case: Db
In case your wondering how D_b won the cultural and public space at the World Cup 2026.
How a Norwegian travel brand became one of the tournament’s most authentic supporters, by carrying more than luggage.
As Norway returned to the World Cup, Db faced an opportunity shared by many brands, and a challenge solved by very few. How could a Norwegian travel brand become part of one of the country’s most emotionally charged cultural moments without behaving like a conventional sponsor?
The answer was not to interrupt the journey. It was to travel with it.
MORE VALUABLE THAN HAALAND?
What if the most important thing travelling with Norway’s national team was not one of its players, but the support of an entire nation?
As Norway travelled from one World Cup city to the next, Db travelled with them. The Ramverk Alu appeared in airport terminals, team hotels, stadium arrivals, photographs and broadcasts, quietly becoming part of the visual language surrounding the team’s journey. But the idea was never only about the players. It was about everything they carried with them. The expectations. The memories. The voices from home. The supporters singing “Vi gir alt, alt for Norge.” The people staying awake through the night, filling Times Square and Karl Johan, sitting down and in unison shouting: RO! RO! RO!
Because the most valuable thing travelling with the team was not Haaland, Ødegaard or Nusa. It was the support of a nation.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The World Cup is one of the few moments where an entire nation moves in the same direction. For Db, the opportunity was not simply to be seen around football, but to become part of the journey itself. As a Norwegian travel brand, Db already had a credible connection to movement, anticipation and everything we carry with us along the way. The challenge was to turn that relevance into something meaningful for the people following Norway.
How could the brand participate without feeling like another sponsor? How could a suitcase carry something more important than luggage?
And how could the brand create cultural relevance rather than simply buy exposure?
THE THINKING
The strategic idea was simple:
Db should not advertise around the journey. It should become part of it. Instead of building the campaign around one large launch, the story was designed to unfold over time.
Every departure became a chapter. Every arrival became another image. Every new match created a new cultural moment.
The Ramverk Alu followed the team across the tournament, appearing naturally as the players moved between airports, hotels and stadiums. With every appearance, Db reached millions of people without forcing itself into the conversation. The product gained meaning because it was there for the journey.
But presence alone was not enough. We needed to give the suitcase something worth carrying.
“Every journey is measured by more than the distance travelled. It is shaped by the anticipation before departure, the people you meet along the way, the conversations that stay with you and the places that quietly leave their mark."
Then came Haaland.
Erling Haaland, an investor in Db and one of football’s most influential cultural figures, arrived carrying an Hermès Birkin bag balanced on top of his Db Ramverk Alu suitcase.
The image travelled far beyond football.
It entered conversations around fashion, luxury, personal style and contemporary sports culture, expanding Db’s relevance into a much wider cultural space.
But the strongest image was not simply what sat on top of the suitcase.
It was what the suitcase represented.
A journey shared by players, supporters and an entire country.
THE FLAG CASE
Working with Db, KURATED BY developed The Flag Case, a bespoke travel case created to carry the Norwegian flag and the messages of the people the team represented.
Before departure, the flag was filled with signatures, drawings and handwritten words from supporters, children, former players, coaches and members of Norway’s iconic 1998 World Cup squad.
One Flag Case travelled with the national team. Another travelled with Oljeberget, Norway’s official supporters’ club. Together, they carried the voices, hopes and memories of the people at home.
The suitcase became more than a product. It became a container for national support, and a physical link between the players and the people travelling with them in spirit.
THE CULTURAL MOMENT
You are not selling a product. You are selling a cultural moment.
Community.Brand worlds.That is what gets shared.
The Flag Case gave people a role in the story. It allowed supporters to contribute something real and gave the brand a credible reason to be present throughout the tournament.
Db did not simply place luggage beside the team. It helped carry the people behind them. That transformed the project from sponsorship into participation, and from product visibility into authentic cultural value.
The campaign became something people could recognise themselves in, talk about and share. Because the strongest brand moments are rarely the ones that shout the loudest. They are the ones that give people something to belong to.
