Travel and experiential content can be somewhat formulaic these days. If you’re on Instagram or TikTok and get any sort of travel or food influencer content, chances are you’ve seen a video that starts somewhere along the lines of:

“Come with me to this viral [insert destination here].”

So, come with me to this viral FIFA Fan Festival in Philadelphia to celebrate the World Cup, and check out the ways that print interacts with promo as an integral piece of one of the premier installations in the country, if not the whole world.

I’m lucky enough to live within walking distance of Lemon Hill Park, where Philly’s FIFA Fan Festival is taking place now through mid-July. So barely a block beyond my front door, I see print directing me toward the fun. These sorts of adhesive stickers are all over the area in about a mile-and-a-half radius around the park where the festival is held.

Upon arriving at the security gate, there’s a collection of small sandwich board signs with information like the code of conduct, prohibited items, bag policies and signs pointing to where people can pick up a rideshare vehicle.

The entire street that runs parallel to the park is covered in signage: the World Cup 2026 logo, hashtags for sharing on social media both in English and Spanish, and arrows pointing people to the entrance.

Once you’re through the gates, there are clusters of tents for things like bag storage, a prayer and meditation area, visitor services and a water station, each with signage above the tent.

Just beyond that, there is a three-dimensional rectangular map to guide people to the main viewing areas, the restrooms and the water stations. I’m grateful for this, because even though Lemon Hill is a park I walk through on almost a daily basis, these sorts of events can feel overwhelming and disorienting. Regularly placed signage to assist with navigation is helpful.

I had a few minutes to kill before the game I wanted to watch would hit the screen, so I checked out some of the branded displays, the first being one that promoted Pennsylvania tourism.

Aside from the giant display that created the “booth” itself, the Visit PA folks did a great job with using print and promo to create engagement with visitors.

Once you went inside, there was a claw machine for things like rubber ducks, collapsible water bottles and stress balls. There was also a prize wheel, which you spin to receive a printed card that you can redeem for other promotional products like pennants or bags – all branded, leaving no surface untouched.

At the entrances to the booth, there were also print brochures and informational materials about different destinations across the state.

Finally, there was a foosball table just outside with a subtle but unmissable Pennsylvania logo just above the goal.

I didn’t need to be sold on visiting the state I already live in, though, so I ventured on toward what was easily the marquee event – perhaps even more than the soccer: the Bank of America booth.

I asked someone in the massive line that snaked down the street, and they told me they were waiting for the make-your-own custom charm bracelet.

Now, readers, this is where I break the illusion and let you know that I had visited the Fan Festival over the weekend, too, and lucked into a spot in this heinous line just as it was starting, so I got my own fun bracelet. Bank of America nailed this one. It’s interactive, it’s something that feels like it was custom made for you, because it was, and it comes with a print element thanks to the information card it’s attached to. Fans have a choice of three colored bracelets and a variety of charms that represent the host countries, as well as Philadelphia and FIFA itself.

Uruguay-Saudi Arabia would be starting soon, so I made my way through the other branded displays, like Home Depot, which included an interactive art piece on the wall co-branded with Behr, where people could take a tile representative of a paint shade and “paint by numbers” until the artwork was complete.

For younger fans (pun intended), Home Depot gave away branded fans with a colorable element on the back and markers in stock.

It was almost time for kickoff, so I made my way up to the main viewing area, which doubles as the patch of grass where my friends and I throw bocce balls sometimes.

The refreshment areas were fully decked out and branded with the likes of Michelob ULTRA, which used components like flags and wraps around industrial air conditioners and refrigerators to make sure that every surface was covered.

Coca-Cola also made its space interactive by placing signage around the area with QR codes that people could scan to sign up to win giveaways like official match balls and other promotional products.

Soccer is the main event here, but the FIFA Fan Festival does not work without the signage and print products that take up nearly every corner of the park. It covers every angle of the experience and makes you feel like you’re not just in a city park – you’re part of the FIFA World Cup craze.

Speaking of that excitement: After the match, I decided to check out the official fan store now that the line had died down a little. Signage was also used to mark where fans would line up for the store.

In addition to plentiful apparel and fan products, the store used print displays that doubled as backdrops for selfies and family photos. Yes, I saw multiple families ask a staff member to take their photo in front of the World Cup 2026 sign just behind the mannequins modeling this year’s jerseys. Don’t let anyone tell you that print isn’t interactive.

Buoyed by the excitement of Uruguay’s late equalizer, I decided to head home, but first I wanted to snap one more photo of maybe the best use of print and signage in my neighborhood, located just outside the FIFA Fan Festival itself, but no less of a magnet for tourism.

Print and promo worked in tandem across this massive experiential display. It was immersive thanks to the designs and brand activations. It was functional thanks to necessary pieces like signs and flags pointing people to the restrooms and visitor services. It was memorable thanks to the giveaways and keepsakes. And, most of all, it was fun, and it would not have been as successful without the extraordinary number of print and branded products that went into it.

Final prediction: Spain will win the whole thing despite the early hiccup against Cape Verde. Spain always falters a little in their opening game, and they rested some major players. But no matter what happens, print and promo will prove a valuable player in this global sporting event.