The 2026 FIFA World Cup won’t take place until next summer, but official ticket sales have already begun—and so has the marketing surrounding the massive global tentpole. Verizon, for one, kicked off its telecommunications sponsorship of the tournament earlier this week and will be ramping up activations leading into the event next year, offering free tickets, meet and greets with iconic soccer players, merch drops, fan experiences and more.

We spoke with Justin Toman, Verizon’s Head of Partnerships, about its new campaign touting Verizon Ultimate Access, the brand's free, in-app rewards platform for customers, as well as what we can expect from Verizon leading up to next summer.

A retailer’s on-site search box is where shoppers are communicating exactly what they want. And that is a powerful and underutilized tool, said Michelle Goad, Chief Digital Officer at Athleta, at the Shoptalk Fall conference this September in Chicago. We review how Athleta is tapping the tool for highly relevant personalization using AI on the backend and minimal personal data.

Lastly, cleaning products brand Bissell is enhancing its customer experience and increasing conversion rates through constant testing on its ecommerce site. The brand uses heat mapping, scroll maps and a customer feedback survey at checkout to continually improve the process. Here are four examples of small changes it made after a testing period that led to improvements in conversion rate.

Until next week,