How Lay’s Leverages WhatsApp and its First-Party Data to Keep Fans Engaged During FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup is set to take place this upcoming summer, and the usual sports chatter will be on multiple social media platforms. Lay’s is taking a different approach: not only join the conversation but also hosting a WhatsApp chat with a community-first strategy.

Rather than asking fans to adopt a new platform or change their behavior, Lay’s developed an experience that reflects how audiences already engage with football, a dynamic group chat in WhatsApp filled with real-time reactions, banter, voice notes, and inside jokes.

Lay’s also brought in celebrities and athletes to participate such as Lionel Messi, Alexia Putellas, David Beckham, Thierry Henry, alongside Steve Carell in this format, the brand offers fans a rare glimpse into what feels like the ultimate football group chat. The result is a conversational, authentic environment that closely mirrors the energy of watching a match with friends. The financial agreement between the parties was not disclosed.

Within a week of launch, that vision has already translated into significant engagement. More than 1.4 million fans joined the Epic Watch Party Chat, creating a sense of scaled intimacy rarely seen in digital fan experiences and underscoring the growing demand for more connected, shared ways to experience live sports.

This is all part of Lay’s bigger plan as an official partner of the FIFA World Cup, making sure the brand is front and center throughout the tournament. Beyond the WhatsApp experience, Lay’s is rolling out influencer collaborations, new content drops, and plenty of activations from its global roster of talent. The goal is to keep fans engaged and connected with the brand in real time, wherever they are following the action.

Alexis Porter, Vice President of Marketing, Global Foods, PepsiCo Foods, said Lay’s has always been about bringing people together, so WhatsApp was a natural choice. It allows us to tap into that behavior and build a global community rooted in shared moments. In less than a week, more than 1.4 million fans have already joined the Epic Watch Party Chat, creating what we think of as scaled intimacy, a space that feels personal, immediate, and something you don’t want to miss out on.

“Many platforms capture the public conversation and debates around sports, but we wanted to build something more meaningful, a living football community that brings people together, not just a place to watch from the sidelines,” said Porter. “That’s because a lot of the real fan experience actually happens in private spaces like group chats; where friends plan watch parties, react to goals and share memes in real time.”

As part of its World Cup strategy, Lay’s is using WhatsApp as a first party data channel to better understand how fans engage with the brand around football. By building interactive, chat-based experiences that feel native to how people already communicate, the brand is able to capture direct, opt in signals around fan behavior in a more natural and meaningful way during this period.

Lay’s is closely monitoring metrics such as follower growth, participation in interactive features, and how often fans return to the experience over time. These insights help the brand move beyond surface level engagement and toward a deeper understanding of what keeps fans coming back. The goal is to create an experience that evolves throughout the tournament and becomes part of how fans follow and enjoy the World Cup rather than just driving one-time interactions.

“Those insights help us understand what kinds of content and experiences resonate most, so we can continue evolving how Lay’s shows up in football culture and build even stronger connections with fans in the future,” said Porter.

Lay’s strategy focuses on leveraging each platform for its strengths. Broad-reach channels are used to introduce the campaign and build general awareness, while interactive experiences like the Epic Watch Party Chat provide fans with a deeper space to engage once their interest is piqued. It remains unclear how much the brand spent on its advertising efforts for this campaign.

Football is gaining momentum as of the last few years and even the Major League Soccer wants to keep fans engaged during and after the FIFA World Cup. Just like MLS, Lay’s wants to turn long time brand followers into active participants, creating experiences that keep them connected and excited well beyond a single match or moment.

“As we go deeper into the season, you can expect a lot more real conversations, unexpected moments, reactions to what’s happening on and off the pitch, and the kind of back-and-forth you’d expect from a true group chat,” she said. “It’s designed to feel like you’re [right there with them] as the party builds.”