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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.

For many brand marketers, there may be no bigger event than the Super Bowl, when practically all of America gathers around their TVs to watch not only the biggest football event of the year, but the boldest commercials that people will be buzzing about for weeks after the game is over. While Madison Avenue may get a lot of attention, it’s not just the TV marketing that’s on fire during Super Bowl season.

The biggest challenge in identifying how sports fans want to be engaged isn’t lack of information about who they are, what they’re watching and when or even where—it’s why they’re so passionate about their particular sport. So in recent years, event marketers have developed more rigorous research methods to get at the heart of why fans have an affinity for certain sports over others. Once they identify the why, it’s a lot easier to create sports activations that are truly meaningful and memorable to that fan base.

At this year’s Daytona 500, it wasn’t just the sunny Florida weather that was brighter than the previous year. The sponsor turnout was better, too. According to a recent sponsorship report by independent research provider IEG, NASCAR still has some hurdles to overcome but there is a slight resurgence of corporate interest in motor sports marketing in the U.S. this year. The report finds that North American-based companies will spend an estimated $3.51 billion to sponsor teams and tracks this year, up 4.2 percent from 2010.

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.