Latest

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.

To urge consumers in Washington to play the lottery in social groups, Washington’s Lottery on April 4 launched its Play Together, Win Together campaign that’s leveraging a partnership with the Seattle Sounders to bring its message to life at the team’s soccer matches through October. 

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.