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Sixteen years after ‘Waka Waka,’ she’s still turning tournament stages into brand equity. The lessons apply to any business.
Shakira just did it again. At last night’s World Cup final—the first ever to feature a Super Bowl-style halftime show—she took the stage with Burna Boy to perform “Dai Dai,” the tournament’s official song, on a bill that included Madonna, BTS, and Justin Bieber, in an 11-minute spectacle that even found room for the Muppets.
Then Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time, and fans immediately drew the line back to 2010: “Waka Waka” soundtracked Spain’s first title, and now “Dai Dai” has coincided with its second. The song has already spent weeks at No. 1 on Billboard‘s global chart and cracked the Hot 100, and clips from the performance are everywhere this morning.
This wasn’t a heavily scripted brand campaign. It was Shakira showing up, performing with energy, and letting the cultural moment do the heavy lifting. That’s marketing in the moment at its best.
For brands and entrepreneurs, the whole tournament has been one long marketing lesson, and Shakira’s finale offers the clearest one yet: how to stay relevant, build connection, and turn big cultural events into lasting brand equity—without looking like you’re chasing clout.
5 marketing lessons from Shakira’s World Cup moment
1. Authenticity travels faster than perfection. Shakira didn’t need an over-produced set. She brought the same high-energy, culturally rooted performance style she’s always had, and the clips spreading fastest are the raw, joyful ones, not the polished highlights. That matters more than ever in an era of AI-generated content, when audiences are actively hunting for what’s real–and real human connection travels farther than any production budget. Brands that try to manufacture cool usually fall flat. The ones that win show up as themselves and let the energy of the moment carry them.
2. Timing beats perfect planning. Shakira leaned into the opportunity when it appeared, and the conversation happened organically because the timing was natural. You don’t always need a six-month strategy. Sometimes the smartest move is recognizing when a cultural moment is happening and showing up quickly and genuinely. And the window is shorter than you think: By midweek, the final will be old news and the conversation will have moved on. If you have something relevant to say about a moment, say it while people are still talking about it.
3. Consistency built the moment long before the moment arrived. This didn’t come out of nowhere. Shakira’s World Cup history stretches back 16 years—”Waka Waka” is still the benchmark every tournament anthem gets measured against—and that long association is exactly why one performance can carry so much meaning. The lesson for entrepreneurs: The credibility that makes a big moment land is built in the years before it, by showing up in your lane over and over. When your moment comes, your track record does half the talking.
4. One strong moment can reignite long-term momentum. Her performance didn’t just trend for a night. It pushed her music back up the charts and reminded a global audience why she’s still one of the biggest artists in the world. This World Cup has been full of examples–Erling Haaland turned his tournament moment into a sold-out product line. The brands that treat big moments as isolated events miss the point. The real win is using the spike to drive longer-term engagement: new content, offers, or storytelling that keeps the momentum going.
5. Cultural connection creates deeper loyalty. Shakira has always leaned into her Colombian roots and Latin identity. That grounding makes her performances feel bigger than entertainment, and it’s why she resonates across cultures while staying true to who she is. Brands that try to be everything to everyone end up meaning nothing to anyone. Pick a clear cultural lane and stay consistent in it.
How to apply this to your brand
You don’t need Shakira-level fame to use these lessons, and you didn’t need a FIFA sponsorship to cash in on this World Cup. Your version of the World Cup final might be your industry’s annual conference, the local marathon your customers run, the county fair, or the awards show your whole niche watches. The scale changes. The playbook doesn’t.
Build lightweight systems so you can respond to cultural moments quickly, even if it’s just a thoughtful social post or email. Know your non-negotiables—the parts of your story and values you’ll always show—because that consistency makes moments feel authentic instead of opportunistic. Focus on energy over polish; a simple, genuine reaction often outperforms a big production. Plan for the second wave by deciding in advance how you’ll extend the conversation after the initial spike. And stay culturally grounded: Pick the spaces and communities where your brand naturally belongs, and show up there consistently.
The bottom line
The brands and people who master marketing in the moment don’t chase every trend. They recognize when a real opportunity appears, show up as themselves, and let the moment amplify what they already stand for.
Shakira didn’t need to manufacture relevance at the World Cup final. She just needed to keep being Shakira—confident, cultural, and unapologetically energetic. The world did the rest.
The tournament is over, but there’s always another moment coming: the next season, the next launch, the next final. The brands that win it are the ones getting ready now.
This post originally appeared at inc.com.
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