Kenneth Briodagh

When Comdex resurrected itself as a virtual show last November after the live event was dormant for eight years, longtime sponsor and exhibitor Microsoft got back on board, but this time with a soft sell strategy that was less about plugging the company’s products and more about helping Comdex attendees find solutions to their biggest IT challenges.

Creating a marketing campaign that targets teens and children is never just about the kids. It’s really a two-pronged approach that is designed to appeal to the youngsters, but draw in the parents for the real brand conversion and sale. State Farm has been mastering both goals for years at high school sporting events across Texas. It was a natural fit to get into the local games, according to Stuart Selig, assistant zone manager for Texas at State Farm. “Football in Texas is the be all and end all. That’s where the people are on Friday nights,” he says.

Starwood last week held an exclusive Lady Gaga pre-party for members of its SPG loyalty program at New York City’s Sheraton Tribeca. In June, the hotel and resort chain will sponsor a concert at New York City’s W Hotel with Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls.

To promote the new $5 scratch-off game, Minute to Win It, the New York Lottery teamed up with NBC Universal’s game show of the same name for a mobile tour that has turned out to be in the top five most successful new ticket launches in the history of the state’s lottery, according to post-tour metrics.

To kick off the 20th anniversary of its children’s I Spy series, Scholastic on April 13 created a publicity stunt that gathered 20 second-graders to engage in a live version of the seek-and-find activities found in the beloved book series. The publisher hand picked the New York City second-graders to compete in finding 20 objects hidden around a 12-foot-high I Spy-themed cake on Military Island in Times Square.