The Race to Philadelphia

The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicked off on 11 June. By then, three of our channel partners had already secured their place in it.

Not as spectators who bought a ticket. As winners. Six months of competition, partners pushing hard across the UK and Ireland, and a leaderboard finish that went down to the wire.

This is that story.

The idea

When MANTIS launched the MaaS World Cup Incentive late last year, the logic was straightforward. MANTIS as a Service is the commercial model we believe in, one monthly subscription covering the RECON platform, camera hardware, MANTIS Health diagnostics, unrestricted connectivity, a five-year warranty, and ongoing support. No capital outlay. No refresh-cycle headache. One partner accountable for the outcome.

We wanted to see how hard our channel would push it. So we put Philadelphia on the line.

The race

Two routes to qualification. The first was the Golden Goal: surpass our previous record MaaS subscription sales and a place in Philadelphia was guaranteed, no draw, no luck, just numbers. The second was the prize draw, where every eligible MaaS subscription earned one entry and every new MANTIS customer earned five, once they crossed the target threshold.

From the first month, the leaderboard moved. Partners who had MaaS opportunities in their pipeline accelerated. New customers were brought in. By the time the May deadline approached, the competition had produced a sustained push across UK and Ireland markets that reflected exactly what the incentive was designed to do: convert pipeline into committed MaaS contracts.

The final weeks were the most active. Partners who had been building steadily made their move. Deals that might have drifted into Q3 got closed in May.

The result

Three winners. All UK and Ireland-based. All qualified through genuine subscription growth over the course of the incentive. They'll be joined in Philadelphia by members of the MANTIS UK and Ireland team.

The prize

The group flies from Heathrow on 2 July, landing in Philadelphia that afternoon. That evening, a welcome dinner in Old City.

Day two is the city. A guided walking tour through Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Old City, timed to catch the pre-match atmosphere as Philadelphia builds towards its biggest weekend in a generation.

Match day is 4 July, the United States' 250th Independence Day. The group takes in the game from premium hospitality at Lincoln Financial Field, with sideline seats and full match-day hospitality. After the final whistle, the Independence Day fireworks display over the Philadelphia skyline.

Day four: a private Rocky Movie Locations Tour through the filming sites, the Steps, Mighty Mick's Gym, the Italian Market, followed by a culinary tour of Reading Terminal Market. Group dinner that evening in the city.

What it means

The Race to Philadelphia was a commercial incentive. But the subscription numbers it produced were more than a contest result, they were a signal about where the channel is heading with MaaS.

Fleet operators are moving away from capital purchase. Subscription models give them access to RECON's capabilities without the upfront commitment, and they give partners a recurring revenue relationship that strengthens with every renewal. The partners who won this trip understood that. The ones who came close understood it too.

Philadelphia is the finish line. For MaaS, the race is just getting started.