Partnerships between MAC and SCAD support the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Atlanta Host Committee's placemaking and social media strategy throughout the tournament
ATLANTA, GEORGIA — Metro Atlanta’s talent advantage is on full display as the city hosts its final matches of FIFA World Cup 2026™.
This summer the Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) worked with Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Atlanta Host Committee (AWCHC) on creative and technical projects that shape how the world experiences Atlanta. Through this partnership, SCAD students and faculty were tapped for major projects incorporating wayfinding, placemaking, and social media. More than 200 SCAD students, faculty, and alumni contributed, raising the bar as Atlanta solidified its reputation as a top host city.
The Host Committee approached SCAD in 2024 to engage the university’s collaborative innovation studio SCADpro — which generates business solutions for the world’s most influential brands — on several projects in preparation for FIFA World Cup 2026™.
The first project was wayfinding campaign The Last Mile, a series of installations that navigates visitors around and toward the stadium and FIFA Fan Festival using strategic graphics and signage.
The Last Mile provides answers to a simple question: how do fans get from downtown to the stadium and fan festival, and back out again, at scale? Working with SCAD’s user experience and graphic design students, MAC and the Host Committee built a wayfinding system grounded in both research and design, guiding fans through downtown Atlanta with a color-coded signage network built for clarity at a glance.
SCAD-based artists and alumni also created and installed interactive murals and public art in key locations across downtown Atlanta.
Following the successful implementation of The Last Mile, more than 30 SCAD students and faculty contributed to social media strategy, graphic design, content creation, and real-time execution across three distinct brands: FIFA World Cup 2026™ Atlanta (@fwc26atlanta), the Metro Atlanta Chamber (@atlchamber), and Atlanta–Where You Belong (@atlantawhereyoubelong) throughout the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in Atlanta.
During the eight matches hosted in Atlanta, SCAD teams have been deployed across Atlanta to capture and share the full breadth of the region’s World Cup experience – from fan marches, watch parties, FIFA Fan Festival™, and matchday coverage to economic development events, panels featuring dignitaries and heads of state, and regional lifestyle and community highlights.
“This partnership is a perfect example of what sets metro Atlanta apart,” said Alex Gonzalez, chief marketing and innovation officer at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “We have one of the best creative talent pipelines in the country, and SCAD’s students and faculty bring a level of professionalism and creativity that’s second to none. Soccer fans coming to metro Atlanta this summer see our talent at work in every direction they turn. From the signage that gets fans to the stadium to the stories we’re telling across three social platforms, their work is a direct reflection of the caliber of talent metro Atlanta produces.”
For MAC, the partnership reflects a broader story metro Atlanta is telling the world this summer: the region’s talent, from engineering to hospitality to the creative arts, is trained and ready to deliver at global scale.
More background on the individual murals, signage, and design projects SCAD students created is available here, and on a detailed map of Downtown Atlanta here.
About the Metro Atlanta Chamber
The Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) serves as a catalyst for a more prosperous and vibrant region. We work to advance economic growth and improve metro Atlanta’s quality of life across the 29-county metro Atlanta region. Our charge is to unleash Atlanta’s ambition, and we do this by growing, advocating, and promoting the region’s economy, talent and community. MAC expands the region’s thriving economy, advocates for a competitive business climate, and elevates metro Atlanta’s story on a global scale to ensure that this continues to be a region that rises as one. For more information, visit www.MetroAtlantaChamber.com.
