Brands have realised the operational difficulties in activating marketing campaigns at the World Cup in Russia while it and the west engage in sustained political clashes.
While this is apparent, and many brands have went light on Russia, instead focusing on football, or the tournament's international appeal, New Balance Football's began conceiving and filming an ambush campaign in Russia 18 months ago.
A quirk that has landed it with one of the few campaigns actually exploring the host nation - all before the recent flare up in tensions stemming from the Salisbury chemical attack.
Kenny McCallum, general manager of global football at New Balance, said: "We put our plans in place 18 months ago, you've got to be early with these things otherwise the cost increases closer to the tournament.
"Football captures a global interest. We committed to that plan some time ago, it is less about doing things in the country and more about amplification to a target from the country at the right time."
New Balance has been involved in football for three years, since then, the Boston-based brand has since made inroads, partnering with Scottish champions Celtic, Champions League winners Liverpool, Portuguese club FC Porto and numerous players. At the World Cup it has hedged its bets on underdogs Costa Rica, and Panama who will square up to England in the group stages.
On focusing so heavily on Russia, even running a product launch in the nation several months prior, McCallum said: "The capture took place prior to the recent sensitivity from a political point of view, so we put the plan in place and captured content, we monitored the political situation but there is not getting away from the fact that the tournament will take place in the country, in Russia and football is the focal point, we focus on that.
The brand will remain vigilant to events happening on the ground during the competition. "The political scene will still be there, there will be a commentary and if we have to react, we potentially will. But we are focused on football from a Russian culture perspective. That was always the plan and I believe the audience is interested in that."
In fact, the New Balance may be one of the few major brands integrated with Russia, and as McCallum said: "It creates a space, if many people step away from it, that makes our space bigger which is a good thing."
There are many quirks around activating in Russia. The country has a strong stance against homosexuality, which arguably erodes inclusive brands. And then there is the issue around its occupation of former Ukrainian territory Crimea. Weeks before the tournament, German airline Lufthansa invoked the ire of the Ukranian people by shooting a Moscow ad - in Ukrainian capital of Kiev. It said it did so for “logistical reasons”.
What McCallum wants is a good run of results from Costa Rica and Panama. Panama may be looking at emulating the achievements of the Iceland team at Euro 2016 in toppling England for example. He admited: "We've got some great stories there."
The Otruska product, and the Make It To Moscow adventure series, will look to build the brand's social presence, which McCallum is happy with despite the brand's short time in the space. It will continue to explore Russian grassroots football through its social channels. It may find that it is one of the few brands doing so.
"I'm proud of how we've grown our platforms, it illustrates how we are getting it right, you see other brands only getting one platform right, they are not always consistent, we know that our audiences at different clubs prefer different platforms, some engage with Facebook, others Twitter and Instagram, there are all sorts of opportunities there."
McCallum, who previously worked for the FA on sponsorships and partnerships, understands the fine print of a competition partnership, and how to avoid irking tournament organisers. The real difficulty is in standing out as "football brands and every other category under the sun will attach themselves to the sport for about two months".
"There are hundreds of brands that activate outside these sponsorship so clearly there is a benefit, there has to be otherwise they wouldn't be doing it."
New Balance is growing its football business, it is "merely sat that beginning of the journey... to think we are competing with the top brands in the space from day one is not realistic". It has a budget to pick out a spread of desirable teams and players in growth or potential markets. "There is budget available but it is not endless and it certainly wouldn't equate to the top brands in the marketplace."
The team selection process must "overlay strategic markets from a football, a business and brand perspective".
He admitted there is space for brands like New Balance to play, beneath the colossal, a-list clashes of Nike and Adidas.
"We hear similar feedback on the existing brands at the top in football, they are lost on focus, they are possibly overspending. They are focusing on a top tier level and I think that naturally is leaving gaps for brands to exploit."
The difference maker is that New Balance is looking to be "genuine and authentic" in the way it works with teams. "You will not see the same brand statement applied to different clubs over a campaign, we work with clubs to attach our sentiment to the audience, but you don't see the same product say on the Celtic team as you would Liverpool. Other brands, dare I say, just change up the colour and crest, that is not our approach."
He concluded: "We've learnt a great deal, the marketplace is dominated primarily by two brands, possibly three, and what we consistently hear is that it is saturated, and there is still a space as people are looking for something different. That is our opportunity."