Stonegate Group Appoints Fifty As Strategic Media Partner Ahead Of World Cup

Written by
Fifty Team

11 Mar, 2026

LONDON – 11 March, 2026 

Stonegate Group, the UK’s largest pub operator with over 4,500 venues, has appointed Fifty as its strategic media partner to lead all media strategy and buying across its portfolio, including Slug & Lettuce, Popworld, Be At One and Craft Union.

With the World Cup set to drive a surge in footfall across the hospitality sector, the move reflects Stonegate’s commitment to innovation and investment in its media and marketing strategy, and strengthen its competitive position ahead of the global summer tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19 across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

With the appointment of Fifty, Stonegate further develops its insights-led media strategy, spanning more than 15 addressable channels, including CTV, digital audio and digital out-of-home (DOOH). 

Fifty was selected following a competitive pitch for its tech-driven, audience intelligence approach, which translates proprietary human signals into scalable, actionable media strategies, using their AI-enabled platform. 

Joe Comiskey, Digital Director at Stonegate Group, said: “We were looking for a partner with the technology and insight to help us diversify our media mix and deliver better results, faster. Fifty’s platform gives us a unique view of audience intelligence, and their team knows how to turn that into activation that moves quickly and delivers.”

Simon Shaw, CEO at Fifty, added: “We’re proud to be partnering with a business of Stonegate’s scale and ambition at such a pivotal moment for the sector. Pubs play a central role in communities across the UK, especially around cultural moments like the World Cup, and understanding the passions that bring people together is exactly what our platform was built for. That’s why this partnership is such a natural fit.”

Fifty and Stonegate will be talking about their partnership at Campaign’s 2026 World Cup briefing event, being held at Fulham’s Craven Cottage, on Tuesday 17th March.  

About Fifty

Fifty is a technology-first media partner, helping brands and agencies grow by generating proprietary, brand-specific audience intelligence and turning it into faster, smarter media strategy, planning and activation that drives measurable business growth.

Independently owned and founded over a decade ago, Fifty has built the audience intelligence operating system for modern media. Its approach, powered by Living Intelligence, combines deep human understanding with AI-powered simulation to bring audience insight to life, enabling brands to explore how people think, feel and decide, simulate behaviours, and directly “talk to” their audiences. This intelligence powers more precise planning, sharper activation, and continuous optimisation across every stage of media execution.

With multidisciplinary teams spanning strategy, planning and activation, Fifty partners with leading global brands to deliver stronger performance, improve efficiency, and drive sustained business impact across the full marketing lifecycle.

Related Articles

Silverstone Appoints Fifty As New Media And Audience Intelligence Partner To Drive Year-Round Growth Beyond The British Grand Prix

Strategic partnership will see iconic motorsport venue use AI-powered insights and media solutions to build always-on demand across its growing portfolio of experiences.

What The Celebrity Traitors Can Teach Brands About Connecting Talent, Audiences And Media

A deep dive into what The Celebrity Traitors teaches marketers about choosing the right talent and connecting with audiences using data. 

Formulate XP Announces Five Driving Partners

Formulate XP announces its five Driving Partners: Diagonal Communications, Sylver Entertainment, Fifty, Collaborate Global and Quokka Group.

The Best Fashion Moment Might Not Be on the Retail Calendar

In part three of Fifty’s Retail Fashion Playbook, we mapped nine fashion audience Tribes against against the moments that matter throughout the year, from traditional retail peaks to festivals, sport, travel and cultural occasions.

Bentley Motors Deploys Fifty's Platform To Support Global Audience Strategy

Luxury auto brand adopts AI-powered audience intelligence solution to build a deeper understanding of car culture, adjacent cultural communities and audiences across global markets