For several weeks, three words seemed to be everywhere.
What if we actually do it?
I heard them in meetings, WhatsApp groups, office conversations, memes, and social media posts. Those three words were enough for everyone to know exactly what people were talking about. No explanation was needed.
Over time, they stopped sounding like a phrase about soccer.
The interesting part is that almost nobody repeated them because they genuinely believed Mexico would become world champions. We repeated them because they allowed us, if only for a moment, to imagine a different future.
That made me think about something I see constantly when we talk about consumers.
We tend to believe people make decisions based on the information they have. We compare options, evaluate benefits, and rationally choose whatever seems most convenient.
But reality is usually far more interesting.
Before we decide, we imagine.
We imagine ourselves living in a new home long before signing the mortgage. We imagine the trip before boarding the plane. We picture ourselves wearing the sneakers still sitting on the shelf or using the phone that hasn't even been released yet.
Some decisions begin with information.
Many begin with imagination.
That isn't a coincidence. Consumer behavior research has consistently shown that a significant part of the value we assign to a purchase is created before we ever own the product. Anticipation is part of the experience. Thinking about a vacation, looking forward to a concert, or counting down to an important event generates satisfaction long before it actually happens. In many cases, the future starts being enjoyed the moment we can imagine it.
Maybe that's why What if we actually do it? resonated so deeply.
It didn't promise anything.
It didn't guarantee an outcome.
It simply opened the door to a possibility.
And possibilities have enormous power over our decisions.
Years ago, psychologist Charles Snyder described hope not as naive optimism, but as our ability to envision a goal and stay motivated to pursue it, even when success is uncertain. Seen this way, hope isn't about expecting everything to work out. It's about finding a reason to move forward.
Thinking about it, that explains far more than a World Cup.
It explains why someone starts another business after failing. Why a couple commits to a 20-year mortgage. Why we keep studying, changing careers, or launching projects whose chances of success are never guaranteed.
Most of the important decisions we make are born from a future that doesn't exist yet.
And that's exactly where many brands get it wrong.
We often assume brands compete on features, price, or functionality. Of course those things matter. But very few people buy a product simply because of what it is.
They buy what it allows them to imagine.
A gym doesn't really sell access to workout equipment. It sells the possibility of becoming a healthier version of yourself.
A cup of coffee doesn't simply sell a beverage. It quietly promises a better start to your day.
Insurance isn't purchased because people expect to use it. It's purchased because it helps them imagine a future where everything will be okay.
The best brands don't start by changing decisions. They start by helping people imagine a different future.
That's why I believe the most interesting part of What if we actually do it? had very little to do with soccer.
Its real achievement was getting millions of people to imagine the same future at the same time.
For a few weeks, we all shared the same story. An unlikely one, perhaps, but powerful enough to shape conversations, plans, schedules, and expectations.
Then came elimination.
And reality returned.
Still, I don't think the most valuable lesson was found in the result.
It was in the reminder that people will always need stories that help them look ahead.
Because buying, starting a business, changing careers, moving to a new city, falling in love, or believing that maybe this time it could happen... all come from exactly the same place.
Not from the present.
From the future we're able to imagine.
Maybe that's why the most valuable question for understanding consumers has never been what they buy.
The more interesting question is something else.
What future are they trying to build when they decide to buy it?
Because the most important decisions rarely begin in front of a store shelf, an e-commerce site, or an advertising campaign.
They begin much earlier.
They begin the moment someone becomes capable of imagining a different version of the future.
And perhaps that's one of the biggest differences between describing human behavior... and truly understanding it.
If people don't simply buy products, but possible futures...
