Daily Buzz

The NFL said that Under Armour would return for the second consecutive year as the presenting sponsor of the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine, scheduled for Feb. 24– March 2, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Financial terms were not disclosed.
As part of the alliance, all participants in the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine presented by Under Armour will be wearing Under Armour performance apparel and footwear designed specifically for the event. That includes the Coreshort product, Battle Shirt, and Combine shoe.
In addition, there will be extensive Under Armour branding throughout Lucas Oil Stadium during the event. Under Armour also will sponsor coverage of the Combine across multiple NFL platforms, including NFL Network, NFL.com, and NFL.com’s WAP site.

By Wayne Friedman

CBS appears to be on track to gross more Super Bowl advertising revenue this year than NBC did a year ago. And the network may not be done selling the big game.
“We have marketers trying to get into the game; we are trying to figure out if we could expand the walls,” said Jo Ann Ross, president of network advertising sales for CBS Television.
Like other networks selling the Super Bowl, there is some flexibility when it comes to adding commercials, so-called “floater” commercials coming around late-game timeouts and official play-call reviews.
Typically, TV networks get around sixty-two 30-second commercials avails to sell in the game. The NFL does place restrictions on the amount of inventory sold.

By David Goetzl

Email service provider ExactTarget released a study this week showing marketers plan to boost spending in email, social media and other non-traditional outreach channels this year. Advisory firm Econsultancy conducted the research along with the Indianapolis-based ESP.
The study of 1,000-plus marketers shows 54% of marketers said they will boost budgets for email marketing, and about 66% in social media (even though about 80% of those acknowledged the difficulty in tracking ROI in the medium).
Delving deeper in social media, the research showed the medium is the “fastest growing digital marketing channel.” That includes venues from Facebook pages to blogs.

By Karl Greenberg

Kia enters the Super Bowl for the first time Sunday with a new TV ad that features a cast of animated characters that, in at least one sense, are also very real. But it’s just the beginning of a new campaign for the 2011 Sorento SUV, which went on sale last month.
Kia is going after young families with Sorento, which started as a traditional body-on-frame SUV but is now in its second iteration as a car-like crossover.
Michael Sprague, VP of Marketing: “We want people to check out our ad, to build the momentum. When we were looking at our Super Bowl strategy, we were having lots of discussion about holding the ad or getting it out there and connecting with those who like to be the first to know — our brand advocates and enthusiasts. Also, some of the [toy] characters we are using in the ads have their own following.”

By Aaron Baar

Super Bowl Sunday means two things for most Americans: Snacks and Football. EA Sports is hoping to capitalize on the conversation by partnering with Doritos to give fans the chance to choose the cover athlete for the upcoming version of its popular gaming franchise, “Madden NFL 11.”
“To associate our brand with Doritos is an honor, and it’s a great opportunity to talk about our brand on the product,” Chris Erb, senior director of marketing partnerships for EA Sports, tells Marketing Daily. “They’re going to sell a lot of chips, and we’re going to be a part of that. The timing is perfect.”

By Karlene Lukovitz

To kick off this year’s Super Bowl weekend, Kraft Foods’ Ritz crackers is throwing a tailgating party outside the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 5, during which the brand’s new TV spot will get prominent exposure.
The Exchange community has been invited to attend the festivities (11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.), wearing their favorite NFL team jerseys instead of their standard business attire. The party will feature football-themed games as well as Ritz cracker snacks, dips and appetizers and other recipes that include Kraft products. Nabisco VP Carlos Abrams-Rivera will wrap up the day by ringing the NYSE closing bell.

By Tanya Irwin

Nike’s Jordan Brand is launching the latest chapter of the “Become Legendary” national brand campaign, titled “Nightmares Never Sleep” and starring Miami Heat All-Star Dwyane Wade.
The integrated marketing campaign focuses on Wade’s Air Jordan 2010. The spot takes viewers to another world view of a basketball player’s “nightmares” when dealing with the unstoppable — Wade on-court during an intense basketball game. Wade will be the first Team Jordan athlete to debut the Air Jordan on-court during this year’s All-Star weekend.

Only three major film studios — Paramount, Disney and Universal — will run ads during CBS’ coverage of Super Bowl XLIV, “down from five studios last year,” according to Marc Graser of Daily Variety.

There are six automakers airing ads during Super Bowl XLIV, and the majority of the spots “aimed at recession-weary buyers accelerate practicality and put the breaks on vanity,” according to Chris Woodyard of USA TODAY.