The Opportunity
With soccer fans turning their attention to North America, Travel Texas recognized the potential to turn a major moment in sports into something bigger: an invitation to experience the state.
The challenge was finding a way into the conversation that felt authentic to soccer fans, true to Texas and compelling enough to turn interest in the game into interest in the destination.
The Insight
Fans may travel for the match, but they remember the trip.
With 27% of travelers interested in attending a sporting event while on vacation, sports and travel are increasingly part of the same experience. And when the game itself inspires the trip, it creates an opportunity for destinations to turn fandom into exploration.
The match gets fans to the destination. The destination gives them more to experience.
Source: MMGY’s 2026Portrait of American Travelers™ “Summer Edition”
The Idea
Enter Stu Holden. A proud Texan, former Houston Dynamo standout and FOX Sports soccer analyst, Holden brought credibility in the game, a genuine connection to the state and an audience passionate about soccer.
We partnered with Holden to connect the excitement around soccer with everything waiting beyond the stadium. Together, we created a social-first content series built around his recommendations for experiencing Houston and Dallas, the state’s two host cities.
Instead of simply putting a familiar face in front of the camera, we made Holden the connective tissue between soccer, travel and Texas.
Destination expertise shaped itineraries around places worth exploring, while our creative and social teams turned Holden’s recommendations into content built for soccer fans. The story unfolded across Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, introducing Holden and his Texas roots before taking audiences along for the experiences he recommends in each city.
Paid media extended the campaign beyond Travel Texas’ organic audience, using demographic and geographic targeting to reach soccer fans and potential travelers at scale.
Soccer gave us the moment. Holden gave us the credibility. An integrated strategy made sure the right people saw it.
The Impact
20,809,087 video views
183,292 engagements
$0.002 cost per engagement on Meta
400+ assets created
The campaign turned attention around the game into interest in the destination, giving fans a reason to see Texas as more than the place where the match happened.
The best way into a cultural moment isn’t to borrow its attention. It’s to give that attention somewhere meaningful to go.
