When asked about the official flip-flop brand of the World Cup, Ingmar Korstanje – an American tourist in Brazil immediately answered `Havaianas`.

Tourists like Korstanje are the reason Havaianas can still make a profit from this World Cup event, even though it is not an official sponsor.

Official sponsors of the World Cup do not have as many benefits as before, because companies now have many channels to reach fans, such as through smartphones or social media, said Sarah Wood – co-founder of Unruly.

Havaianas World Cup flip-flops.

Creating an impactful ad is much more valuable than being a sponsor, Wood said.

`You don’t need to be the biggest sponsor to make the biggest splash. If the goal is to connect with football viewers, invest in a unique marketing campaign with a message that everyone wants to share.`

Grupo Amazonas is a company that produces rubber for the footwear industry in Brazil.

Havaianas’ sandals have the player’s shirt number, country name and colors according to the national flag.

Follow-up marketing strategies are causing headaches for organizations like FIFA, said Jeff Greenbaum at Frankfurt law firm Kurnit Klein + Selz, a firm that specializes in working with official World Cup sponsors.

Official sponsors can use the World Cup and FIFA branding in advertising.

In front of the stores, Alpargatas displays many products inspired by football.

FIFA has a team dedicated to monitoring advertising to ensure that no company uses the World Cup or Brazil 2014 brand illegally.

However, the FIFA logo does not mean much to people like Korstanje.