#activation

76% of the field wearing a swoosh. Coming in second, Adidas will have 13 schools (Louisville, UCLA, Michigan, Kansas, Cincinnati, Indiana, Notre Dame, Akron, St. Mary’s, North Carolina State, New Mexico State and Bucknell) or 19% of the field and Under Armour will have three teams (Temple, South Dakota State and Lasalle). Here's all of the schools wearing Nike...

#activationstag

#activation

TaylorMade came up with its own conjunction to build twitter buzz for its latest line. At this past weekend's Cadillac Classic, it put the #IER hashtag to work to promote its second generation of RocketBallz drivers. We'll leave it to you to put two and two together. Here's Justin Leonard from last weekend..

Hat tip: Mike Mahoney

#activationstag

#deals

Since appearing on Season 3 of ABC's hit show, Shark Tank, Kisstixx has launched in over 30 countries and at retailers like Winn Dixie, Kmart, Icing, Walgreens, Fry’s, Associated Foods, Party City, and QVC, but perhaps no other deal symbolizes its rapid success more than its most recent marketing partnership. The lip balm start-up that Mark Cuban invested in last March announced this weekend that it will be sampling specially designed Dallas Mavericks flavors at the team's home games this month. Attendees will receive either a "Mavericks Dancer" or a "Mavs ManiAAC!" labeled package. In addition, Kisstixx will be featured on the Mavericks Kiss Cam during the games in which the lip balm is given out.

Fans spotted on the Kiss Cam will be encouraged to put on the Kisstixx lip balm ...

#activation

Despite what some sponsorship sellers may believe, CMOs don't usually bite when they get a bad proposal. Until now. Wieden and Kennedy and Old Spice have hired a new official Chief Director of Marketing to promote the brand's new 'Wild' collection. Meet Mr. Wolfdog.

Despite the overt silliness that fits the Old Spice brand perfectly, aspiring marketers may actually be able to learn a thing or two from the half-wolf half CMO, who in his first few days on the job has done no less than set-up a website, created a Pinterest page and a Twitter account, hosted a Google hangout, racked up over 2 million YouTube views and more.

activationstag

#strategy

Per ESPN:

"It won't be 'The Vizio Championship Tournament,'" Executive Director Bill Hancock said. "The Final Four doesn't have one. The Masters doesn't. The Super Bowl. That's the kind of event we have."

An official name and logo for the college football playoffs, which begin in 2014, should be unveiled next month.

#strategytag

#deals

Cats need apps too. Rather than paying a digital media firm to develop an app, it seems Purina is using sponsorship to come up with the next big thing in cat apps. It's no early April Fools Day prank, the pet food company has teamed up with LA start-up accelerator, Amplify, to sponsor what it's calling the "Games for Cats Hackathon." Purina is spending $20,000 – $15,000 to the winner, and $3,000 and $2,000 to the first and second runners up - who supply Purina, and its Friskies brand with some pet-friendly new apps and possibly it's next big marketing campaign.

“Every time I talk to a big corporation or large marketing agency, they all want to ‘figure out how to tap into this whole startup boom,’ but in the end they never pull the trigger or move with any agility,” Amplify partner Je...

#deals

In what sounds like a blast from the past, one of the world's oldest car companies has partnered up with one of the world's oldest social networks.. The partnership between the new Myspace and Chevrolet will include original content and see the car company advertise across MySpace and Specific Media’s digital network. Kicking off today, Chevrolet will be sponsoring Myspace Secret Shows, an experiential initiative that will bring 10 eclectic musical performances to SXSW over the next three days.

Chevrolet, a SXSW premier sponsor, will tap into Myspace’s recently rebuilt music platform and one of its most experiential franchises: the Myspace Secret Show, to offer fans a chance to see their favorite bands. It's also inviting Secret Show artists to announce their performances directly to...

#?

Finally, a shoe with real personality. Google and Adidas recently teamed up to create a sneaker that offers up motivation. The snazzy sneakers track every move the user makes and generates data that’s captured using an accelerometer, gyroscope and pressure sensors. That data then gets pushed to a web app on your mobile phone and translated in real-time into funny and motivating commentary that can be shared with social media. Don't get too excited though, the project was a one-off experiment for SXSW and Google says it has no plans to bring the shoe to market.

#activationstag

#activation

Is this new viral video fake or not? The better question, who really cares! Check out this instant classic from Pepsi and Jeff Gordon, where one of the most famous drivers in NASCAR history dupes an unsuspecting car salesman into taking an unforgettable test drive.

Hat tip: Jared Melzer

#activationstag