audience to use it every single day.

02 / Why This Works

We build experiences people stay for.

Because in retail: more time → more engagement. More engagement → higher conversion.

We've already proven this by increasing dwell time from 2 to 20 minutes in real environments. Now we're scaling that system.

03 / Who We Are

Three agencies.
One single obsession.

Three independent shops who've already built together. Strategy, creative, production, technology — one room, one accountability, no handoffs.

Agency 01

C2B.

Creativity to Business
Strategy · Experience · Business

Strategic creative consultancy connecting brand culture with business outcomes. We design experiences that translate cultural insight into measurable commercial results — from concept to activation, from data to story.

Global clients
Netflix Amazon AFA Konami Electronic Arts Sega
Why this matters for WSS: the cultural sensitivity we built working with AFA (Argentina's national federation) and entertainment giants is the same one needed to honor the barrio without flattening it.
Agency 02

Rainbow Lobster

Creative Advertising · Social Purpose
Creative · Brand · Social Impact

Creative agency working at the intersection of brand storytelling and cultural relevance. We build ideas that earn their place in conversation — not because they shout, but because they listen first.

Global clients
Adidas Mastercard Jumex
Why this matters for WSS: we know how to build campaigns that resonate with Latino communities without resorting to clichés. The work for Jumex and Adidas Latin America is the closest analog to the WSS audience.
Agency 03

flatelier

Production Design · Venues · Events
Production · Build · Stage Design

Production design studio building large-scale physical experiences. We've designed and produced for some of the most demanding live events on the planet — where execution, timing, and quality control aren't optional.

Recent productions
Super Bowl Halftime · Bad Bunny Adidas Product Launches
Why this matters for WSS: activating 150 stores across two cities for 39 days is a logistics problem before it's a creative one. We're built for that scale.
∴ Shared cases ∴

We don't just work together.
We've already built together.

Adidas
Shared client · Rainbow + flatelier

Product launches and brand experiences for Adidas Latin America. Creative led by Rainbow Lobster, physical production by flatelier — same team, same client, same standards.

Mastercard
Client · Rainbow Lobster

Multi-market brand campaigns at the intersection of culture and commerce. Strategy, creative and production for one of the most regulated brands in the financial sector.

Super Bowl LVIII
Halftime show · flatelier · Bad Bunny

Production design for the Bad Bunny halftime show — a build with no margin for error and a deadline that doesn't move.

04 / The Idea

It's not marketing.
It's respect.

The official World Cup sponsors are Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa, Bank of America, McDonald's, Verizon. They all speak to the global mainstream.

Nobody is speaking to the Latino family in America — not to the values, not to the union, not to the barrio that holds it all together.

Adidas can pay Messi, but can't pay the abuela. Coca-Cola has the trophy, but doesn't have the papel picado. Nike has Cristiano, but doesn't have Doña Carmen from Lynwood.

That's the opportunity. That's the fight.

  • PRAY.
  • PLAY.
  • SHOUT.
  • NARRATE.
  • COLLECT.

Five verbs. Five stations. Five things the barrio already does on its own when there's a World Cup. WSS doesn't invent them. WSS just opens the door.

05 / What We See

You're not just selling shoes
during the World Cup.
You're defending a community.

Before we propose, we want to be honest about what we see. WSS is in a defining moment. The official sponsors of the World Cup don't speak the language of the barrio. The audience that built WSS for 30 years is now in a defensive posture. And the World Cup arrives in U.S. cities where WSS already lives.

∴ 01 ∴ The moment

The Latino audience is on edge.

Foot traffic is down. Discretionary spending is down. The community that built WSS over 30 years is being cautious. The World Cup is the first time in two years there's a reason to celebrate publicly.

∴ 02 ∴ The competitive gap

The official sponsors aren't talking to your customer.

Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa, McDonald's, Verizon — all global, all mainstream, all in English-first. Nobody is building a Latino Mundial experience rooted in family, values and barrio. That space is empty. WSS owns it by default.

∴ 03 ∴ The unfair advantage

WSS is already in the right places.

150 stores in Chicano neighborhoods across LA, Texas and beyond — exactly the markets where the Mundial will be hosted. No need to rent venues. No need to pretend authenticity. The location is the proof.

06 / The Engagement Layer

What every retailer is doing this Mundial — and why customers stopped showing up.

The standard activation playbook hasn't changed in a decade. Athlete meet-and-greet, photo booth, on-site customization, DJ, a console with FIFA. It still looks fine on a press release. It stopped working on a customer two years ago.

// The activation playbook
What's everywhere else
  • 01Athlete meet & greet
  • 02Photo booth
  • 03On-site product customization
  • 04DJ / playlist
  • 05Game station (FIFA console)
Single touch. Peaks in 60 seconds. The customer takes the thing — and leaves. No reason to come back tomorrow.
// The system we're proposing
What WSS could own
  • 015 stations that live inside the WSS app
  • 02A profile that grows with every visit
  • 03Daily quests across 39 days
  • 04Barrio-vs-barrio leaderboards (Lynwood vs Compton)
  • 05A four-year metagame (the World Walls)
Compounds for 39 days. Returns the customer every match day. Outlasts the tournament by four years.
// Mechanic 01

Daily quests

A new reason to open the app every day for 39 days. One quest per match day, plus station-specific quests at each store visit.

// Mechanic 02

Visit streaks

Consecutive store visits multiply Rewards earnings. Break the streak, lose the multiplier. Habit, not promo.

// Mechanic 03

Barrio leaderboards

Lynwood vs. Compton. Pleasant Grove vs. Oak Cliff. Neighborhood-vs-neighborhood scoreboards, refreshed live in the app.

// Mechanic 04

Rewards multipliers

Mexico match days unlock 2x and 3x Rewards windows. Store visits during those hours are worth more, in-app and at checkout.

// Mechanic 05

Digital collectibles

Items, cards, jerseys, narrations — earned only by physical interaction at a station. Can't be bought, can't be skipped.

// Mechanic 06

Identity badges

"La Abuela Devota." "El Narrador." "El Coleccionista." Badges customers wear inside the app — and that unlock real-world drops.

Built for the Mundial.
Designed for everything after.

The Mundial is the launch. Not the limit. The same system runs every cultural moment WSS wants to own — content rotates, mechanics stay.

Back-to-school becomes a streak. Día de los Muertos becomes an altar quest. NBA Finals becomes a barrio leaderboard. Holiday becomes a collectibles drop. Every moment that matters to the WSS customer becomes a reason to open the app.

World Cup '26 Back to School NBA Finals Día de los Muertos Holiday Drops Super Bowl Mother's Day World Cup '30

This isn't a campaign. It's the new way WSS engages its customer — for the next five years and the five after that.

07 / The Five Stations

Every store becomes
a living room.

For 39 days, WSS stores transform. Not into pop-ups. Not into fan zones. Into the living room where you shout the goal, the cantina where the foosball never cools down, the place where the family walks in together and walks out feeling like they came home — and with their app a little fuller every time.

01

The Barrio Altar

— where you pray

The abuela lights a candle. The mom doesn't wash the jersey. The dad sits in the same exact spot. Cábalas exist, and they belong to the barrio.

A real altar with papel picado, LED candles, cempasúchil flowers. A screen where fans leave messages for their selección, dedications, family rituals. Each candle is a fan who came back. Each message is organic content.

"This isn't something a global brand can fake. It's ours."
App layer · Quest "Light a candle"
  • QuestLight a digital candle in-app, message saved to your profile.
  • Rewards50 points per candle. 2x multiplier on Mexico match days.
  • Badge"Devoto/a del 86" — unlocked at 3 candles in consecutive matches.
  • StreakA candle every match day grows the family streak across the tournament.
The Barrio Altar — cábalas
02

The Barrio Table

— where you play

Foosball isn't a game. It's the cantina at Tío Chuy's, the bar inside the workshop, the place where three generations learned to lose with dignity.

We customize it: players in México '86 jerseys, scoreboard in Chicano typography, Andrés Cantor-style narration when someone scores, QR check-in to WSS Rewards before you play.

"It's not a game. It's the table at Tío Chuy's, on a Sunday afternoon."
App layer · Quest "Win the table"
  • QuestQR check-in before each match. Score logged to your profile, win/loss tracked.
  • LeaderboardMonthly neighborhood ranking — Lynwood vs. Compton, live in the app.
  • StreakWin streak triggers a Rewards multiplier on your next in-store purchase.
  • DropTop barrio player of the month earns a limited drop (sneaker / jersey collab).
03

The Barrio Shout

— where you scream

No thinking here. You shout.

Decibel meter. Screen with the daily ranking. Camera that captures the face at the exact moment. "¡GOOOOOL!" animation over the video. WhatsApp delivery in 30 seconds.

Lynwood vs. Compton. Pleasant Grove vs. Oak Cliff. 39 days of barrio-versus-barrio competition. Every video goes to TikTok by itself. Without anyone asking.

App layer · Quest "Break the meter"
  • QuestDecibel score uploads to your profile. Daily personal best tracked.
  • LeaderboardBarrio-vs-barrio leaderboard, refreshed every match. Push notifications when your barrio drops.
  • Social bonusIf your shout video crosses a play threshold on TikTok / IG → bonus Rewards points.
  • Identity"Loudest of the barrio" weekly badge. Visible to every other user in the app.
The Barrio Shout — rookie fan
The Barrio Shout — rookie de México
01 / 02
04

The Barrio Booth

— where you narrate

Every Latino has an Andrés Cantor inside. Every dad has already narrated from the living room. Every kid has imitated him in the school hallway.

Acoustic booth. Animation of a goal with no audio. Three minutes to narrate it in Spanish, English, Spanglish — whatever comes out. The output is a professionally edited video, branded WSS, ready for the family group chat.

"The dad narrates the goal of the grandchild who hasn't been born yet. The abuela narrates like the AM radio in '86."
App layer · Quest "Narrate the goal"
  • CollectibleEach narration unlocks a "Cantor Card" in your profile gallery.
  • Badge3 distinct narrations = "El Narrador del Barrio" badge.
  • VotingBest narration of the day — voted in-app — wins an in-store prize.
  • Share bonusWhatsApp / family-share tracking → extra Rewards when shared.
The Barrio Booth — narración del gol
05

The Barrio World Walls

— where you collect

This one stays.

When the World Cup ends, the other four come down. This one doesn't.

4×3m LED screen. Scanners. The fan customizes their jersey, their ball, their sneaker. They appear flying over the Azteca. But everything is saved on the web. Each fan has a profile, a growing collection, sets to complete.

Four years from now, WSS owns the largest visual culture gallery of Latino soccer in the U.S. Made by its own customers.

"Built by customers, for customers. The only thing that compounds for four years."
App layer · The permanent metagame
  • ProfileEvery customer has a personal Wall: jerseys, balls, sneakers customized.
  • SetsCollections to complete. Some pieces only drop in store. Some only on match day.
  • DropsLimited drops unlocked only by users with specific badges from other stations.
  • PersistenceThe other 4 stations end with the World Cup. This one runs for 4 years — until the next one.
WSS Virtual World
WSS minigames
01 / 02
08 / Five Stations × Five Customers

One activation.
Five buyer personas.

Each station isn't just an experience — it's a bridge to a specific customer who's already walking into a WSS store, but isn't being activated with intention. Five stations means five distinct game loops, five distinct conversations, five distinct people leaving the store with their app fuller.

Station
Persona
Game loop
What WSS isn't capturing today
01 · Altar
The abuela / católica mom (45+)
Ritual streaks · match-day multipliers
The woman who walks in to buy for kids/grandkids. Today: transactional. Here: ritual.
02 · Foosball
Dad + son (multi-gen)
Barrio leaderboard · win streaks
The "family trip" — bigger basket, more attach rate per visit.
03 · Shout
Teen / Gen Z (15–22)
Decibel score · daily ranking · social bonus
The customer who buys online and never sets foot in a store.
04 · Booth
Dad-creator + sneakerhead
Cantor Cards · vote leaderboard
Audience with disproportionate weight on social. Every video carries WSS branded into their network.
05 · World Walls
Collector / jersey fan
Sets · limited drops · identity badges
Highest LTV. Chases limited editions. Today buys reactively — here, hunts.

Five stations. Five game loops. Five buyer personas already in your stores, waiting for someone to talk to them differently.

09 / Why This Is WSS

Honesty over aspiration.

WSS is from the barrio, not the mall. 150 stores in Chicano neighborhoods, founded 30 years ago to serve a community the big brands never saw. That doesn't change with a polished commercial. It changes by opening the door of the store and saying: come in, this is yours.

The five stations do exactly that. They don't speak to the barrio — they invite it in.

Each one touches something the WSS customer already does at home. The abuela lights a candle for México. The dad shouts the goal louder than the neighbor. The kid narrates like Andrés Cantor in the school hallway. The family plays foosball after the asado. And everyone collects — jerseys, sneakers, flags. WSS doesn't invent anything. WSS gives it a stage.

That's the most WSS thing there is: the brand never tried to be aspirational. It tried to be honest. And honesty here means one thing — respecting what the customer already is, instead of selling them something they have to aspire to be.

The broadcast Celebrates the player
→
WSS Celebrates the fan
Adidas Celebrates the team
→
WSS Celebrates the family
Nike Celebrates the moment
→
WSS Celebrates the barrio
Coca-Cola Celebrates the World Cup
→
WSS Celebrates the barrio that celebrates the World Cup

The five stations are the WSS customer talking to the WSS customer, with WSS as host. It's not marketing aimed at Latinos. It's Latinos starring in their own celebration, in a space the brand opens to them — because it always was theirs.

That's the difference. And that's why no competitor can copy this without seeming fake.

WSS doesn't need to invent authenticity. It just needs to amplify the one already walking through its stores every single day.

That's the 5 stations. That's WSS.

10 / What This Unlocks Beyond the World Cup

The Mundial pays for the Mundial.
What's left is what changes the business.

Six surfaces of value that don't disappear when the final whistle blows on July 19, 2026.

// Surface 01

App engagement, daily.

For 39 days, the WSS app stops being "the place I check my points." It becomes the place I open every day. That habit shift survives the tournament.

// Surface 02

Rewards, deeper.

More enrollments. More active members. More visits per user. The program moves from passive loyalty to active engagement — a different category of asset.

// Surface 03

First-party data engine.

Every quest is an opt-in. Every interaction teaches WSS what its customer cares about. In a post-cookie era, this is gold.

// Surface 04

Owned content factory.

Stations 03 and 04 generate WSS-branded UGC every single day. Content WSS pays agencies for today — produced by customers, for free.

// Surface 05

Permanent cultural IP.

The World Walls don't come down. They're the first digital gallery of Latino soccer culture in the U.S., built by its own fans. Drops, collabs, brand alliances live here for 4 years.

// Surface 06

Retail-as-media.

150 high-traffic stores + active app = real ad inventory. Latino telecom, beverage, food brands could pay to live inside the experience. The Mundial can be a profit center, not a cost.

∴ The five-year bet ∴

This isn't a 39-day campaign.
It's a five-year wedge.

The Mundial is when an entire generation of Latino customers chooses which brands they're loyal to for the next decade. The brands that earn this audience between June 11 and July 19, 2026 will compound that relationship through the next Mundial in 2030 — and beyond. The ones that don't will be paying premium to acquire this same customer in 2031.

27%
of Generation Alpha in the U.S. is Latino. The next five years of customers are watching the next five weeks.
$2.8T → $4.1T
Latino purchasing power growth, 2018→2023. The compound is real, predictable, and underway.
+820K vs. −560K
Latino vs. non-Latino working-age population change in 2023 alone. The customer base of the future has one direction.
Source: Latino Donor Collaborative · 2025 Official U.S. Latino GDP Report™ — Part One.

This model is already proven.
Now it's ready to scale.

11 / What Happens Now

Let's not start with
the World Cup. Let's start smaller.

We'd rather earn your trust on a smaller activation first — one of your upcoming events, a single store, a focused pilot. If it works the way we believe it will, we scale together for the Mundial. If it doesn't, you've risked nothing.

Option A

Start with a pilot.

Pick one of your next events — a store opening, a release, a community moment. We deploy one or two stations as a proof of concept, fully wired into the app and Rewards.

  • One city. One activation. One weekend.
  • We learn how WSS operates. WSS sees how we deliver.
  • App + Rewards integration tested at small scale.
  • Data, content, and learnings transfer directly to the Mundial planning.
Option B

Plan the Mundial together.

Skip the pilot, work directly on the World Cup activation. Higher commitment, but real ownership of the cultural moment for WSS.

  • Joint workshops with WSS brand, marketing, and product teams.
  • Cultural validation with your community before production.
  • App + Rewards integration designed in from day one.
  • Phased build over 6–8 weeks before kickoff.
Before we go further, we want to listen

Questions we'd love to hear from you tomorrow:

  • What are you already planning for the Mundial? What's locked, what's open?
  • How does your app and Rewards program perform today — and what would "winning" look like for them?
  • What upcoming events could we use as a pilot moment together?
  • Who at WSS needs to be in the room for this to move forward — brand, marketing, product?
  • What's worked and what hasn't in your past brand activations?
  • What does success look like for WSS in a Mundial year — and the year after?

The barrio didn't ask permission to celebrate the World Cup. It's just waiting for someone to open the door of a store and say: come in, this is yours.

In 2026, while the world watches the World Cup, the World Cup goes back to watching the barrio.

WSS × World Cup 2026 · C2B + Rainbow Lobster + flatelier