Truly Hard Seltzer Renames a U.S. City as Home for Soccer Fans

The city of Hoboken in New Jersey now goes by a different name.

Truly Hard Seltzer officially rechristened the one-square-mile city as "Believe, USA" for the duration of this summer's soccer tournament.

Hoboken Mayor Emily B. Jabbour signed a proclamation formalizing the designation, making it the first time in nearly 250 years that a U.S. city has carried the name.

The campaign, "Drink Like a Believer," makes Truly the connective tissue between scattered American soccer fans and a community they can visit.

The initiative began in April, when the Official Hard Seltzer of U.S. Soccer invited fans to nominate the city that best represents belief in soccer.

Hoboken came out on top, having a dense, passionate community whose enthusiasm "punches above its size."

"Hoboken has always been a city that shows up — for each other, for our community, and today, for U.S. Soccer," Mayor Jabbour said.

"I'm proud to declare the City of Hoboken the capital of American soccer fandom and to welcome fans from everywhere to see what that looks like in person."

During the launch, USMNT legend Brian McBride accepted the key to the city and was sworn in as Honorary Mayor.

"Fans like the ones in Hoboken bring a kind of energy you can't miss," McBride added.

"This isn't just about renaming a city — it's about giving fans a place to come together and be part of something bigger."

Overall, the efforts reveal Truly's brand strategy of putting the fans (or in this case, the city) first as it takes on the role of a sponsorship partner. 

Inside the Truly Believe Bar

The heart of the activation is the "Truly Believe Bar," a pop-up at 76 River Street in Hoboken that doubles as a physical fan clubhouse for the tournament.

The space is lined with jerseys, flags, and signed memorabilia provided by U.S. Soccer, and features a dedicated "Welcome to Believe, USA" photo wall.

For fans who want to mark the occasion permanently, a working tattoo station offers on-the-spot ink.

Throughout the tournament, Truly will also roll out game-day surprises, specialty merchandise, and drink specials.

On the product side, Truly released two limited-edition packs to complement the campaign.

The "Star Squad Variety Pack," developed in collaboration with U.S. Soccer, is a 12-pack featuring four flavors:

• Watermelon Wave
• Orange Slices
• Baller Berry
• Red, White & Tru

The brand also dropped 24-oz. Truly Wild Berry collectible cans for 11 host cities, plus one national design containing custom city-specific graphics.

Truly also released a soccer anthem with the rally cry: "Gather up your crewly and cheer for the boys in the red, white, and bluely."

"We're seeing more people connect with the game and with each other," U.S. Soccer's Chief Commercial Officer David Wright shared.

"The Truly Believe Bar creates a place for fans to come together and be part of that experience."

Lastly, the seltzer company announced a donation to the Hoboken Business Alliance to support the city's small businesses, restaurants, and bars.

This ensures the campaign leaves a material impact on the community outside of standard fan activations. 

Challenger Brands Go Hyperlocal

Truly isn't the only brand using the tournament to build fan-facing experiences through athlete and community partnerships.

Across the board, this summer produced a wide array of campaigns worth studying.

Big brands like Budweiser, Coca-Cola, and Adidas have long used World Cup cycles to ground multi-month campaigns.

Mid-tier and challenger brands are also entering the space by going hyperlocal or signing partnerships with National Team players and soccer influencers.

The scale explains these efforts, with the World Cup expected to reach 6 billion people in global viewership.

This figure makes even a one-square-mile activation worth the investment when the surrounding attention is this large.

The math favors challengers. They can't outspend Budweiser's decades of sponsorship on global ad buys, so an ownable local stunt returns more per dollar.

A renamed city or a working tattoo station costs little to stage, yet it earns the press and social sharing that delivers national reach.

Here's what brand and creative teams can take from Truly's approach to the Believe, USA campaign:

• Ground campaigns in physical places: The Truly Believe Bar is an active, in-person experience that caters specifically to fans in Hoboken.
• Reward commitment from fans: The tattoo station, collectible cans, and city-level proclamation give fans ways to signal their belief. 
• Combine local and national reach. A one-square-mile city becoming the national fan capital is a tension that generates press, which carries the campaign well past Hoboken.

Ultimately, the "Drink Like a Believer" platform gives Truly a flexible framework that it can activate across bars, retail, events, and social.

What Truly understands is that U.S. soccer fans have never quite had a place to call their own.

There's no equivalent of the English pub culture or the South American street-watching tradition that makes fandom feel collective.

Truly fills this gap with a real city, a real mayor, and a real bar that no amount of broadcast media spend could fill on its own.

The proclamation makes headlines, the bar makes memories, and the limited-edition cans make the campaign shoppable.

This makes the overall experience a win-win for the brand and fans of the sport. 

In other news, Domino's is taking a different angle on soccer season, promising $1 million in free Emergency Pizzas if any U.S. player picks up a red card during the World Cup.

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