For Vector and its clients, the strategy required the formation of a partnership with Influential, a tech platform based on AI powered by IBM Watson.

Designed to compliment Facebook's Reality Lab, which is already in Pittsburgh, the new lab will focus on robotics, teaching machines to reason and support creativity, and what Facebook calls "lifelong learning systems" that can learn continuously for years and years. Jessica Hodgins, professor of robotics and computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, will head the effort.

For brands looking to get a leg up on their competition, social-media analytics firm Talkwalker is using a unique metric to measure World Cup sponsorships: engagement per dollar.