5 Things
From Gideon Barker, founder of Customer iQ. View the newsletter archive.
Hi {{ First_name | reader}}
As I write, we’re 60 games into the 104 total matches of the 2026 World Cup. How are you enjoying it so far? Some odd quirks aside (eg. hydration breaks), I feel like it’s turning out to be a great tournament. Some interesting stats via FIFA so far:
Germany and Netherlands top the most goals table so far at 10
Türkiye have had most attempts on goal (70) with just 3 goals scored - but a win at last vs USA
Haiti and Bosnia & Herzegovina have the most yellow cards (6 each), Ghana and Qatar both have 2 reds
South American teams lead the offside table - Colombia (10), Uruguay (9), Brazil (9)
Germany have made the most passes (1,887), Spain have the best passing accuracy (93%) and Canada have made the most crosses (117).
Here are your 5 Things:
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ONE:
Another World Cup story, Mark Ritson (famed marketing academic and MiniMBA founder) has written an interesting take and account of dynamic-pricing. He’s focusing on the World Cup as a case study, but some interesting points raised about pricing and prices lie within. Worth a read via the Drum.
TWO:
We’re now well over 3 years since gen AI was made widely available to the public. HBR has researched our usage in a longitudinal study which uses a ‘social listening’ method to identify use cases. The latest results highlight we’re still most likely using it for ‘therapy / companionship’. Read more via HBR here.
Image via HBR.
THREE:
According to SparkToro - in Jan-Apr 2026, 68% of Google searches in the US ended without a click. This ‘zero-click’ behaviour needs to be considered within your content and SEO work. Read their blog here.
FOUR:
The growth of Electric vehicles (EVs) has seen a return of the enormous SUV trend - do electric SUVs just miss the point? Interesting article via The Conversation.
FIVE:
KFC Australia’s ‘Go Full Chicken’ creative sees a KFC worker ice-dancing intimately with a chicken drumstick. Ad of the day on The Drum - is this poignant and highly creative, or just a bit weird?
