With just 10 days before Opening Day, one of the world’s largest sporting events needed a fully operational media program capable of supporting thousands of journalists, broadcasters, photographers, FIFA rights holders, and independent creators. Lucie Content was brought in to build it.
The Georgia World Congress Center Authority engaged Lucie to build and lead media operations for FIFA Fan Festival™ Atlanta, one of the city’s largest and most visible international sporting events.
The challenge extended well beyond credentialing media. The team was tasked with designing and launching a complete media operation while adapting in real time to the demands of a month-long global event.
Lucie approached the assignment with two priorities: build a credentialing strategy that intentionally balanced traditional media with emerging creators, and create an operational framework capable of scaling as tournament demand evolved.
Rather than treating every outlet the same, Lucie implemented a deliberate four-tier credentialing strategy that balanced national broadcasters, Atlanta-based media, Spanish-language and diaspora outlets, and independent creators. That diverse media mix became one of the operation’s defining strengths, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of traditional, digital, and social media coverage throughout the tournament.
Supporting that strategy required more than a credentialing system. Lucie designed and managed six integrated operational workstreams that allowed the media operation to scale rapidly while maintaining a consistent experience for credentialed media, partners, and stakeholders.
Over 19 operating days, Lucie transformed a 10-day sprint into one of the most internationally diverse media operations of the FIFA World Cup™.
The operation credentialed 2,257 media representatives from 1,186 outlets across 89 countries and six continents, while supporting more than 5,000 pieces of earned media coverage spanning television, digital, print, radio, podcasts, YouTube, and social media.
As the tournament progressed, media demand continued to grow. The balanced credentialing strategy attracted an increasingly diverse mix of traditional journalists, international outlets, and independent creators, generating sustained momentum that culminated in consecutive record credentialing days of 300 and 340 media representatives during the tournament’s final week.
Beyond the numbers, the operation successfully navigated severe weather, extreme heat, marquee matchdays, headline concerts, and rapidly evolving communications challenges while maintaining seamless media access and overwhelmingly positive media coverage.
More importantly, the operation helped shape the story of FIFA Fan Festival™ Atlanta. By pairing disciplined operations with proactive communications and a deliberate media strategy, Lucie helped showcase Atlanta as one of the tournament’s premier fan destinations while delivering a proven operational model for future large-scale events.
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